Katsu Cafe

Food was not bad. the only thing is that the owner kept trying to kick me off of the table while I was waiting for my friends to arrive. Seemed like he only cared about making money. Kind of rude about it too.

Very terrible customer service. Had my girlfriend and I waiting in line for 12 minutes. Was not even packed and did not even acknowledge us or welcome. Was expecting at least a «sorry we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.» But nothing. Rude, ignorant asians who just stare at you and not even present a friendly atmosphere.

In town on business and this came up on Unilocal.What a great lunch and fantastic recommendation. Thanks, Unilocal and Katsu!

Great casual café-​style Japanese/​Hawaiian restaurant. They have daily dinner specials and happy hour. We got the chicken teriyaki dinner special which came with salad, rice and a full California roll for $ 9. It was a huge plate of food. We also got spicy miso ramen and a double crunchy roll. The ramen was really good. The people working there were very nice. I’d guess they were the owners…
My only compliant is that the egg in the ramen was HARD boiled. My fav part of ramen is the soft boiled egg, so this was a huge disappointment. Other than that, this place is really good. I’ll be back!

You get a pretty good sized meal for under $ 10. For the price that you pay, the taste and portions are pretty good.
They have a really big selection of menu items, they have sooo many menu boards all over the front. There’s some above the cashier, and then singular menu items taped under them, and then there are combos off to the side. The three that I usually get are the dynamite roll, udon noodles and dynamite fried rice combo, and the spicy miso ramen (not all in one visit haha).
The one that I get the most is the dynamite roll for about $ 9. You basically get a california roll with scallops and dynamite sauce (kind of like a spicy mayo) on top. It has a little bit of spice to it for a little kick. Each piece is so big that it takes me two bites to finish one. Since the dynamite sauce adds to the sushi roll, it’s not too dry trying to chew it up and you barely even need soy sauce.
The dynamite fried rice in the combo is basically fried rice covered in dynamite sauce. You should get anything dynamite only if you really like the sauce, because that’s what basically makes it. The udon noodles are really good, one of the best that I’ve had. It comes to you with the soup boiling hot so you’ll have to wait a bit for it to cool down, unless you’re impatient like me and just powers through the pain. The udon noodles themselves already fill you up pretty good, that you’re struggling to finish the dynamite fried rice, but they’re both so good that you just stuff yourself until you’re done.
The spicy miso ramen is something I’d also get for a cold day, to warm myself up with the spiciness. It’s definitely not for those who don’t like spicy foods, obviously. It’s spicy enough that you just have to be careful when you eat it because you can easily choke on a chili pepper that you’re coughing and feeling the burn of the chili in your throat. I think the portion for this is a little less than the other menu items I mentioned, but it can still fill you up. They don’t put any less than any other regular ramen place. Then again, I believe that the spicy miso ramen is also the cheapest out of the three menu items.
Happy hour is 3−6pm everyday, so you can come in for discounts on certain rolls. It’s also good to take a look at their lunch and dinner specials, because they give you huuuge portions for a good price, for the dinner specials at least. The lunch specials are smaller plates but they are also cheaper.

What is there not to love about Katsu Café? Hubby loves Hawaiian food, but I am not particularly fond of Teriyaki meats, so when I saw that Katsu Café had ramen and sushi rolls, I was sold! I ordered the crunchy cali, which comes with a deep fried California roll, and french fries, with spicy mayo and Teriyaki sauce generously drizzled on top. My husband enjoyed his Teriyaki Chicken bowl with white rice. I took a couple of bites and thought it was ok. My sushi wasn’t the most flavorful, but the menu does offer a wide variety of dishes that do not break the bank! The roll had more than your usual 8 slices, too; there were 12 cut pieces. The serving size make sharing with your date easy! I want to come back and try their Ramen and other rolls.

I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and it was really flavorful and delicious! The portion was generous and filled my belly just right. The slices of pork weren’t too fatty and just right and the bamboo shoots were also very tender. I also loved the egg although I personally like my eggs to be more soft boiled in ramen, but that’s just my own preference! The broth itself was rich and flavorful, and I slurped it all down along with the nicely al dente ramen noodles.
Also, you order up front where there is also a whiteboard with daily specials. They also have sushi rolls, various types of donburi (meat over rice), and sashimi bowls! I would definitely would come again.

After a months of my roommate ramping on about this place. I finally was able to try it, and I have to say… he was damn right!
First off the price is super affordable. For a bowl of delicious ramen, it’s only $ 5! And that is legit ramen too. Better than any I have tasted back home in Tucson, AZ. Which is over charged to $ 10-​$ 14 for mediocre ramen.
The ramen is super flavorful, you can taste the freshly made noodles, the pork flavoring and even the slice of fish cake. They are not even greedy with their ingredients either. Try the Tonkatsu Ramen!
I would definitely return!

My husband were in the convoy area and got a recommendation to come here.
Atmosphere: very relaxed, place had business, the owner was there and was friendly. Plenty of seating. Food came out quickly
food: a lot of options for bowls, sushi, noodles and more. My husband had the teriyaki chicken with fried rice and it did not disappoint. The chicken was quality and the rice was plentiful. The portions are large so you def get your money’s worth. I had a tofu bowl which I had tofu and lots of veggieS, again a good portion for the price.
Cost: this place is super affordable, each meal was $ 6 – 8. Seems like they always have a good deals, saw a happy hour menu, a daily special menu. You get lots of food for a low price. Yum yum!

A very solid 4.5 star rating. Katsu Café was formerly known as Teri Café, but changed its name due to change in ownership. My family and I had visited Teri Café years ago and had a 4 star experience. I’ll explain below why my experience with Katsu Café was .5 star better.
Katsu Café is located on Clairemont Mesa Dr. where it tries to differentiate itself amongst the Asian eateries found throughout this area. It’s located next to a tea place and the only thing that’s really changed is the name Teri has been replaced by Katsu. With this new name, you would think that they are experts in the preparation of katsu chicken. The décor remained the same, which is a combination of Asian and Hawaiian decorations. You still order from the counter and the food is brought out to you. The .5 star deduction is due to not having a waitress check up on us frequently, which can be forgiven due to how the food is ordered. The owner took our order and I loved his Japanese sound effects after we ordered each item. It’s readily apparent that this new owner values customer service because he checked on us to see how we liked everything and I caught his eye while we were eating trying to determine if everything was okay. I’ve always believed that if the food is okay, great customer service will help lessen the impact.
Great thing for Katsu Café is that their quality customer service is combined with delicious and an abundant amount of food. I ordered the chicken katsu curry ramen and a double crunchy roll. The wifey ordered the double crunchy and spicy tuna sushi rolls from their happy hour menu. For my kiddos, we ordered the chicken teriyaki plate. Before the food came out, we thought my kids’ plates would have small California sushi pieces. When you see the amount of food we got that came out in large plates, sushi on long platters, and a decent sized bowl for my ramen, I honestly didn’t think the food was going to fit on our table. Luckily for our stomachs, our table handled all of this food like a boss. The chicken katsu curry ramen had plenty of katsu, noodles, an egg, and tasty broth. I really enjoyed the potato salad that’s a side item on my kids’ teriyaki plate. For the amount of food we ate, I really appreciated the value for the money we spent. Our kids could have easily shared one plate. I wouldn’t say the food was unbelievably great, but what was great was the bounty of food.
Katsu Café has a menu with many choices. The outstanding customer service and the large amount of food has made my wife and I conclude that Katsu Café will be our go to place whenever we’re in the Clairemont Mesa area. Katsu Café’s predecessor, Teri Café, received a 4 star rating from me. Katsu Café is a notch better because of the great customer service and my wallet’s liking for the value we received. Katsu Café will have many return visits to try their other food choices.

Dropped in for a solo lunch today and had a nice wonderful experience. Fridays are my only hour lunch days — and this place was always close by. I decided to go for the chicken teriyaki plate. It was huge. Keep in mind, I’m a petite girl with a small appetite (as I lost weight from the beginning of the year) — so what I deem huge may be different from what you think is huge.
Took a seat by the bar which is hidden right behind the cash register. Glimpsed it after paying for my order. They give you a number and you take it with you so they know where to find you. Got my dish pretty quickly and the presentation was nice. I found out that the dish was Japanese/​Hawaiian fusion mix after sending a pic to Mr. W which he confirmed. The salad and the potato salad gave it away as Hawaiian. Miso soup and chicken teriyaki was self explanatory as Japanese. It was very filling and it was just the right amount for a gal like me.
Owner & waitresses were sweet. Owner was continuously checking on everyone to make sure everyone there was satisfied with their meal. Quite courteous. Would not mind coming here every Friday if I am in the mood for some Chicken Teriyaki or sushi.

Taste– ****
Ambiance– ***
Parking– ****
Service– *****
Really cute little place with big portions and great prices. Friendly service, and that’s always nice. They have daily specials of their post popular items and it’s always written on the board. Aside from their delicious bowls they also have sushi rolls, and those are also pretty good too. This place is super affordable and has plenty of family friendly seating.

This place was just okay to me. I came here with my mom looking for a place to have lunch and there was already a line right when they opened. The prices are low and their portions are big for the price you pay, but the taste just didn’t do it for me. It could have been what I ordered but I just didn’t think it was anything special. I think this is a good place to go if you are on a lunch break or just looking for a quick meal.
I ordered the curry katsu ramen, which was underwhelming. My mom ordered a teriyaki bowl that also came with a roll of California rolls. The price we paid for it and the amount of food she received was worth it. Just don’t expect anything to blow you away.
This is an order at the register, receive a number and find your seat type of restaurant. Lots of space inside for seating which is nice, as I mentioned it got packed upon opening.

This is one of my go to restaurants for comfort food. I like to try new things, but I also like to stick to what I know and like. I always order the Tonkatsu Ramen. My recent visit with friends was pleasant. The new owner was very friendly and always visited our table to see if we needed anything else. They have daily specials. Even after change of ownership and the new name, the food is still good. We ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen, edamame (served warm), fried gyoza and some mango spicy roll that was on their list of specials. I don’t remember the name, but it was spicy and good. They only have fried gyoza, not steamed. Great place to chill with friends under a palapa, talk story and sometimes listen to some Hawaiian music. If you’re on a budget and want decent Japanese food, this is the place to be.

The food here is still consistently good, even if it did change ownership some time back. It used to be Teri Café. I love my Hawaiian food, and the vibe and décor is still the same.
Came here with friends for dinner. I ordered a mini spicy teriyaki bowl and happy hour crunchy roll, can’t beat it for under $ 9. My friends ordered ramen, happy hour salmon roll, and happy hour gyoza. Yummy in my tummy. Thank goodness for mini teriyaki bowls, would have never been able to eat a regular size bowl. I’ll keep coming back.

This place used to be known as Teri Café. I came here a few times when it was Teri Café. I can’t recall exactly when the name changed, but I think it was sometime earlier in the year.
The Unilocal description says this place serves Japanese and Hawaiian, but I don’t really see the Hawaiian other than maybe the macaroni salad and the canned Hawaiian drinks? I didn’t see any Spam on the menu like at L&L Hawaiian BBQ or Homestyle Hawaiian.
So you enter, place your order at the counter, then sit down with your number, and wait for them to bring out your food. Upon entering, I was greeted by a nice young lady. She seemed a little impatient, appeared to want to take my order. I sensed this and explained it was my first time there (as Katsu Café). I then asked if she could recommend any dishes to me or to tell me what was popular. She seemed apprehensive like she was afraid she make a bad recommendation (she said, «Oh, I’m not sure.»). After a quick scan of the menu, I went with the Teri beef, chicken combo with fried shrimp.
I took my order number, drink, and sat down. The place is nice and clean with several big screen televisions throughout the restaurant. Some of the décor was Hawaiian themed. Despite the dozen or so tables taken by customers in the restaurant, there was plenty of seating indoors and outside.
A huge plate of food arrived. Everything looked and tasted pretty good, except for the miso soup and the green salad. The miso just didn’t taste very fresh. The salad was fresh, I just didn’t care for the dressing (they should have put it on the side) which they put a lot of. I wasn’t aware the plate came with soup and salad (2 of them: macaroni and a green house type salad). It was a lot of food.
So this place was okay. I would return. The food wasn’t bad, my rating dropped mainly because I was hoping for more of a Hawaiian menu. It seemed more Japanese to me, other than the few items I mentioned and some décor. Maybe next time, when I’m nearby, I’ll take another look at the menu and see if there are more Hawaiian elements.

This place has some good food and good prices! I am still not sure where the Hawaiian food is but the place had an Island feel with their décor.
Each time that I have been here, I have been warmly greeted by the staff. It seems to be the same lady or man at the cash register taking my order. They are both genuinely friendly. And one time the man, showed off his wicked sense of humor when delivering a beer to someone’s table and pretended to spill the drink. Which was a fake beer in a plastic mug that was a joke glass that would not spill.
I have tried their sushi’s, noodles, and bowls. The bowls of soup are HUGE portions!
Once you place your order at the counter, you grab a table and put your order number on your table and they deliver the food to your table. Usually it is super quick. Note that they have a happy hour and they serve some of their sushi at full sizes! You really can’t beat that! After they deliver your meal the staff will routinely check on your table to see how your doing. GREAT SERVICE!
I really like their Katsudon. It is served in large portions and you can switch it up and have it with brown rice for 75 cents more.
They offer up drinks like beer, tea’s, soda and Aloha juices.
There are several TV’s to keep you visually entertained. Parking can be somewhat of a challenge if this shopping complex is busy. There are several tables outside if you choose to enjoy the weather and outdoor seating. I prefer inside with the AC.
Seating is also available at the counter bar area. And the there is several booths.

My meal at Katsu Café was just okay. I ordered a Japanese dish I’ve wanted to try for some time and it was a failed experiment. I got the Pork Katsu Don bowl. It was a fried pork cutlet over rice with egg. It seemed like it could be something special but turned out to be pedestrian. It was well cooked but plain.
The restaurant itself was pleasant. The staff at the counter were friendly and food arrived at my table pretty quickly. TVs around the room with Saturday’s football on the screen provided a distraction while I ate. Overall a place I would return to visit.
I think I need to give them a second chance and order something more familiar.

Came here for lunch since we were near the area. We couldn’t find the original place we planned on having lunch at, so this was the next best thing.
As we walked in, I didn’t feel any air conditioning. It was just too hot to not have it. Anyway, you order at the register, then receive a number and receipt and get a table. I ordered the 8 piece California roll and the beef teriyaki bowl and 2 drinks. Hubby gets Katsu curry ramen. Why did he get ramen on a hot day? LOL. I get that in the winter.
After I paid for our meals, we took a seat at a booth right in front of a flat screen television. How cool is that? I asked for an extra plate for my daughter when the waitress brought our food out. We ended up sharing our food with her since she eats like a bird.
The California rolls were good. It also had imitation crab in the rolls which made it tasty. The meat in my bowl was good. It was drenched in the teriyaki sauce which made it too salty for me. I drank Coke zero to drown the salty taste. I was trying to mix up the sauce with the rice but it still tastes too salty.
There wasn’t really table service here. No one came by to refill my or my hubby’s drink. The cups were pretty big though so we didn’t need a refill but no one noticed my hubby’s empty glass. Food was good. I just wish they would pay more attention to our drink cups.
When we left, we left the dishes there. I did leave a tip on the receipt because I know they clear off your table when you leave.
There’s plenty of parking up front. At least this parking lot was a little bigger.

I’ve never seen so many people waiting in line at a restaurant before! From when I sat down to when I left, the line was out the door! Of course, my dining in was during lunch so that explains a lot.
I ordered the Thursday special: mini teriyaki chicken and 8pc California roll with a soft drink. The wait was fairly long, maybe 20 – 30 minutes to get my food? The California roll was good and tasted like any other California roll I’ve had. Chicken teriyaki was good! The sauce was tasty and the mini was actually a large portion, about 1 chicken breast. I subbed my white rice for brown which was an extra charge and the teriyaki came with one slice of carrot and one stem of broccoli.
It was a good amount of food for the price (about $ 7) but it wasn’t anything that wowed me. I’ll definitely try more items; the platers looked yummy with potato salad and green salad (: