Very popular spot for luck. Highly recommend for freshly made tonkatsu and other fried items. Best Tonkatsu that I’ve had. Limited seating so get there soon after opening or be ready to wait in line.
トモ T.
Tu valoración: 4 Tokyo, Japan
A very popular deep fried«yoshoku» specialty restaurant in Nishiazabu. For years, I knew about the popularity of Mikawaya, yet I did not get a chance to try it. To do so, you almost need to schedule a time in your calendar. They are open ONLY for lunch(11:30AM to 2:30PM) on Mon, Tues, Thur, and Fri. You need to be careful, because most of the days, they close way before 2:30PM. The closing time is when they«run out of rice». To ensure your serving, get there before 1PM. LINE: Expect to wait in a line for 10 – 15 minutes. You will be waiting outside, so you will need to endure the heat during the summer days. «Yoshoku» — It is the Japanize version of Western food. Things like Tonkatsu, croquette, hamburg, etc. However, Mikawaya does not have hamburg. They only have deep fried«katsu» items. WHATTOORDER: First time; order their«mix katsu». On the day I went, it included croquette, minced meat katsu, ham katsu, chicken katsu, You get a miso soup and all you can eat rice. All this for 1000 Yen. TASTE: Very good. I really enjoyed their minced meat(aka ground meat) katsu. The texture and taste was perfect. The way they breaded the meat and deep fried it was perfect. Croquette in my mind was average. I could have gone without the ham katsu. Chicken katsu was good. What I was disappointed the most was their worcester sauce(aka Tonkatsu sauce). It was nothing special. It tasted like the ones I use at home. HOWCOOL: Very cool to know this place. This is a family run business with no other shop locations. I did not see a single foreigner there. Most gaijin head to Gonpachi just down the road, so you will look like a cool Unilocaler if you know this place. WHYNOT5STARS: Mikawa-ya’s food is 5 Stars for sure. Getting that much food for 1000 Yen in middle of Tokyo is a bargain. What I did not enjoy is the size of the establishment. The place is tiny and they really squeeze you in. You will be bumping elbows with the person next to you. They will make you share the same table with strangers. Four strangers will sit together at a small table touching each other’s legs(touching each other’s legs is not a requirement, but unintended consequence for sitting so close to each other). It reminded me of a rice porridge place in Hong Kong where I sat really close to locals at a same table.
