Katsu San

What a gem. Knowing this place gets filled quickly, we timed our visit as early as possible for our dinner and lunch. This review is for both visits (we visited this place twice during our 3-day trip to Vancouver, for dinner and lunch). For dinner, we went 5 PM and we still had to wait for about 30 minutes. For lunch, we went before it opened but there was already a line out the door. But we were able to get seated right away for lunch.

Tonkatsu was very soft, crunchy, and delicious. The regular tonkatsu was simple yet elegant and very tasty. The mozzarella cheese in cheese tonkatsu was amazing and it was a nice balance in pork and cheese. We were a family of 4 and since I could not decide what to pick, I ordered the assorted set that came with a bit of everything (cheese tonkatsu, regular tonkatsu, and ebi katsu. It was a nice sampler as a first timer. Ebi katsu was well done, very crunchy, and delicious.

Their cold ramen was also very good. We weren't too impressed with the Nagasaki champon ramen. The broth could have been better but this was a minor criticism. We still enjoyed our dining experience.

Our experience with the servers was very different each time. For our dinner experience, it was a Korean lady who was absolutely amazing, attentive, and kind even while handling a long line of people in line, taking care of checks, refilling our salads, etc. For our lunch experience, our server was wearing a sweater and every time she brought something to our table, she was leaning onto the table and her loose sweater was touching our foods. It kept happening every time she came over, so I kept moving our dishes away from her to prevent it from happening. She also barely or never smiled. I think because of that negative experience, I'm giving 4 stars to this place.

This place is legit.

We were told the wait was usually an hour. And when we arrived, that's what we were told as well. We arrived on a Saturday around 6:30pm. However, we were called back to restaurant 20 minutes later. Table was available.

Pros:

The chicken Katsu is extremely tender, and juicy. It was amazing soft and the battered was very good as well.

Tonkatsu was also very impressive. We have been to some famous Japanese Tonkatsu restaurants in Japan and the meat wasn't even as tender. Very impressive. It's not dry at all. Juicy and flavorful. They use very good pork. In the ramen, there was some pork strip and I noticed it's full of pork flavor and bits of fats on it, it was also very tender. That's how I know they use really good quality pork.

The cabbage salad was offered free refill, along with the dressing, it was very satisfying.

Rice also unlimited supply.

Miso soup was good. Like all the other Japanese restaurants but it's also unlimited refill.

The ramen was ok. The soup was good, lots of ingredients and quality seafood but there texture of the ramen is average. Nothing special.

One thing I noticed. The fried pork chop and chicken was excellent but the shrimp tempura even though they did a great job, somehow it's more oily than the fried pork and chicken. Not sure why but next time I'll just get the pork or chicken.

They home made their batter from bread, they shred it to small pieces, pretty impressive. The pork was marinate for many hours so it was very tasty.

Delicious consistent food. Prompt service although we felt a bit rushed.

Big and spacious atmosphere.

Amazing and delicious food! Always make a point of coming here when I'm in the area. Love the cabbage and dressing so much! I usually love coming here and sharing the assorted box because I like to try a little bit of everything! Texture is always on point from the crunchy outside to the soft, melt in your mouth inside

Unfortunately forgot to take a pic because I was so excited to dig in

Solid pork cutlet! Recommend coming right at open since the wait can be an hour or longer. Cheese was good but I prefer the pork cutlet and ebi katsu. Easy stop to get good value!

Absolutely delicious! The place is incredibly small, so be prepared to wait for around 40 minutes to an hour. The wait time is defenetly worth it! When we were taken to our table, we already had our teas waiting for us and I thought that was a very thoughtful detail.
We had the Tonkatsu set and the Combination Katsu set with the pork. Both sets came with unlimited cabbage, rice, and miso soup. We also ordered the Japanese curry and it was perfect for our rice. The flavors are on point, the pork katsu was juicy and tender, the cheese katsu was gooey, and the Ebi katsu was perfect. EVERYTHING tasted authentic and delicious and we will for sure be returning to this place. The service was also great! They constantly came over to ask if we needed anything else, offering us more cabbage/rice. 100% recommended

I hate being that person who comes so close to closing time but I HAD to fulfill my katsu craving before I go back home. There was no wait so I got seated right away and given a cup of hot tea. Waitress was quick and friendly.

I didn't want to feel too full so I went for the cheese katsu. Mm.. Fried cheesy goodness!! I also appreciated the endless miso, cabbage, and pickled veggies. What's not to love about katsu?!

Solid 3.75!! We arrived early on Sat but still an 45 min wait which went quickly. There are no seats except for a bench a few doors down. Everything was pretty food. Just a few takeaways:
The breading is very similar to a fried taro dim sum it does not offer the same crunch as standard panko. Unlimited sauces, cabbage salad, soup and rice. Hubs tried the cheese combo which was a bit overwhelming, I opted for just pork. The pieces were clumsy to pick up and eat, cuts were a bit too thick for the ratio of breading to meat imo. I felt uneasy with w the 1 hour seating limited, and the need to hurry up, only staying 45 mins.

I really wanted to like this place because people have told me they like it better than Saku but I don't think so. I got the Cheese katsu but the cheese wasn't that ooey gooey. It was kinda grouped together. When I tried to do a cheese pull, the whole cheese piece came out. The katsu was crispy. I like how you can get top ups of the salad and rice.

Overall, tasted decent! Still a good meal but it didn't live up to the hype.

Be prepared to line up or wait, but don't worry the wait is worth it! I tried the assorted chicken and pork and both dishes are unbelievably delicious. The value for the amount of food and hospitality is generous and on point! The chicken is so tender and juicy and the pork so full of flavor! I liked the different sauces you get so you have something different each time you take a bite. The cheese katsu however you have to eat it while it's hot or else if you wait too long the cheese will harden. Still very delicious though!

If I had to compare it to saku I love both places, but the chicken and pork goes to katsu san. The cabbage salad and dressing, and miso soup I'll give the edge to saku. But it's still very good at katsu san and I'm being nitpicky here for comparison sake.

Came here when they were about to close during their lunch service at 3:00. We arrived here at 2:30 pm and they were just about to take their last call.
It was so nice of them to accommodate us even though they were going to take their afternoon lunch break soon.

All their staff are so friendly and professional - we didn't feel rushed at all.
Because we came so last minute, we couldn't do their all you can eat rice, cabbage, and soup that is included in the meal. They were still kind enough to ask if we wanted extras.

Food was great - just as expected! We ordered the pork and chicken katsu.Our toddler loved it just as much as us.

Parking is easy - they have their own parking lot above their building.

Would come back again!