🟢 Great-in-Tokyo — Great experience you can enjoy in Tokyo.
A freshly fried menchi-katsu from a local butcher shop in Togoshi-Ginza — a Japanese-style Western dish where minced meat is breaded and deep-fried, enjoyed as an everyday comfort food across Japan.
Last updated: 2025-12-07
Introduction
Menchi-katsu is a Japanese-style Western dish — essentially a “deep-fried hamburger patty” made by coating minced meat in breadcrumbs. Its origins trace back to the Meiji era, when a Western-style restaurant in Ginza began selling it as a “minced meat cutlet,” and for more than 100 years it has taken root in Japanese home cooking.
Today, it is loved in many forms: as a prepared dish from butcher shops, a lunch set at neighborhood eateries, or a small plate at izakayas. In Togoshi-Ginza, it is also a popular street-food snack.
💡 Did You Know?
Why is "Butcher Shop Menchi" so delicious?
In Japan, it's said that for the best Menchi-Katsu, you should go to a butcher shop, not a restaurant.
The secret lies in the "offcuts." Butchers often mix high-quality trimmings—pieces from premium steaks or sukiyaki cuts that are too small to sell—into their minced meat.
This makes butcher-shop Menchi a "hidden luxury," offering the rich flavor of premium meat at a street-snack price.
What to Try
Menchi-katsu
At Niku no Kumono in Togoshi-Ginza, large, freshly fried menchi-katsu are served on weekends. They only begin frying after you order, so you’ll wait about five minutes — but even that waiting time feels exciting.
With butcher-shop fried foods, it’s usually “lucky timing” if you happen to catch something right as it comes out of the fryer. But here, they fry it after you order — a blessing for anyone who loves freshly fried food.
Be sure to eat it while it’s still piping hot. When you bite into it, meat juices can burst out — proceed with caution. I’ve tried several menchi-katsu around Togoshi-Ginza, but the balance of springiness, savoriness, and juiciness here is my personal favorite.
Sauce
Freshly fried menchi-katsu is flavorful enough on its own. However, adding just a small amount of sauce gives you two different flavor zones — sauced and unsauced — keeping each bite interesting and preventing flavor fatigue.
Crab Cream Croquette
At Niku no Kumono, it's not just the Menchi-katsu—every fried item is cooked to order.
The Crab Cream Croquette arrives piping hot, so hot that the staff even warned me, "Be careful not to burn yourself on the first bite!"
The contrast between the crispy breadcrumbs and the molten, creamy filling is irresistible. Just take small bites to enjoy the rich crab flavor safely.
Tokyo or Trip?
🟢 Great-in-Tokyo — Great experience you can enjoy in Tokyo.
Menchi-katsu is an unpretentious everyday dish in Japan. It’s also the kind of food that suits being eaten straight out of the bag as you stroll.
Togoshi-Ginza is famous for its croquettes, and if you’re exploring the neighborhood, you should definitely enjoy one together with this menchi-katsu. Amid its casual charm, you’ll also taste the careful craftsmanship that only a local butcher shop can offer.
Explore Nearby
- Korokke in Togoshi-Ginza — Tokyo Shotengai Classic 🥔
- Onigiri in Tokyo — Japan’s Rice Ball Culture 🍙
- Taiyaki in Togoshi-Ginza — Rice-Flour Sweets 🐟
- Kaisendon in Togoshi-Ginza — All-Day Seafood Bowl 🍱
- Chicken Nanban in Tokyo — Kyushu Flavor 🍗
Similar Dishes
- Gyukatsu in Tokyo — Rare Beef Cutlet 🥩
- Kurobuta Tonkatsu in Kagoshima — Premium Pork 🐖
- Miso Katsu at Yabaton (Nagoya) 🥓
- Osaka-Style Kushikatsu in Tokyo 🍢
- Aji-Fry at Hayakawa Port (Odawara) 🐟
External Links
- Menchi-katsu — Wikipedia 🔗
- The art of Yōshoku: Six popular Western dishes reinvented in Japan — JNTO 🔗
About "Taste of Japan"
Hello, I'm Yuta.
Born in landlocked Yamanashi and having lived in the gourmet city of Sendai for 10 years, I now call Togoshi-Ginza home. My frequent business trips across Japan allow me to constantly explore the diversity of regional flavors.
Why Togoshi-Ginza?
This street is Tokyo’s longest shopping arcade (about 1.3 km), but it holds a special history. It was the very first street in Japan to adopt the "Ginza" name—a tradition that later spread across the country—after receiving bricks from the famous Ginza district following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
My Wish as a Local
I am not a culinary expert. However, as a Japanese local who knows both the convenience of Tokyo and the origins of regional food, I want to share the "atmosphere" and "personal feelings" that you won't find in standard guidebooks.
The Concept: "Tokyo or Trip?"
Visiting every region of Japan in a single trip is nearly impossible. Some food experiences are worth the travel to the source, while others offer a fully satisfying experience right here in Tokyo.
This blog is a guide to help you make that choice. Based in Togoshi-Ginza, I share my honest experiences and "my personal answer" to help you maximize your culinary journey in Japan.
- 🟠 Local-First: Best experienced in its home region. Worth a trip.
- 🟢 Great-in-Tokyo: A nationwide favorite or regional specialty that offers a fully satisfying, authentic experience right here in Tokyo.
- 🟣 Tokyo-Do-Must: A unique food culture born in or exclusive to Tokyo.