π’ 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: 2025-11-25
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.
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.
Tokyo or Trip?
π’ 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 π₯
- Onigiri (Omusubi) in Tokyo — Japan’s Rice Ball Tradition Meets Nori π
- Kaisendon in Togoshi-Ginza — All-Day Seafood Izakaya Comfort π±
- Kobore Sushi in Togoshi-Ginza — Overflow Gunkan Rolls with Ikura and Sea Grapes π£
- Coffee Jelly Symphony at Coffee-kan — A Retro Japanese CafΓ© Classic ☕
Similar Dishes
- Gyukatsu Motomura, Shinjuku — Finish Your Rare Beef Cutlet on a Hot Plate π₯©
- Kurobuta Tonkatsu, Kagoshima — Berkshire Pork Worth the Trip π₯
- Miso Katsu at Yabaton, Nagoya — Hatcho-Miso Cutlet on a Sizzling Iron Plate π₯