Katsu Sando - Los Angeles (Chinatown)
Japanese restaurant · Chinatown
736 N Broadway #105, Los Angeles, CA 90012
![Katsu Sando - Los Angeles (Chinatown) by [Official Photo]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67768616/2020_07_16_KatsuSando_024.0.jpg "Katsu Sando - Los Angeles (Chinatown) by [Official Photo]")
Highlights
Japanese sandwich shop serving katsu, onigiri & curry plates
Japanese sandwich shop serving katsu, onigiri & curry plates
"Before Sushi Sonagi, there was Katsu Sando. This tiny sandwich shop in Chinatown (with a second location in Monterey Park) is run by the same chef and pays homage to Japanese convenience store foods, like grab-and-go onigiri, fried chicken, and, most importantly, excellent sandos. The sandwiches are noticeably jumbo-sized, filled with creamy slaws and panko-crusted proteins, and make for the kind of quick but comforting lunch that’ll keep you full until dinner. Katsu takes sandwich making seriously. They bake their honey milk bread in-house, which you can enjoy soft and plush in a cold-case egg salad sando, or crunchy and toasted in one of the menu’s made-to-order options. Fillings range from fried bricks of honey walnut shrimp to kimchi brown butter chicken to pork katsu so juicy it requires dabbing your chin with napkins between bites. The rest of Katsu Sando’s menu includes more upgraded convenience store staples, like hambagu steaks, a burger, breakfast burritos stuffed with tiny arabiki sausages, and bulgogi onigiri that are great eaten later that night on a couch. Food Rundown Original Katsu Sando Look at that 1:1 cutlet-to-bread size ratio. Glorious. You can choose either chicken or pork katsu, but we're firmly team pork. The panko-crusted cutlet pops like a water balloon with juices, and the tangy katsu sauce and mayo-y slaw keep every mouthful of toasted bread moist. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Spicy Sansho Pepper Pork This sandwich is like a pinball machine of flavors hitting your tongue at once, including the cutlet’s numb-tingling peppercorn rub and the spicy mustard seeds mixed into the cilantro-heavy slaw. If you want some heat but don’t care to have your head blown off, order this. PlayMute video credit: Sylvio Martins" - Sylvio Martins
"If you don’t yet believe in the miracle of hashbrowns in your breakfast sandwich, try Golden Diner’s “Chinatown Egg & Cheese Sando.” This excellent BEC comes on a cushiony sesame scallion milk bun from a local Chinatown bakery, and includes at least half a carton of eggs scrambled, then layered with american cheese—and a big crunchy hashbrown to top it all off. The hashbrown is key: it’s almost an inch thick and the crispy texture contrasts perfectly with the soft bun and eggs." - willa moore, will hartman, carlo mantuano, bryan kim
"If there’s any proof that a higher power exists and wants us to be happy, it's the classic “sando” at Howlin’ Ray’s. The cayenne-crusted chicken breast contrasts beautifully with the buttery brioche bun, while the snappy pickles, peppery slaw, and comeback sauce add texture and seasoning without overshadowing the star ingredient. It’s the absolute gold standard for hot chicken sandwiches in LA—we suggest ordering it at the medium heat level for the ideal balance of spice and flavor." - sylvio martins, garrett snyder, arden shore, brant cox
"When in Chinatown, head to Katsu Sando for Daniel Son’s flavor-packed Japanese-style convenience store sandwiches. Come hungry, as these amply-sized sandos like the pork katsu, sweet crispy shrimp, or chicken katsu are excellent and travel fairly well to the ballpark." - Matthew Kang, Mona Holmes
"I noted that the now-closed Katsu Sando similarly contributed to LA’s konbini influence by serving a more upscale katsu sandwich inspired by Japanese convenience-store fare." - Rebecca Roland
