Tonkatsu Hajime Nihonbashi

The restaurant also has seating on the second floor, but dares to serve meals only at the counter. The reason for this is unknown, perhaps due to a shortage of staff. If you wait in line for a long time, you will be a little disappointed. I would suggest a written explanation of the reason. You need to be prepared to wait two and a half hours to be seated. The menu is a little different in tendency from restaurants famous for their tonkatsu, with prices set a little higher. The visual impact of the menu is overwhelmingly strong. The thick meat is refreshing, the rice is small, and the meal is surprisingly light. If you are prepared to wait in line, it is an interesting experience.

Very small shop and toilet located at upstairs. The ground floor only can sit around 8 pax at once. We been waiting for 1 hour 30 mins for dinner under temperature of 0’C, very cold but for me, the Tonkatsu really nice, tender and soft. Due to long waiting line, won’t return again.

Soft, tender, and juicy pork cutlets. One of if not the best tonkatsu places in Tokyo! The wait is a bit long, especially during dinner time, so it’s best to go right when it opens for lunch or earlier than your planned dinner time.

Started queuing on a Sunday morning 9.40am, when it opens at 10am. Already had a queue then. Queue for 1 hr+ go get into the restaurant of only 10 seatings. After our 20 min lunch, there’s twice the number of people queuing. (1130). So do come early. Also all parties have to be present during the queue. Food is crispy and served hot. They takes order prior to seating so that they could prepare the food in advance. Service is swift and accurate. We ordered the smallest portion but I think it’s pretty huge. 3760 yen, v reasonable.

Another tasty Tonkatsu （cutlet port chop） in sumo size. I think the No. 1 丸七 taste a bit better (because of the crispy cutlet and wasabi sauce). I ordered the Hajime shop limited don. The pork chop is more on the lean side (not much fat as the 丸七）， hence the pork chop. Is a bit “dry” (actually still very soft and tender). But the cutlet is a bit soggy because of the signature sauce. On a whole, still a tasty Tonkatsu

There were too many good reviews to miss out on this restaurant. Thus, we thought we should really give a try before we leave Tokyo on the next day. Got there on about 6.50pm and there was already a long queue. Waited for almost an hour, slight drizzling before our queue. We were handed umbrella by the staff, which was a really nice gesture. The food was, imo, overrated and it is quite expensive for a Tonkatsu. Even though they mentioned they were using Osyan Pork (since their premium meat was sold out), the cut was a tad too thick.. and it doesn’t get any appetising after a few bites. We didn’t finish our food, which we normally would. The bill was 6,960 yen for 2. Honestly, there must be better Tonkatsu at a more reasonable price elsewhere. FYI, the small plate of preserved veggies are chargeable if you need a refill.

We had dinner here last night and it was delicious! We take two different tonkatsu meal and both were very good. The atmosphere is so cozy and the staff very kind. Only ten seats available, consider 30-40 queue average waiting time. Be careful because they have two stores very close (300 mt), go to the “first store” (see photo for reference). Worth it!

Good food and good service but the shop is small and long waiting, about 1hr+. The pork is very thick but soft. The service is very good they always smiling to customer even they are busy. The price is high, about 4000¥, if you order a very thick deep fry pork. The recommendation for tourists is go before 11:00 am before shop is open. So you will wait not too long. And you shouldn't go with children because the menu is too big for them and you have to order 1 order for each of your group.