Tonkatsu Marushichi Ginza

Ok. Mixed feelings on this one. We queued up for the 5pm re-opening that day. Got there 30mns before and we were first in line. Seats are limited up to 6 at a time. Is it worth it? It’s one of those trendy places that internet made popular. It did look appetizing and the idea of 300g, 1.5inch(?) thick pork is one of a kind. 6 seating capacity and literally just 2 main dishes - katsudon and ribeye. These altogether made it felt like it was exclusive and premium. See, katsudon is my favorite dish. The combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, dashi flavor is what I was looking for - I didn’t get it. To me it’s just a fried pork that had to be seasoned a lot for me to enjoy (wasabi paste/spicy powder). I would’ve regret if I didn’t try it so glad I did.

This was, is and will be the one and only restaurant where I’m waiting for more than 15-20 minutes. I waited in a line and thought “hey, just 8 people in front of me”. But that was a lie. I didn’t do a good resarch. Just wanted to try this restaurant because of a recommendation from an influencer. The food was good but not as good as i should wait longer than 15-20 minutes (i waited around 75-80 minutes). 🤦‍♂️🥲 but why? The only have 6(!) seats! On their menu you can get 3 different bowls. I had the Deluxe and Premium Version, thought the Premium must be better, but the Deluxe one is the goat.

Queued up at around 1030 on a Tuesday - was the 4th person in line for opening. Ended up getting to walk in a little early at 1050! Ordered the Premium set menu, highly recommend to put some of the wasabi on to help cut through the richness of the pork. Crispy outside, and it might have been one of the most tender pieces of tonkatsu that I can remember. Pickles and miso soup were both quite tasty! Loved it!

Fantastic! Absolutely loved it. We left the Tsukiji Fish Market and walked over here for lunch. They open @ 11:30, we arrived about 10:50 and there were 5 people in front of us. So we had a little bit of a wait but it really wasn’t too bad. After they opened, we waited another 25-30 minutes before we were seated. We ordered the deluxe/premium or whatever their best offering is. WOW! Thick boy! So thick, so nice and tender and the fattiness was perfect. The panko was fried perfectly. All around delicious Tonkatsu. The egg it’s served with was cooked perfectly as well and the rice… the rice was so tasty I ate it all. So good! We would and we will definitely come back to this spot for Tonkatsu. It’s one of the best I’ve ever had. Flavors on point. The pork cutlet was a perfect combination of fatty tender juicy meat and the panko crisp was perfect. It was so good we both ate it all and then we were absolutely stuffed for the rest of the day!

I’ve been wanting to try this place, but just like most popular restaurants in Tokyo—the line is notorious and the wait time is long because the space is small. I believe they can only seat 6 people at a time. I made it on this trip since I was already in the area and thought I could start lining up at 10:30 am. I didn’t make the first batch, but they were let in as early as 10:50 am with everyone’s order already ready. They did the same to us which is actually very efficient. I got the regular Yaki-katsudon which was $9 USD! Amazing price for the quality. I was a little bit nervous that the thicker cut of tonkatsu might be chewy, but theirs is soft and had some good fat into it. I personally still like my cut on the thinner side but they gave justice to this. The egg was soft and fluffy and the glaze they have was very delicious! Such a good meal and worth the value.

For me, this place is a bit overrated. It’s good, but personally not worth the long queue. The tonkatsu was hit and miss — half juicy, half overcooked. I also wish the staff were a little warmer, especially toward elderly guests. With such a long wait and only six seats, kindness would make a big difference.

The pork katsu here is extremely worth it for the price you pay. You will have to be there very early to get ahead of the queue. I reached 10.45am and the queue was already quite long. Had to wait almost 48 minutes for our turn to sit. Will have to say that the wait and queuing was worth it. Anyone who visits Ginza should take the opportunity to eat here. Dont mind some of the low reviews, its mostly because of the wait and the owners are abit rigid about queues and behavior in the restaurants cause they want to be orderly and respected.

While we were staying at a hotel nearby, we made a takeaway order online. Pretty easy, just picked up from the counter at the selected time. No wait at all. We ordered the 焼きカツ丼（特上）and カツサンド. The porks were overcooked, probably due to the remaining heat being kept in the boxes. A bit tough and not juicy. And it’s a bit salty for us. We had a feeling that they tasted similar as what we could get from a supermarket. Perhaps, the foods might be far much better if we dined in. But we won’t give it a try, as the queue is indeed too long (the shop is too small).