Gyukatsu Motomura: A Small Home Style Restaurant Serving One of the Best Katsu in Kyoto
What is a trip to Japan without some katsu? Whether it is beef or chicken, the fried meat is an absolute staple during a trip to Japan. So I decided to have dinner at Gyukatsu Motomura in Kyoto and enjoy some katsu (you can also read my article about the nice dinner I had at the Sakura Indian & Nepali Restaurant in Umekoji Kyoto). It was a small home style restaurant with a limited menu. And I really enjoyed my meal!
The first thing that I saw at the entrance of the restaurant was a picture of the food. I could see a picture of the beef cutlet on a hot stone (you can also read my article about my wagyu yakiniku dining experience at Issunboushi, Kyoto). It looked so delicious and attractive that I was sure people would be tempted to come in and eat just at the sight of the picture.
There were options for both table seating and also private room seating. There were also long counters where lone diners could sit and eat by themselves. I thought it was very accommodating for both big and small groups.
There was even a picture of the set meal along with all the sides. A QR code was given at the center. People could scan the QR code and find out more information about making a reservation at Gyukatsu Motomura. I was intrigued to see whether the actual food would look just like the picture or not.
I sat down and immediately ordered the beef cutlet set meal. It came out really quickly, since most of the sides must already have been ready. There was white rice and fish roe, miso soup and so many different kinds of sauces. It looked just like the pictures! I was very impressed at the sight of the food and I couldn’t wait to get started.
The beef katsu was lightly breaded and fried. The center of the cutlet was still very pink and tender while the outside had been cooked more thoroughly. Some of the sides that had been served with the meat were fresh cabbage, spicy cod roe and warabimochi. I tasted a little bit of everything.
A hot stone could be used to warm and cook the meat. I had to be very careful while handling the hot stone so that I wouldn’t get burned.
I put a piece of the beef cutlet on the hot stone. The hot beef tasted even better than I had imagined. Katsu in Japan was definitely superior to katsu anywhere else!
Menu
The menu of Gyukatsu Motomura was very interesting. There was only one thing on the menu, the beef cutlet. It came in small, medium and large sizes. There were options for 1 cutlet, 1.5 cutlets or 2 cutlets. An extra bowl of barley rice could be provided free of charge.
Drinks like Coke and orange juice could be ordered alongside a meal. Some of the items had already been sold out.
Then I looked through the sides that were on offer. A single portion of items like potato salad or the spicy cod roe could be ordered separately. The grated yam and warabimochi interested me since I hadn’t had much of those before. A full beef cutlet cost only 1180 Yen.
