restaurant review: butagumi in tokyo, japan

Upon learning that Mr. Sazy Rock and I were going on a business trip to Japan, a friend of ours highly recommended Butagumi, a restaurant that specializes in pork tonkatsu. Tonkatsu is a breaded and fried pork or chicken cutlet dish. Well, Mr. SR and I love pork, tonkatsu and pork tonkatsu. So, we were only too pleased to give it a go. So, thank you, Mel, for the recommendation.

The Butagumi kitchen.

The Scene
The restaurant was located near Roppongi Hills in a residential area. While the area was a bit posh, the restaurant itself was fairly casual. We went for Sunday lunch without reservations and were seated upstairs. The place was decorated with a lot of cute piggy ornaments. Some tables required diners to take off their shoes, while others weren't similarly required to do so. We sat at a table where we kept our shoes on.

Piggies!

The Food

I should note that the menu was fantastic. We had a choice of eating pork sirloin or pork tenderloin. Then, we chose the area of Japan where our pigs came from. Some oinkers were aged, but sadly, those were sold out.

We tried two types of tonkatsu:

- Hakkin-ton from Iwate Prefecture - described on the menu as a deluxe flavorful sirloin, it was very rich. It's like Kobe beef in that the meat had high fat content. It was also so good.

Tonkatsu.

- Nakijin-agoo-buta from Okinawa Prefecture - described on the menu as regular sirloin, this dish was super juicy and super rich. I should also say that it was super delicious.

More tonkatsu.

Both tonkatsu dishes were served on a grill - so the sauce didn't pool around the meat. It was a briliant way to serve the dish because the meat never got soggy. Instead, they remained crunchy throughout. Eating these dishes was like eating foie gras: I couldn't eat a lot because they were so rich but so good. They melted in my mouth.

While the tonkatsu dishes were ridiculously good, we also ordered other things:

- Pickles - fresh and clean but not too sour, and light and crisp.

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- Cabbage with ground pork - warm and sweet.

Cabbage with ground pork.

- Croquettes - served very hot, this dish was light and potato-y, perfectly seasoned, and crunchy.

Croquettes.

Croquettes.

- Rillettes of pork - they were dense and topped with whole red peppers. It was tasty.

Rillettes.

The Service

The servers were very friendly, informal and spoke English. They also provided us with an English menu and were told that they had the same menu for lunch and dinner.


The Price
 
The price depended on the quality of pork we ordered so, for your purposes, it could be as pricey as you want it to be. But, the food was so worth it.

How To Get There

Butagumi is located at 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo 106-0031, Japan.

From the Roppongi station, take  exit 1c for Roppongi Hills. 

At the end of the tunnel, turn right and climb the stairs to get on Roppongi street. 

End of the Tunnel.

Top of the stairs looking at the elevated highway.

Once on the street, turn left and go straight (go past Ropponggi Crosspoint). The elevated highway should be on your right after making a left at the top of the stairs of the station.

Roppongi Crosspoint.

Walk straight until you get in front of Hobson's (first intersection after Crosspoint - not counting pedestrian crossing). Then, make a right (go under elevated highway).

Hobson's.

Going under the elevated highway after seeing Hobson's.

After crossing the street, turn left. 

The elevated highway should be on your left after crossing the street.

Then, make a right at the second small street. 

Go straight.

You should see the  restaurant in a corner after passing two small streets on the right.

Butagumi is the yellow building with a crescent on left.

Butagumi.

The Verdict

I really, really loved Butagumi. Mr. SR and I joke that Butagumi ruined us forever because all other tonkatsu will now pale in comparison. But, it's really true. Every tonkatsu I've eaten since has not held a candle to Butagumi. If you're in Tokyo, give it a go.



Have you eaten at Butagumi? What did you think? If you haven't been to Butagumi. Where is your favorite tonkatsu place?