Nishi-Azabu, an upscale residential area not far from Roppongi, is packed with really stylish, atmospheric restaurants. Among them, I had kept hearing that a tonkatsu specialist called Butagumi was famous, and at the end of this trip I finally got the chance to go. I was a little worried it might be all style and no substance, but once I was there it turned out to be a genuinely lovely place.

With a hitokuchi (one-sip) beer

You can order a cute little draft beer. Since I had a flight to catch in the afternoon, this size was easy to handle. Any more and I might not have made it back to Korea.

Inside

It seems to be a converted kominka, an old traditional house. The space is small, but it has a cafe-like feel. It must be popular, because it filled up soon after opening.

The house specialty, the Deluxe

It is a tonkatsu made with Okinawan Agu pork. The meat is so rich with fat that it is meltingly soft, and it comes already seasoned with salt, so you can eat it as is. It was tasty, but it was not the usual tonkatsu flavor. If other famous tonkatsu places focus on bringing out the taste of the meat, this place seems to season it to boost the flavor. The SPF pork at Maruyama Kippei is a standard tonkatsu anyone would approve of, but this place is harder to recommend to just anyone, especially to middle-aged guys, I think.

The set meal

It comes with cabbage and akadashi miso soup. With the nice atmosphere and good food, it would make a great weekend date spot. If you ever need somewhere for a date in Tokyo, keep a place like this in mind.

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