There’s a tonkatsu specialist in Shinjuku called Oroji, and as far as I remember it was already famous back in the 90s. I was curious what a place that has survived that long would be like, so I went. It’s right next to Isetan, and it turned out to be a small place.

Menu

The tonkatsu set is 1,900 yen and the katsu curry (ton-don, as they call it here) is 1,150 yen. Looking around, almost everyone seemed to be ordering the katsu curry, so I did too.

Tea

Pickles

The katsu curry…

So… the frying itself is good, but the cutlet in the katsu curry isn’t regular tonkatsu, it’s menchi-katsu. I wondered why everyone orders this… and I suspect it’s because most of the people who come here are on the younger side, and they’re here less for the food than for a decent meal in Shinjuku (the kind that works for a date…). Ordering the tonkatsu would probably get you something good, but honestly, for that price you could have top-class tonkatsu at Aoki… All things considered, it feels like one of those famous spots you visit because it’s a landmark…

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