The Place It is hard to find a good independent Tonkatsu specialist restaurant in Singapore and Katsuya is quite an indie-brand in its own way. Katsuya’s journey began in 2011 at its original location on East Coast Road before it shifted to Tanjong Katong Road in 2023. The Japanese restaurant is by Singaporean chef-owner Kervin Tay where chef Kervin was trained at a Japanese culinary school in Tokyo.

The space of Katsuya is an open-kitchen concept and counter seat configuration where each diner gets a view of what goes on in the kitchen.  

The Food Katsuya’s menu reflects the craft of katsu, a dish that demands precision and skill. Sunflower oil is used which creates a balance between crispiness and lightness in preparing the katsu. Other than tonkatsu, the menu also offers eel katsu, fish katsu and Japanese wagyu katsu. 

I decided to have the simple Tonkatsu Set which comes with cabbage salad, rice, red miso and pickles. Should you decide to go for ala carte, the price is S$4 off the price of the dish.  

I love tonkatsu so it was a no brainer to just go for the Hire (S$35), a fatless pork.

The texture of the Hire is fried to a beautiful golden hue, with a nice crust and juiciness of the pork. It does not taste too greasy, and the first bite of it should be a little drizzle of salt on the meat.  

You can then add other sauces to go with the pork, which I enjoyed with the tonkatsu sauce.  

The Rantee went for the Hokkaido Rosu (S$42), a slightly more premium cut of pork with fats. The meat is slightly juicer and while the description says pork with fat, it is not overly fatty.  

Meats aside, there are also various appetisers and sashimi to go for. The Tamagoyaki (S$5) is awesome if you love Japanese eggs, and the Salmon Hiyayakko (S$10) with cold tofu and aburi salmon is delicious.  

Rants The pace of the meal was quite fast, and it was probably because I was the last customer of the night.

Will I Return Again? Simple, straightforward dining experience where I had good quality tonkatsu at Katsuya. I wonder what took me so long to check this out given that I will make a point to hunt for tonkatsu whenever I am in Japan. If you love tonkatsu, Katsuya is a must try.  

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Katsuya 
258 Tanjong Katong Road  
Singapore 437046 
Tel: +65 9656 8183 

Opening Hours 
Tuesday to Sunday: 12pm to 2:30pm; 6pm to 9:30pm 

Ranted by The Ranter