Tonkatsu Nishiazabu Butagumi

The food is amazing, and this was one of our favorite restaurants in Tokyo. They have always been accommodating and friendly. HOWEVER, today I tried to reserve in person, and was told that I have to reserve online and they have eliminated the option of requesting the upstairs. I ate downstairs onc...e, and it was one of the worst restaurant ambiance I've ever experienced (in contrast to the upstairs, which is one of the best). So never again. I am very very sad that they have become so dogmatic. Where is caring about your repeat customers? Maybe their reviews are so good they get enough tourists so they don't care anymore about locals?

Visited June 2024

Food is just okay, but the people is so rude! they slammed the door to our face with no empathy. The place itself is out of nowhere and so dark and creepy, not recommended at all considering the taste, experience and nothinf to see around here

Visited October 2023

Food and service are excellent. The restaurant is very small but on a hot day it can be very hot and stuffy. Better times could have been in the fall or winter.

Visited September 2023

So, I think this place popped up in my instagram feed as an amazing place for tonkatsu. The amount of foreign visitors coming here recently has somewhat overwhelmed the restaurant, and I honestly don't think they love it - which I sort of understand. When you walk there is a sign that says "if you'r...e wearing strong perfume we will ask you to leave, even if you have a reservation it will be canceled." So keep that in mind if you like to bathe in cologne or perfume. The whole place sort of reminded me of that Seinfeld episode involving "soup" if you get my drift. (The chef was staring at us at various times throughout our dinner, I wasn't sure if it's because he smelled cologne.) I digress, so three of us went - my friend, my partner, and I. My friend is a Tokyo local and loves tonkatsu so he was also curious to try it. I ordered the Kagoshima deluxe blade Katsu, while my partner and friend both had the "hire" or "fillet" katsu. The fatty Kagoshima deluxe pork was delicious, the fat was tender and melted in my mouth. My friend and partner enjoyed theirs as well, but as my friend commented, he thought you could get just as good tonkatsu at more reasonable place at one of the famous katsu chain places. I think he has a valid point, a lot of what you're paying for is the location and the ambience, as well as the wide selection of pork - most of which is not available most of the time, as you can see from the menu, they only things they had in stock were the items in orange. Overall, the food was good, and the atmosphere beats the average chain katsu place, but if you only care about flavor I am not sure that you need to come here over other places. Do make a reservation, and as I mentioned don't over perfume yourself if you come here.

Visited July 2023

Butagami Tonkatsu in Roppongi Hills left me with mixed feelings. While the ambiance was decent, the panko was disappointingly soggy and the cuts were too thick for my liking. I couldn't help but compare it to Maisen in Shibuya, which offers a far superior tonkatsu experience. If you're in the mood f...or this dish, I'd recommend making the trip to Maisen instead. 3/5 stars.

Visited August 2023