Katsudon @ Suzushin, Arakicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Deep in the bowels of Arakicho, lies a rustic diner with a rich history and leaving behind a huge line of satisfied customers for almost 60 years. I was fortunate enough to be one of them to be treated to the hospitality of the Suzuki family and being able to sample perhaps one of Tokyo's best fried pork. And that is a huge statement.

A quiet street with alot to offer

I knew of this place as it was highlighted in a Only in Japan GO live stream episode. If you have yet to check it out, click on the link. And being the curious eater that I am, I decided to try to look for Suzushin. After all, a trip to Tokyo is not complete unless you loiter around Shinjuku at night. 

Front of the house. 

It was a nice change of pace from the previous visits to this area, as I have already checked out Golden Gai twice and Omoide Yokocho before. Yet, Shinjuku still has that energy that makes you wanna come back. Its no longer the seedy underbelly of vice as it used to be. Now its the entertainment district for everyone to enjoy. Yet, Shinjuku proper is noisy and loaded with neon streams. So having to walk around this collection of alleyways is an interesting experience, and far away from the tourists. 

Getting myself comfortable

Once you open the panel doors, you are greeted by the smell of freshly fried cutlets and the sight of simple rustic wooden decor. The environment is homely and inviting. With the husband and wife duo manning the stations, you now know you will get honest and unpretentious grub. 

Le menu, mind the mistranslations 

The menu is very basic, with the emphasis on their main player, the fried pork cutlet. There are a few variants such as the donburi sets and the teishoku sets. I opted for katsudon set type B, which has caramelised onions and egg omelette topped on top. It would be something similar to the oyakodon (egg and chicken bowl). 

Tea to start things off

Each set comes with some black tea, a side of pickles, pork miso soup and a dessert. A complete set which let me completely satisfied. And it stood at a modest ¥1200. Not too shabby.

Hard at work

Even before you got served, you know that magic is about to be made. When Suzuki-san slices the fried cutlets, it creates the sound of someone biting through an apple. It is that crispy. The crunch reverberates around the quaint restaurant, a gourmet orchestra triggering your appetite for the ensemble that is to come.

Dinner is served

When the set arrives, it was an inviting sight. The bowl was packed to the brim with deep fried pork slices and the omelette envelops the pork. A marriage of different elements made it a pleasure to chow. The egg was packed with flavour, as it was cooked with dashi and the caramelised onions, although not obvious, gave additional edge.

A real masterpiece.

The pork was fresh and well seasoned. It was well fried and not too greasy. Even though there was already egg there, you can still that crispy grits of the outer shell of the pork cutlet. Each bite created a crunching sound and it was basically just breaded pork. But something so simple was made to something magnificent.

A treasure trove at the bottom 

The rice at the bottom was also laced with more onions and had been spiked with tonkatsu sauce. Sweet, slightly savoury and with a tangy kickback. With all these different ingredients compiled and compacted into a bowl, it was such a simple task to eat. Even to say that it was a task is not accurate. It was a real privilege to sample this bowl of pork and rice.

Got to have your veggies right?

The pickles help clean things up and was a reset button that fit in perfectly. And for dessert, it was a simple tofu and fruit pudding. So those small sides help wash away the porky grease that covered your teeth long after you are done.

Nothing left! Nothing!

An amazing meal through and through, it was so easy to take it all down. In fact, after a short period of time, there was nothing left! I was thoroughly satisfied. Again, the best part of the meal was not the food, even though it was outstanding. Rather it was the company. Mr and Mrs Suzuki were very friendly and spoke some basic English and tried to start a conversation with me. It was very fun to learn  about the history of the place and the couple even told me that they will be visiting the Philippines soon on a holiday. A mother and daughter couple also joined in the conversation. 

Such uncanny resemblance. 

You can feel the warmth from the husband and wife duo and it seems that I was not the only one. Portraits of the Suzukis are everywhere, a symbol of appreciation from the patrons that left the establishments with full stomachs and warm hearts.

Do put your well wishes down. Thank you Suzushin for the evening. 

This is a place I cannot recommend enough and in the event I am going down to Tokyo again, this will be definitely be in the "must revisits" section. And if you are dropping by, do put your name in the check-in book! And you will get a senbei as a parting gift.

With Mr and Mrs Suzuki. Thank you both for an amazing evening.

It was hard to find the place, especially at night but it is worth the effort. The address is as follows:


10, Arakicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0007

A close up of the entrance.