Toyoken

Restoring former glory to the Japanese take on Western cuisine, Toyoken brings back the earliest and original taste of yoshoku. Dating back to the cultural boom of the Meiji period, when the emperor himself began dressing in Western styles and importing European technologies, this Western-influenced cooking culture became the basis of Toyoken’s signature style. Established in 1889, Toyoken is known as a yoshoku pioneer, and they have been steadily improving their craft ever since. Now occupying a convenient space in Akasaka, customers crowd the restaurant for a plate of their best-selling menu item, the menchi katsu cutlets — a mixture of Matsusaka pork and beef that’s coated with breadcrumbs and then deep-fried. On their meat-heavy menu, the black curry stands out from the rest. The combination of Matsusaka beef tallow and a variety of spices and herbs stewed slowly, then served jet-black, is one-of-a-kind.