Sauce Katsudon, addictive sauce & cutlets on rice as local food in Fukui


Sauce Katsudon, made up of a pork cutlet dressed with a special katsu sauce and rice, is a very popular local dish in Fukui. Some stores lay cabbage under the cutlet or even dip and soak the cutlet into the sauce. The crunchy texture of the cutlet combined with the delicious Worcestershire based special sauce is a key feature of Sauce Katsudon. In Fukui, everyone associates Katsudon with these Sauce Katsudons, and various stores compete to be the best. Whenever you are traveling to Fukui, Sauce Katsudon is a must eat! In this article, we will introduce the various Sauce Katsudon restaurants in Fukui and the stories regarding the origins of their Sauce Katsudon.

Also if you want to know the best 5 local foods in Fukui including Volga rice, please also see Fukui Food Guide.

Sauce Katsudon, popular local food in Fukui for 100 years.


 

Sauce Katsudon was invented by Yoroppa-ken, which first opened its doors in Tokyo but soon moved to Fukui after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Ever since moving to Fukui, Sauce Katsudon has been and continues to be a popular dish for over 100 years. In Fukui, you can enjoy this Sauce Katsudon in various restaurants.

Although many people assume Sauce Katsudon to be heavy on the stomach due to its combination of katsu and sauce, since it is made by softening and thinning the pork and combining it with a special sauce, it creates an amazing balance making it delicious as well as easy to eat.

The sauces also vary depending on the store, but it is often a Worcestershire sauce base mixed with sugar, soy sauce and Japanese dashi. There are also many stores that lay cabbage under the katsu.

5 places you can have Sauce Katsudon In Fukui


As you can imagine, there are many places where you can enjoy Sauce Katsudon in Fukui but, listed below are our top 5 places to enjoy delicious Sauce Katsudon in Fukui.

Yoroppa-ken


First is Yoroppa-ken, the founder of Sauce Katsudon. Established for over 100 years, Yoroppa-ken is a traditional western style restaurant. The special sauce made by the founder based on the training he had when he went to Germany is especially popular. By pouring the special sauce on the cutlet, it drips down into the rice making both even more delicious to eat. There are multiple branches throughout Fukui city but, the most popular is the main store and during lunch times, it is often very crowded. When traveling to Fukui, Yoroppa-ken, the founder of Sauce Katsudon is a must visit!

Yoroppa-ken (Main Store) General Information
– Opening hours: 11:00～20:00 Closed on Tuesdays
– Tel: 0776-21-4681
– Reservation: Unavailable
– Credit card: Unavailable
– Drink: Beer, Japanese Sake, Soft Drinks
– Good for whom: Family, Friends, Singles
– Website: http://yo-roppaken.gourmet.coocan.jp
– Location: 1-7-4 Junka, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture

For more on Yoroppa-ken, please refer to the Yoroppa-ken article.

Fukushin


Fukushin is a western restaurant in Fukui. The “katsudon” listed on the menu is sauce katsudon. It is quite easy to eat and fully makes use of their house special sauce. The balance between the sauce soaked cutlet and the rice creates a delicious combination and many repeaters come even from far way. In addition, at Fukushin, customers can choose the size of the sauce katsudon and, a large size has so much meat that the lid won’t even close. For those that want to eat a lot during their travels, we recommend getting this large size.


From Fukui station, you will need to use a bus or taxi. If using a bus ride either the Keifuku bus line 34 for “Fukui University Hospital” or Keifuku bus line 36 for “Maruoka” and get off at “Takagi Chuo” or “Takagi Chuo 2 Chome”. It is about a 5-minute walk from the stop. The store faces a wide intersection and look for a building with a blue roof. If you have portable Wifi or Data, you should be able to easily find it using Google Maps.

Fukushin Basic Information
– Opening hours:
[Mon.〜Thurs.] 11:00～15:00, 16:30～19:30
[Fri.～Sat.] 11:00～15:00, 16:30～20:00
[Sun. & Holidays] 11:00～14:00, 16:00～20:00
Closed on Tuesdays / 3rd Wednesday (In case of holiday will open)
– Tel: 0776-54-7100
– Reservation: Available
– Credit card: Unavailable
– Drink: Beer, Japanese Sake, Soft Drinks
– Good for whom: Family, Friends, Couples, Singles
– Website: N/A
– Location: 1-205 Takagichuo, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture

Tonkatsu Ajidokoro Kura


Tonkatsu Ajidokoro Kura is a tonkatsu and yakitori store. Since it is a tonkatsu store, they put a lot of effort and attention into their sauce katsudon. You can enjoy the delicious cutlet that is made up of their special sauce, unique textured breading, frying oil according to the season, and many more. This combined with the Koshihikari rice made in local Fukui make for a wonderful combination. This wonderfully and carefully crafted sauce katsudon is a must taste on your Fukui trip.

Tonkatsu Ajidokoro Kura Basic Information
– Opening hours: 10:30～21:00
– Tel: 0776-53-6586
– Reservation: Available
– Credit card: Unavailable
– Drink: Beer, Japanese Sake, Shochu, Wine, Cocktail, Soft Drinks
– Good for whom: Family, Friends, Couples, Singles
– Website: http://tonkatsu-kura.com/index.html
– Location: 1-1-8 Kitayotsui, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture

Tonkatsu Karma Honten (Main Store)


Tonkatsu Karma main store is a tonkatsu store. Not only do they serve sauce katsudon but they also serve other katsu set menu dishes. Because they carefully select their ingredients such as Japanese pork and special breading, you can enjoy a delicious katsu dish. Their cutlet is well dressed in the breading and results in an amazing crispy texture, and compared to other stores the meat is a bit thicker allowing for a much juicier cutlet. Also, their special sauce is traditional and you won’t get tired of it. With their style of pouring the sauce over the katsu instead of dipping it, causes the sauce to spill onto the rice and resulting in a delicious dish for you to enjoy.

Tonkatsu Karma Main Store Basic Information
– Opening hours: 11:00～14:20 (LO), 17:00～20:20 (LO) Closed on Tuesdays
– Tel: 0776-23-3430
– Reservation: Unavailable
– Credit card: Unavailable
– Drink: Beer, Japanese Sake, Soft Drinks
– Good for whom: Family, Friends, Singles
– Website: http://yohjii33.wixsite.com/kaluma
– Location: 3-1-11 Ninomiya, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture

Jyussenman Fukui Inter Entrance Store


Jyussenman is a diner that serves tonkatsu dishes. Their sauce katsudon has 2 large cutlets which are thin and soft due to being stretched and pounded. These cutlets are dressed with a sweet sauce creating a good combination with the cutlet and rice. You can also order fried eggs as a topping to enjoy another delicious variation of this dish.

The inside is like a large family restaurant. Also, being near the entrance of the highway, coming via rental car might be convenient. If visiting by train, it is around 10 minutes by taxi from Asuwa station and 30 minutes by foot.

Jyussenman Fukui Inter Entrance Store Basic Information
– Opening hours: 10:00～21:00
– Tel: 0776-41-3558
– Reservation: Available
– Good for whom: Family, Friends, Couples, Singles
– Website: N/A
– Location: 28-5-1 Togano-cho, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture

Reviews of Sauce Katsudon in Fukui


What kind of thoughts did people have after trying the Sauce Katsudon? We carefully seleted reviews that should be helpful for those who wish to try Sauce Katsudon for the first time.

Reviewer imosa（Yoroppa-ken）

The cutlet is sliced so thin that you will think it’s ham katsu, and the texture of the breading is very fine, so it doesn’t suck too much oil making it quite light. The Worcestershire sauce that the founder learned in Germany is on the sweet side but since the cutlet doesn’t excessively suck in the sauce, you won’t get tired of it as well. The rice is locally produced and is cooked to be firm making it a great match for sauce katsudon. The amazing balance of ingredients shows how long this dish has been alive.
I originally thought that all sauce katsudon taste the same but I was pleasantly surprised.

Reviewer Usagi no Mimi（Fukushin）

Despite being covered in sauce, the cutlet is crunchy due to the fine breading being applied while stretching the meat, and creates an amazing balance and fulfilling delicious dish. The slightly sweet Worcestershire sauce followed by a fruity acidic taste greatly matches the cutlet. The fulfillment and softness of the cutlet, combined with the sauce… Everything was quite surprising. No wonder it is one of the famous restaurants nationwide. Even now as I recall my memory, I can taste the delicious dish and I can’t forget.

Reviewer BFMV15705（Tonkatsu Ajidokoro Kura）

The cutlets are quite large, but moreover, they are so easy to cut with chopsticks! Well, the cutlet itself is thin but wow, it was so soft. The moment I bite into it. Ah~ so soft, and so juicy! The sauce is even all over the rice. This sauce is a bit sweet but it’s followed by a nice spicy punch. Don’t worry though it can still be enjoyed by the kids. Oh~ so delicious, and seconds is a must. Ah~ if there was on near my house, I’ll go every day.

Reviewer Shinokichi（Tonkatsu Karma Main Store）

The meat used in the cutlet is as thick as it looks and is soft. The cutlet and the rice is covered by the sauce which has just the right amount of sweetness and spice, making you get a sense of Fukui flavor. In addition, the salad and miso soup that comes as sides are also delicious. Probably putting the extra effort into these sides is why it is loved so much by the locals.

Reviewer niko01（Jyussenman Fukui Inter Entrance Store）

I ordered a large bowl (sauce katsudon) 890 yen with fried eggs 55 yen on top. Two large cutlets dressed with a sweet sauce so soft it can chopsticks can easily cut and the fried egg to top it off. Quite the volume. The basic side for everything on the menu is quite large so for people that want something a little less ordering the sauce katsudon and oroshi soba half (800 yen) should be good. The mains of the store seem to be the sauce katsudon and oroshi soba but they also serve steak and hamburger steaks.