Tonkatsu in Ikebukuro @ とんぼ

I don't know if I'll ever be able to say about Tonkatsu: "Woow, this was REALLY good. It's not often I eat something as delicious as this!!". When it's good Tonkatsu it can be quite nice, but I haven't had any that was 'more' than that.
As I write this I've started wondering what the best Tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo is so I did some searching on tabelog. It turns out the highest ranked Tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo(which is ranked #3 in Japan) is just 2 train stations away in Takadanobaba. I'll be sure to go there sometime soon and see if Tonkatsu can be more than 'quite' nice.

The Tonkatsu I ate today at とんぼ was however, quite nice. No more, no less. The best Tonkatsu I've ever had, but that's not saying a whole lot.

I went for the ひれかつ定職, which cost 1300Yen and is a fillet set menu. Unfortunately enough I lost the picture with the side dishes somewhere along the way, but the one that really matters survived. The sides were: Miso soup, some vegetables and as much rice as I wanted. They were fine, but nothing special. The Tonkatsu was as previously mentioned 'quite nice'. Pretty tasty and the mustard was extremely potent. I prefer to eat Tonkatsu with a bit of lemon instead though.

Another thing I have to mention is the old couple running the shop. They were very friendly as were the 2 regulars eating there. One guy who spoke a bit of English seemed very friendly and a mother was also eating there with a supercute kid, whom couldn't resist speaking a little bit of English to me when she left the shop. The old woman running the shop even helped me find a Kanji in the dictionary on my phone by drawing it for me!

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommendation: Make this your regular Tonkatsu spot if you live near Ikebukuro. I will definitely do so, but it may change once I check out the #3 Tonkatsu restaurant of Japan 2 stations down the Yamanote line.

http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130501/13016986/