Tonkatsu date in Jeonpo, Busan: pizza katsu sold out | Katsu Kitchen

What is Katsu Kitchen Jeonpo Main Branch, a tonkatsu date spot in Jeonpo?

Katsu Kitchen Premium Jeonpo Main Branch (카츠키친 프리미엄 전포 본점) is a premium katsu (breaded cutlet) specialist in an alley of Jeonpo-dong's café street in Busan. It has a reputation for crispy, juicy katsu, which makes it a favorite Busan tonkatsu spot and a popular Jeonpo date location. On a weekend or holiday, when you're out on a lovely date with someone you love on Jeonpo café street, you've all agonized over what to eat that has both a great atmosphere and great flavor, right?

Jeonpo-dong is full of hidden restaurants tucked between cute little alleys, and just walking the streets is fun. Among them, the hot spot famous for its crispy, juicy premium katsu is Katsu Kitchen's Jeonpo main branch.

How to get to Katsu Kitchen Jeonpo and what the interior is like

Katsu Kitchen's Jeonpo main branch is near Jeonpo Station, so it's really easy to reach by public transport. Get off at the station, walk a little way into the alley, and a stylish, clean exterior greets you. For a Jeonpo date course with a partner or friends, both the atmosphere and the access were ideal.

The inside is also decorated in a cozy, warm style, so we had a comfortable, happy time throughout the meal.

Pizza katsu sold out, so we ordered cheese katsu and special loin katsu

The dish we originally came for was the pizza katsu, famous for the hottest buzz and a fresh look, but it was already sold out because it's so popular. I sat down excited and studied the menu carefully, but sadly there was no pizza katsu to try.

I was a little disappointed, but it's also proof that every dish here is prepared with care, a tried-and-true restaurant. So after some thought, we ordered one each of the cheese katsu and the special loin katsu, which let you taste the essence of classic premium katsu.

Katsu Kitchen's special spicy sauce: why you should dip into it

The tables at Katsu Kitchen's Jeonpo main branch have salad dressing and regular tonkatsu sauce along with a special spicy sauce, and each seat has a guide to recommended combinations and ways to enjoy the katsu even more. While waiting, I looked around the table and noticed lots of cute, thoughtful touches for guests.

This spicy sauce went far beyond my expectations: sweet and spicy, appetite-whetting and addictive. Later, when dipping the katsu in it, it was the top contributor in cutting through the greasy richness.

Green onion kimchi with tonkatsu: Katsu Kitchen's unusual side dish

Katsu Kitchen's cheese katsu and special loin katsu come as a neat, tidy set, and the green onion kimchi (pa-kimchi) served as the side dish was really unusual. The sight of it made me gasp.

Katsu restaurants usually serve cubed radish kimchi, pickled radish or pickles, but Katsu Kitchen puts out pa-kimchi that tastes homemade: moderately fermented, pungent and full of savory depth. Putting a piece of the pungent green onion kimchi on a bite of crispy, nutty tonkatsu cut the richness you might otherwise feel, and the pairing was absolutely fantastic.

Is Katsu Kitchen's cheese katsu too rich?

Katsu Kitchen's cheese katsu is packed with nutty, soft, gooey cheese inside a thin, crispy coating, stretching endlessly, and yet it really wasn't heavy at all. The balance of nuttiness and saltiness was perfect, so I enjoyed it down to the last piece without getting sick of it.

Normally with katsu loaded with cheese, after a few pieces your mouth gets greasy and heavy and it's easy to leave some behind. But when I dunked the cheese katsu into the special spicy sauce on the table, the spiciness and nuttiness came together for an even more moving flavor.

Katsu Kitchen's special loin katsu: juiciness and texture

The special loin katsu is said to be a special cut that comes in only tiny amounts from the loin, and with a golden ratio of fat layer to lean meat, rich, moist juices filled my mouth the moment I bit in. It fully showed what premium katsu is about.

The meat itself was so tender and deeply flavored that even with just a little salt or wasabi on top, I could fully taste its natural savoriness. The crisp, light texture of the coating and the tender grain of the meat harmonized, with a charm that made it impossible to put down my chopsticks.

Add-on mini soba and vanilla ice cream for dessert

This is the mini soba (cold buckwheat noodles) we ordered as an extra at Katsu Kitchen!! My boyfriend really wanted it, so I ordered the mini size, and it was just right for two :-)

After finishing the meal, marveling at the fantastic combination of katsu, green onion kimchi and spicy sauce, the kind staff thoughtfully brought us sweet, smooth vanilla ice cream for dessert. After enjoying freshly fried, crispy, warm katsu, finishing with cool, sweet vanilla ice cream to cleanse the palate felt like a perfect dinner course. I kept marveling at how carefully the whole meal was put together with the guest's satisfaction in mind from start to finish.

Is Katsu Kitchen Jeonpo Main Branch worth it for a Jeonpo date?

Katsu Kitchen's Jeonpo main branch is near Jeonpo Station so it's easy to get to, and the cozy atmosphere suits a date. With the green onion kimchi side, the spicy, addictive sauce, the cheese katsu that was light, clean and nutty rather than heavy, the special loin katsu with its exceptional juiciness, and the sweet vanilla ice cream dessert, it was a perfect meal.

The pizza katsu being sold out was a pity, but it turned into a cheerful reason to plan a return visit. If you're looking for a good Busan tonkatsu restaurant, or a no-fail Jeonpo date spot with your partner, I strongly recommend Katsu Kitchen's Jeonpo main branch. Try the date-night food experience: crispy katsu with the unusual synergy of green onion kimchi, and sweet ice cream to finish! >_<