Katsu Hiroi

Katsu Hiroi is a semi-famous place in Yokosuka right out on Route 16 about halfway between the main gate and Womble gate. Be careful or you'll miss it and walk right by it. See the blog map.

Katsu Hiroi

The counter, the chef, the kitchen

Katsu Hiroi uses the sign - かつ廣 
Katsu is breaded, deep fried pork (usually) which is tonkatsu, but can be made with chicken or shrimp or even beef.
The kanji 廣 is an old form of 広　which means spacious, vast, or wide. Perhaps this is in reference to the large pieces of katsu, and certainly not a reference to the restaurant, which seems no wider than about 10 feet. Another possibility is that it's a simple play on the owner's name - Hiroo (Iwasaki).

Chef Hiroo preparing a meal

There is no English menu here but you'll get along simply by saying tonkatsu special, ebi (shrimp) special, or chicken special. There are more options to choose from and you can take a look at the menus below.
Hiroo will then start to prepare your meal, but only if there is nobody in front of you. While he does some things in parallel, in general its a series operation and you'll just have to wait your turn.

There does seem to be a bit of an art to this deep frying business, as I've observed him use two different deep fat fryer bins to cook one item - moved from one to the other. Is it a different kind of fat? Different temperature? more research is due.

Your set meal will come with a bowl of rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, shredded cabbage, the main dish, and some thick katsu sauce. The meal also includes green tea.

The chicken special I ordered came with a good slab of chicken and was very moist inside - perfectly done. It also included a very large panko breaded prawn, carrots, and even a few pieces of apple.

By the way, your shoes will need to be left at the door, so please wear socks.

Hiroo has been in Yokosuka operating for eight years. Before that I don't know where he was, but there is a graduation certificate from from 2002 from L'Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise - a French cooking school -  hanging on the wall. I suspect he is like several other family run places around town where he runs the restaurant to stay busy, stay in touch, and help pay some bills. He loves Hawaii, which is obvious from the wall postings in his restaurant.
So stop on in for some great Katsu.

Chicken, carrot, prawn, apple katsu

In addition to the katsu

Trusty rice cooker