An Authentic Japanese Lunch – 7,300 Miles from Japan
Katsura Grill is located in the Japan Pavilion at Epcot, but wasn't technically part of the "park opening" line-up. The location had been called Yakitori House for a good long while... but then went through a little "area refresh" and was re-named Katsura Grill around the end of 2011.It's a counter service location – where you walk-up to the counter, order something, pay for it, and sit wherever you want... but they don't just serve typical "theme park fast food" here at Katsura Grill. I wrote a little about this in the main restaurant description area for Katsura — but this is one of the locations that got me thinking more about splitting our single "Counter Service" experience type — into two different categories... "Counter Service - Common Menu" and "Counter Service - Enhanced Menu".
It would be easy enough for Katsura Grill to pour some teriyaki sauce over a grilled chicken, put it between two buns, add in some coleslaw and a little mayo — and call it a "Japanese" Chicken Sandwich — but they don't. Considering we're 7,300 miles from Japan, (and taking American food safety standards into consideration) — they're serving up just about as authentic Japaneese street food as you're going to find without getting on a plane.
Items like Tonkotsu Ramen, Yasai Udon, and Curry Chicken Cutlet are on the menu (and yes, there are a couple of Teriyaki bowls too... but even those are a little more authentic than typical western-style Asian fast-food). Katsura Grill is not a Disney operated restaurant (which probably explains why there's no fries on the menu) — as far as I know, Mitsukoshi USA is the "operating partner" — and kudos to them for keeping the menu as real as possible.
Seating and Environment
Katsura Grill itself is nestled up in a forested area behind the tall pagoda (where the drummers perform), and you can tell just by looking at it from a distance, they put a lot of effort into the details. There are multiple paths to get up to the restaurant — most involve a couple of steps but there is a ramp on the far right-hand side near the back of the location.
In this photo, the Katsura Grill is the larger building to the back and
right. The menu board is downstairs, but you'll have to walk up to the
restaurant.
Half of the main building features a small indoor dining area — with the other half being order placement and payment lines... and of course, the kitchen area. I have dined in the indoor section on previous trips and the all wood tables are really nice for photos (if you're into taking photos of your food).
The interior seating area at Katsura Grill is moderately sized, but it can get crowded quickly at peak dining times.
However, even though this is an air-conditioned space, I'm not sure the a/c system is super efficient at circulating the air. With what's basically a partially open kitchen on the other side of the room — sushi and searing meat smells do make their way out of the kitchen area and into the dining area after Katsura has been open for a couple of hours. They've added ceiling-based electric fans in the corners of the room — but they don't really help much. If you're super sensitive to kitchen smells while you're eating… the outdoor dining spaces might be a better option.
Fortunately, the outdoor seating areas at Katsura are really nice. The seating area that's really close to the restaurant features somewhat "typical" umbrella covered tables with low stool type chairs. While it might be a little better than the indoor space… it's still a little too close to the hustle and bustle of the "order and payment" line and one of the location's entrance and exit doors for me.
There's even one well-hidden large wooden table in-between the restaurant's two outdoor seating areas. This table is often shaded by the surrounding trees.
The second space is the area I like the best — especially if you're there between peak dining times. There's a really nice wooden deck that features the same type of tables and chairs as the area right next to the restaurant — but the whole area feels like it's surrounded by a forest.
It's worth noting that the chairs on the outside deck at Katsura Grill, do not have any back support and are of the "bar stool" variety, only much shorter.
Okay, you never really can escape from all those theme park sounds — but I always feel like I can kick back and just slow down for a while when I eat in this part of Katsura Grill. You can see and hear the Japaneese taiko drummers when they perform, and (depending on where you sit) can also have a nice view of the gardens and main courtyard below.
Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork-based)
Served with Pork and Vegetables
price at time of review : $15.99
item score : 9/10
Ramen is a staple food item in Japan and each region has their specialty. This isn't the $1.00 ramen you get at the value-mart, where you add water and stick it in the microwave — each region takes great pride in how their noodles and how their broth is made. Most of the time, they'll give you information about what makes their noodles special – but broth recipes are often family secrets handed down over multiple generations.
The Tonkotsu Ramen at Katsura Grill in Epcot's Japan Pavilion.
Tonkotsu (more or less) translates to mean "a rich, creamy pork bone broth"... so the broth here is a little cloudier than something like a chicken soup stock — and where chicken soup is light, Tonkotsu broth has a creamier, slightly heavier and more robust flavor and feeling. The extra fat content in the pork bone broth brings out the flavor of everything else that's in the bowl more than what a chicken broth would.
Before we talk about what's in the bowl though, let's point out something that's not in the bowl — a medium or soft boiled egg. It's very common to see one or two half eggs placed in ramen bowls… but that's not the case here at Katsura Grill. While I'm all for authentic representations of food items, I think this was probably the right call. Katsura Grill is a high-volume location (easily two or three times the size of an actual shop in Japan) and maintaining a safe, consistent supply of medium boiled eggs would be difficult — not to mention it would easily drive the cost of each bowl up two or three dollars.
What is in the bowl – is a great noodle which is slightly thicker than you might be expecting in a traditional Tonkotsu – but cooked to a normal or "futsu" texture.
There's also some "darker noodles" — which aren't noodles at all — those are actually a kind of mushroom called Kikurage which are chewier and a bit softer than the noodles — but super flavorful. Incidentally, when it comes to ramen – anything in the bowl other than the broth and the noodles – is considered a "topping".
The Tonkotsu Ramen at Katsura Grill is an authentic taste of a typical Japanese lunch item. Just in case you were wondering – spoons are available for those that don't want to try slurping while using chopsticks.
Next, there's some scallions or green onions (or chives, it's all basically the same thing), a couple slices of low fat, roasted pork, a little black garlic oil (that's the darker liquid floating on the pork broth)… and my favorite topping, pickled ginger — which brings a little crunch, but also a really bright, fresh complex citrus-like zing to cut through and compliment some of the creamy, meat-like flavors. It's topped with a dash of black pepper as well.
This is a hearty noodle soup — that I think is a perfect introduction to "fresh regional ramen"… especially if all you know if the "add water / microwave" style ramen. That stuff is more like Cup-a-Soup than real Ramen. It is pricey, as far as ramen goes… this bowl would be 850-900 yen in Japan ($5.00)… but the Disney price of $15.99 brings it right in-line with how much other "real food" items cost at a table service restaurant. If it had a few more slices of roast pork in it — this dish would be right at home on any table service menu. It's that good.
Chicken Cutlet Curry
Served with White Rice and Broccoli
price at time of review : $14.99
item score : 10/10
It's not often I give out a perfect 10 to a dish – but the Chicken Cutlet Curry from the Katsura Grill is one of those rare occurrences. It's not because it's super craveable — not like a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and bbq pork would be — but because it's a perfect example of what Chicken Cutlet Curry with Rice is — and it happens to be pretty darn good tasting too!
Katsura Grill's Chicken Cutlet Curry is served with a proper and decent amount of that dark Japanese Curry sauce. Japanese Curry sauce is thicker than an Indian Curry sauce, and not nearly as hot (spicy).
This is exactly the kind of dish you might order if you were on your lunch break in the middle of a busy work week in Tokyo. The rice was perfectly cooked, not too sticky and not too dry either. The blanched broccoli was green, crisp and only seasoned with a light salt which was probably present in the blanching water. The panko bread crumb crusted chicken cutlet was crisp, flakey and hot (in temperature) without being oily... and there was enough Japanese Curry to mix in however you wanted. You could draw a piece of chicken through it and completely cover it, or you can dip a little at a time and mix the sauce with your rice... it's totally up to you... but the fact that there's enough of it there to do all of those things — makes this dish a winner.
Japanese Curry is different than most other regional curry sauces — it's not hot (spicy) like some Indian Curries can be… and if you're not really sure what a curry sauce is — I think Japanese Curry is a perfect place to find out. A Japanese Curry sauce is a little thicker than most other curries, more like a good gravy actually — but instead of hitting your palate over the head with heat or that curry flavor, it's a little sweet and a little savory.
The Chicken Cutlet Curry served with White Rice and Broccoli from Katsura Grill (in the Japan Pavilion at Epcot) is one of those rare items I've given a 10 out of 10 score to. It's authentic, a great value, and definitly Oishī (delicious).
There's actually two parts to what most consider curry — there's the spice combination that's called "curry powder" or blocks of "solidified curry roux" — which is just one ingredient in the curry sauce. The Japanese Curry sauce itself it a combination of things like onions, carrots and usually sweetness from a bit of honey or apples and maybe a little bit of ginger for brightness — along with that curry spice mix. A typical Japanese curry blend wouldn't use much chile powder at all — but relies more on things like coriander, cumin, cardamom, fennel, cinnamon, anise, and nutmeg to build that complex flavor profile that is "curry".
At the time of this review, it was priced at $14.99 and in theme park prices — that's a really good deal, for getting a dish that's easily table-service quality and hitting a notch above where it's priced.
Conclusion
If you're anywhere near the Japan Pavilion and are getting hungry — it's definitely worth a couple extra steps to walk up to Katsura Grill and try anything that sounds good to you on the menu. You'll be getting a little taste of what an everyday lunch in Japan might taste like.While the prices are a dollar or two more than what could get a burger for — you're getting food that's hitting a notch or two above typical theme park counter service food. If it's not too busy (or too hot) — sitting outside in the wooden deck area can provide a really great, relaxing view of the Japanese courtyard below — and if you're lucky... there might even be a Taiko drum performance to make the whole experience more immersive.
