Guru Katsu

Reviews 16

HI

Hisako Kuroki

NOTE TO ALL PEOPLE THINKING OF COMING HERE: As a few reviews say it is definitely a katsu only place. So if you dont like chicken or pork this is not the place for you. That said, onto the review. The first part of the review is for the cheese katsu kare. Pork pieces were cooked very well. The curry was a bit on the warm side rather than hot, which is a shame but it still tasted good. The vegetables were great and went well with the curry. Very authentic. 4.5/5 Side note: the friend who I went with knows the chef and I talked with him after our meal. He is from Japan originally (as well as I) and as such obviously speaks Japanese and understands Japanese culinary. Service was pretty quick as there werent many people in the restaurant (in my opinion due to bad location after having tried the food). After our meal they gave us free cotton candy which was pretty cool, not sure if that has to do with the fact it was July 4th but I will find out today when I go back. They checked up on us asking if we needed more water, if everything was good, etc. 4.5/5. Prices were a bit on the medium side (11.75 for my meal and 11.25 for the shochu), but it is the bay area of California so not much to say there. I have had very high quality tonkatsu kare at sushi maru in Japantown San Jose, and it is about $3 cheaper so I have to say that. Alcohol selection is very limited (2 beer types iirc and one kind of Shochu; no sake :cc) so I will dock them a bit there. 3.5/5 Decor is very aptly themed and they play J-music. They also have little dragon ball z figures (vegeta goku krillin and buu) above the door on the inside. Pretty neat. 4/5. All in all, great place, hole in the wall location. Will upload pictures later.

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WI

Winston Cheuk

Years back when I was in college, one of our housemates introduced me to Japanese food. I don’t mean this was the first time I had Japanese food; this was the first time that I had real, home cooked food and was introduced to some great little Japanese restaurants back in the South Bay that my family now frequent. And more recently, he showed us and our friends around some great eats in Tokyo. So when he told me about Guru Katsu, I had pretty high expectations. I’ll just jump into the food review with an analogy from one of my favorite films; it was like that scene at the end of the Pixar film Ratatouille when food critic Anton Ego takes a bite of Remy’s take on the vegetable stew and Ego immediately flashes back to his childhood. Yes, a bit hyperbolic but it really brought back great college memories for me, my wife and our friends. Since the menu is pretty simplistic (it’s a katsu place after all), Guru Katsu does katsu very well. Although my wife and I have only tried a few plates on the menu, what we tasted has been great. The atmosphere is nice and cozy, staff (especially the GM) is great and one of my favorite gauges of restaurant quality—bathroom cleanliness—is also excellent. My wife and I miss Japan—the food benchmark for both of us. But having Guru Katsu nearby brings Japan a bit closer to home.

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PA

Palmer Lao

This is a really cool place! The service while I was there was great. He was super friendly and gave a great summary of their offerings. I ended up going with the hirekatsu. The miso soup and a small mortar and pestle filled with sesame seeds came out first. Youre meant to grind up the sesame seeds, put a bit of sauce (in a squeeze bottle on the table) over the hirekatsu, and then pour some of the grinded up sesame seeds over for a bit of extra flavor. The hirekatsu also came with a bowl of rice and a pile of chopped up cabbage, a tomato wedge, and some pickles as a salad, which went well with the house salad dressing (also in a squeeze bottle on the table). The mural in the restaurant is super cool too! Id highly recommend it for a casual lunch or dinner.

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MA

Marie Dorothy Anne Liamzon

They give you A LOT of food for the price, which is a good value for money. Its a small place, but there wasnt a wait when I went there for dinner on a Friday night. Ive been looking for a restaurant that serves japanese curry and I was so excited to see it on their menu. I ordered the pork katsu with cheese and curry. When my food came, I was disappointed with the fact that there wasnt that much flavor. The curry tasted diluted and the pork itself didnt have that much flavor either. I might come back here to try their other dishes though. Maybe it was just a bad day.

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KE

Keith Buck

Pretty good restaurant specializing in katsu. I would have liked the katsu to be a bit more tender, but it was still good. It would be nice if they offered different amounts of spiciness for the katsu curry as right now the only offering is essentially mild curry. I was rather disappointed by the Guru Don in comparison to the standard Katsu Don that they also offer, but thats personal preference.

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DA

Dane Jacobson

Excellent Japanese curry! Get the standard katsu with rice or spaghetti, skip the mozzarella-filled loin, the cheese doesnt add much other than calories. If you like Japanese curry, you wont be disappointed. The manager (owner?) of the store was very attentive to our table and even brought extra pickles to the table for my girlfriend. Highly recommend this place.

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SH

Shea Jackman

Bland unimaginative food. Noodles tasted like shop bought spaghetti. The pork was OK but could have done with some more flavour. The "sauce" I imagine was tomato passata from a jar - tasteless. The waiting staff were very pleasant!

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RE

Rei Alexandra Aoyama

Cotton candy!!! I know. Fresh cotton candy for dessert after Katsu don. I have pork spicy miso katsudon which topped with fried egg. Not to watery but on a sweet side. Will definitely come back.

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FE

Felix Hernandez

Katsu is really the star here, as it is prepared in many tasty ways, from the basic Rosu Katsu to spiced Katsu Curry. This is a casual restaurant enlivened by Japanese modern decor and pop music.

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ME

Meredith Mundy

Just opened a couple of weeks ago. Traditional Japanese Katsu restaurant. Dont come here looking for sushi or ramen, because its just katsu. And because all they do is Katsu...its GOOD katsu!

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BI

Bill Belew

My favorite place to go when I have a hankering for Japanese food similar to what I enjoyed spending nearly 20 years in the Land of the Rising Sun. Big portions, authentic Japanese flavor. Yum!

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LE

Lev Stefanovich

Delicious katsu at a good price. If you are not into breaded and fried meats, this might not be the place for you. Otherwise, it is a nice restaurant with cute decorations and good food.

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BR

Brian Bulkowski

Gosh I wish I liked this place better. Nice small space, fanatical about one dish, but I live japanese curry and thier curry is rich but not multilayer enough. It is ok, but....

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SH

Shirley Song

Very good curry - slightly spicy. I liked the pork better than the chicken but it was a good portion of food for the price. Very cute restaurant - smelled of katsu :)

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BO

bogie

Tastes terrible, tiny portion, way over priced. For the price, you can go to any sushi place and get better tasting, bigger portion, at a real restaurant.

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MA

Mary C

Delicious katsu don with lots of meat. Also, it was not too salty. Standard Mountain View prices. Parking lot if kinda small.

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