Ilove eating with friends, but that’s not always feasible. Sometimes, I have a spontaneous break in my schedule to grab a bite. Or I might get a craving, but not everyone is in the mood for fried food. So impromptu solo dining for me usually means a bottle of water and a bag of kakimochi.
Enter Katsu Zen, Honolulu’s newest tonkatsu restaurant. It’s not a typical restaurant, though. If you’ve been to Japan, you may be familiar with the “flavor concentration booths” at Ichiran, where you have a completely private, solo ramen dining experience. You don’t have to talk to anyone, not even the staff.
Katsu Zen is a similar experience, only the entrée is katsu. Tonkatsu. Chicken katsu. Menchi katsu. Katsu don. It’s not a plate lunch—you get a full set on nice plates and bowls, so you can slow down and enjoy your meal instead of blowing through it.
You grab a seat at the partitioned counter, scan the QR code to order, and the kitchen magically knows which window to deliver the order to. If you need something, you ring the buzzer and hand the anonymous server a card that reads “more water please,” “more cabbage please,” “more rice please,” or “I’m getting up for a moment, I’ll be back in less than 10 minutes,” so they don’t take away your food. If you go with a friend, you can unlatch the partitions between seats…