We were searching for an affordable and quick place to eat in Shinjuku. We looked on Google Maps and found Tatsuya Gyudon in Shinjuku. The restaurant is a small hole in the wall located directly east of Shinjuku Station. The restaurant appeared to be popular with the locals. During our brief stop, we saw a large number of people pass through for a quick bite to eat.
The restaurant is pretty small with about a dozen or so bar stools wrapped around an open kitchen area. The space is very dense with various appliances put anywhere they can fit. One guest we saw had a lot of bags. He was asked by the kitchen staff to just put it on top of a refrigerator behind his seat. There are also coat hangers along the wall for jackets.
The service at Tatsuya is very efficient. Upon walking in a staff member ushered us to two empty stools in the corner. Before we had a chance to sit down, he had two cups of cold tea on the counter.
Tatsuya Menu
The menu was quite simple with six main items to choose from. The main menu items were a gyudon (beef bowl), toridon (chicken bowl), katsudon (katsu egg bowl), tamagodon (egg bowl), oyakodon (chicken & egg bowl), and katsu gyudon (bowl that combined the katsu egg bowl with the beef bowl).
After looking over the menu for a brief second, we ordered our food. We decided to try their gyudon (beef bowl) and their oyakudon (chicken & egg bowl). We also decided to splurge and make it a set meal which added a side of pickled vegetables and a bowl of miso soup for a whopping ¥100 each.
Note: The bowls are quite filling, but if you’re looking for more food, large and extra large portion sizes are available for a small extra fee.
Tatsuya Food Review
After ordering, our food came out lightning fast. The gyudon was first out, it was in front of us within two minutes of ordering. The oyakudon took a little bit longer, but was out within five minutes.
The gyudon had a decent amount of well marinated beef with onions and tofu. The meat was marinated in a sweet soy based sauce with the excess flowing onto the rice below. The beef was cut super thin and was delicious. The oyakodon was tasty, the egg and onion had good flavor. The chicken was tender, juicy, and most importantly not dry. The side of pickled vegetables added a nice contrasting sour flavor and the hot miso soup was perfect on a cold winter day. The set cost of only ¥100 was hard to pass up.
Final Thoughts
I you’re looking for a hole in the wall/mom & pop type of place frequented by locals, then we highly recommend Tatsuya Gyudon in Shinjuku for its delicious, affordable, and quick food.
More to Come…
Here is the link to their Facebook Page.