Butagumi

This tonkatsu restaurant is tucked away in a residential street on the opposite side of the motorway from the Roppongi Hills complex. It has seating at ground floor level and also upstairs. The menu has an extensive range of pork from different regions of Japan (and even an Iberico pork from Spain) for to you to choose from, though only some of these are available on any given day, marked with a pink sticker.  There was a sort of amuse-bouche of a pair of cherry tomatoes, which had excellent flavour.

I opted for the Kagoshima kurobata fillet (sirloin was also available). This is arguably the most highly regarded pork in Japan, the black pig actually a cross of local pigs with British Berkshire pigs. Tonkatsu involves coating the meat in panko breadcrumbs and deep-frying it. It is traditionally served with a barbecue sauce vaguely similar to Worcester sauce, along with shredded cabbage. The version here was certainly good, and the batter was crisp and not greasy, the pork tender and having plenty of flavour (13/20). The "best " tonkatsu is a matter of heated debate, with advocates of various restaurants such as this one, Maisen, Katsuzen and others. Settling such arguments is ultimately like trying to agree on the best fish and chips, and may be partly a matter of personal taste. The pork came with a bowl of rice, pickles and some fairly ordinary miso soup.

Service was friendly and the bill, with a small beer to drink, came to ¥3,200 (£20) per person. There is also a second branch of Butagumi in the Roppongi Hills complex itself, though the latter does not have the charm of the original building, nor as extensive a menu.