I’m a huge fan of Japanese food, but Japanese tasting menus often all come across the same. I get there’s the traditional Kaiseki concept, but why not tweak it into something different and original? Shōwa is a restaurant trying to give a different tasting menu and fine dining experience by providing a tonkatsu tasting menu. That’s right, a tasting menu full of delicious fried goodness. They had me at tonkatsu for sure, so I booked one evening to see if it would be as good as it sounded!
It’s such an amazing looking space when you walk in, and they really want to make you feel like you’re enjoying a your meal, so the there is plenty of space and one doesn’t get the closed in feeling of being at a restaurant trying to squeeze in as many people as possible. There isn’t much on the wine list, but we chose the sake they had, and it was a fantastic pairing for all the food. There are quite a few supplemental dishes, but there is plenty of food, so don’t feel like you need to try them all. They even have a wagyu sando, but we opted for some giant prawns instead. They bring out a few starters for you to work your way around, and my favorite was the the jellied vegetables, but they all had a nice range of flavors and textures to get you excited by the meal. Next up was a tuna hand roll, and if you don’t know how to do it, they show you at the table how to serve it and enjoy.
The real excitement begins when they set you up for all the fried dishes coming out. They provide you with pickles and slaw (that they make at the table) to help lighten up all the fried food, and they have an amazing and delicious homemade sauce that they make with whatever fruits are seasonal. Finally, they provide you with some sesame seeds to grind at the table to add as a topping for whatever you want to add it to. The food was really good too! There was some amazing crispy croquettes and fish that came out, and they suggested we get the prawn grilled, as there was already a lot of fried food (but they will definitely fry it for you if you prefer).
There was an amazing extra course of stone pot rice that they served with some homemade dashi, as well as two more dishes of fried food, including a meatball and some Iberico pork. There was plenty of food and we definitely did not feel hungry at the end of the meal. Finally, they served the last savory course of cold somen noodles in more dashi, and it was a light way to end the savory courses. This was followed by the only dessert, a watermelon shaved ice that was delicious and refreshing, and an excellent way to finish the meal.
Shōwa definitely exceeded my expectations for what a tonkatsu tasting menu could be like with an amazing atmosphere and attentive service. Since it is new, the wine and drink list is still evolving, but I’m hoping they can push that to new limits as well. I’m definitely going to head back here for more fried food in the future, and hopefully the menu changes with the seasons!
Score: 4.5/5
Shōwa
1550 Howard St
San Francisco, CA 94103
