I had an enjoyable dinner on Saturday at Kawanoya, a new Japanese restaurant on Church Street in Noe Valley that opened last December.
The menus - they are in the process of getting an alcohol license - only zero proof drinks on the menu right now.
To drink I had a Coconut Matcha ($8), which was quite nice - matcha green tea with coconut cream and I think coconut water. You mix it up before drinking.
As appetizers I had some skewers - the miso glazed grilled eggplant ($4) for veg which was nicely cooked, the chicken cartilage ($5), which was pleasantly chewy and crunchy and also had some chicken meat attached, and the short rib ($8), which was good but a tad chewy.
And for a main I had the Signature Tonkatsu ($28), which was very good. The tonkatsu cutlet was quite juicy and tender, and the panko crust was crispy. It came in a set with rice, a somewhat under seasoned miso soup, a mound of very finely shaved crisp cabbage which was nice to munch on between bites of tonkatsu, and a mortar and pestle with which to grind sesame seeds from a jar on the table as a dip. There was also a sesame salad dressing for the spinach and tonkatsu sauce on the table along with some ground chili pepper.
Tonkatsu set
Tonkatsu closeup
