Soyoichi

A Yoshoku restaurant in Ningyo-​cho that is famous for beef cutlet.
Do you know Tonkatsu?
Tonkatsu is breaded pork cutlet eaten with tonkatsu sauce. («Ton» means pork, not 10,000 kg). It is a staple item of Japanese Yoshoku culture (Japanized Western food).
Well, what is unique is Soyoichi is that they are famous for Beef Katsu (bifukatsu).
And, it is delicious!
Oh, wait a minute… why wouldn’t more restaurants serve beef katsu?
That is right, there is a reason Tonkatsu became a staple food while «bifu-​katsu» is much more rare. Decades ago, during the Showa period of Japan, people could not afford to buy beef. Pork was a much cheaper option. Even today, quality beef is still significantly more expensive than beef.
So how does Soyoichi manage to serve beef katsu at 1800 Yen per person?
The secret was right in front of my face as I was sitting at one of the counter seat that was over looking the lady who was preparing the meat. She was preparing the beef cuts by putting cuts in the meat. She later told me that she even ages the meat in order to make them tender. She uses the «rump» of the cattle, which is often very tough and therefore used in stews. Name of the cuts of the beef is different for each country, so it is hard to translate, but basically, it is the butt of the cow. It is close to U.S. term beef round. Because this cut is often tough, price is cheaper. They but the key touches on the beef to make is tender, which keeps the cost down.
TASTE: Awesome. I was blown away by how softness of the beef. In addition, I like lean red meat instead of fatty beef. Here, the meat was almost all red lean meat. Note that the thickness of the beef varies from person to person as you can see from the pictures posted by Unilocalers.
SERVICE: People here were really nice and friendly.
WHAT TO ORDER: First time? Order «bifu-​katsu, regular saizu» (Beef cutlet regular size) for 1800 Yen.
HOW TO EAT: They have two types of black sauces in a container. One is thick and one is lighter. Experiment with these two Worcester Sauces. I recommend not pouring the sauce on all of it. Go a few pieces at a time. Feel free to use mustard as well, which compliments Worcester Sauces well. They did not have any special dressing for the sliced cabbages.
SEATING: The entire place is counter seating only. They do have one child seat, so children are welcomed here.
SMOKING: Completely non-​smoking.
CLOSED DATES: They are closed on Sundays and first Monday of the month.
WHEN TO GO: Lunch or dinner. Lunch is more popular with locals.
ALCOHOL: Bottled Kirin beer (no beer of tap), sake, and wine (by glass and bottle).
COST OF MY LUNCH: 1800 Yen.
CONCLUSION: I highly recommend this place. I suggest lunch, but be a bit careful because it might get crowded. I went around 1:15PM on a weekday and there was no wait.