The crispiest tastiest katsu you can find in Richmond. Their saboten set is excellent. Love that they give you picked, and a variety of sauces for dipping.
Albert H.
Place rating: 3 North Vancouver, Canada
I needed to go to Aberdeen Mall for a visit recently, and after watching their commercial on TV the day before, I decided to go and try it out. I ordered their Tenderloin and loin set that consisted of rice, 3 pieces of meat, miso soup and the 2 sauces(1 for the meat, the other for the small batch of vegetables). Honestly, the meat really doesn’t taste terrific, don’t get me wrong, it is definitely okay, but personally I think they kinda over exaggerated how good their meat was on their commercial which I am not surprised as I already thought that might be the case. But nevertheless, the meat was at least relatively good quality, especially for a food court area, so come check this place out if you’re in the neighborhood.
Amber F.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Pretty good cutlet but serves smaller sized cutlet to «small females”/based on their judgement of how much you can eat. Saw them serve my exact order to two other men and the size of their cutlet was clearly larger. My male friend also agreed that he gets a bigger portion when he orders.
Melissa F.
Place rating: 2 Toronto, Canada
Just okay. Nice presentation, subpar taste. Thin curry that makes you wish you were eating the Glico blocks at home. The pork cutlet is ok-without the curry it would be bland.
Jeff F.
Place rating: 3 Burnaby, Canada
I likes me tonkatsu… let’s put that out there. When in Japan, I hunt the places out… generally not chain places(have not been to Saboten in Japan), but more the mom and pop specialty places that are pretty much all over the place. Tiny places that serve basically what Saboten serves… a few different sets of katsu… and really, nothing else. So… let’s give this a try… we were in the neighbourhood because the wife wanted to pick up a few things from Daiso… so why not give a tonkatsu place a try. The wife ordered the mixed set(loin, tenderloin, and prawn), and I ordered the loin and tenderloin set. There was a small wait for the service… but it looked like they were making to order as opposed to the traditional fast food style of having stuff pre-made and sitting under heat lamps. The pork was tasty… it did taste very fresh… the wife who normally doesn’t eat cabbage was liking the shredded cabbage(I guess I should shred it, then maybe she’d eat it at home too). She liked the miso… me… still not liking miso(Not a commentary on their miso… I just don’t care for it). The oshinko(pickles) were ok… the sauce… ok. Nothing hammered home to me that this was great tonkatsu, but it was still a nice treat. I hadn’t had tonkatsu since the last time I made it(and that was a while ago). So… if in the neighbourhood and craving some tonkatsu… I’d definitely come by again. But I’m not making a cross city adventure just to have it… it wasn’t THAT good. Solid 3 — 3 ½ stars.
Vincent T.
Place rating: 2 Seattle, WA
As far as a good katsudon is concerned, it’s nothing to write home about. Quite difficult to find well made donburi in Vancouver, this place being no exception. The blending of eggs and the sauce left a bad aftertaste. A little sour than what I was expecting. The batter is all right, as I said nothing to write home about. As much as I would love to try their tonkatsu and other dishes, if they can’t get a $ 10 katsudon done properly, why would I even try their more complicated dishes. Maybe I should get myself arrested in Tokyo and see how the free katsudon they serve in police stations fare.
Rie N.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
The presentation of the tonkatsu doesn’t look really appealing, but the texture and taste of tonkatsu is totally legit. It’s really crunchy, and it was one of the best tonkatsu I’ve ever head in Vancouver. I wouldn’t mind coming here again :)
Harry L.
Place rating: 3 Markham, Canada
I ordered the curry pork chop cutlet, it was average at best, the sauce was decent, nothing special. While the pork chop crispy on the outside, the inside was a bit rough, maybe overcooked. Though for food court it definitely wasn’t bad.
Wendy L.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
This is good the lineup that the reviews made in 2012 are gone but they still get a small lineup every once or lunch rush hour. I usually get the pork chop onions and egg rice, but I prefer curry tonkatsu and/or the tenderloin set, if you think it’s silly to spend 10 dollars you can always get a frequent stamp card for every three dollars you spend here and the crêpe place and the ice slush place for the best value if you gather up some of the stamps you gather up eventually you’ll rack up stars rather quickly!
Sandy L.
Place rating: 4 Kirkland, WA
Please note this is Saboten EXPRESS, which mean expectation needs to be adjusted. We have been to the one in Hiroshima Shinkansen station. If I compared these two, this Richmond food court location is really bad: Terrible disposable dishware, self service, luke warm rice, small deep fried pork chop. However, I didn’t pay $ 15(what was charged in Japan) or even $ 10 for my tonkatsu curry and the pork tasted very comparable to Japan’s version. Yes it is small but very very tasty. Definitely will be back whenever we are in Vancouver!
Selina L.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
I got the #1 Tenderloin Set. This was actually pretty impressive considering it came from an express chain/food court! The exterior of the pork was lightly breaded, crispy and flakey. The interior however, was rather bland and a tad bit dry. However, I remedied that by dipping it in the sauce that came with the set. The set also came with pickled radishes and a plain salad on the side.
Jeanette T.
Place rating: 5 Surrey, Canada
After living in Japan for 5+ years, I’ve been looking for a good ‘roast katsu’ restaurant. Passed by Sabot many times but just had it today. The pork cutlet is still very moist and the breading is light and fluffy, just like in Japan. Everything about the set reminds me of my favorite ‘katsu’ chain in Tokyo.
Stephanie C.
Place rating: 4 Alameda, CA
Nice ton katsu place at a food court setting! I ate same quality ton katsu in causeway bay(HK) for CAD$ 25 for a same size of lunch set. Saboten tenderloin menu set is only CAD$ 8.75… The pork tenderloin is juicy and tender. The bread crumbs are crispy and not too oily.
Peony L.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
The prices here to the ratio of food you get is really uneven. Don’t get me wrong the pork croquette is really delicious but it’s a whopping 10 $! However, I believe I had this in Hong Kong before. There’s an actual restaurant that is in the mall of the apple store on the top floor. That place was DELICIOUS. Portion was good and the restaurant interior is really nice. Unfortunately, this didnt add up to the one in Asia :(
Billy L.
Place rating: 3 Burnaby, Canada
If you’re a baller with tons of cash money, maybe you should try this pork cutlet. To be more specific, you need to try the Katsudon, which is deep fried pork cutlet on a bed of rice and onions. You will not find a better tasting piece of pork and if you do PLEASE message me. The downsides about this Katsudon is the size compared to the price. You will definitely need more food after you consume this rice bowl unless you eat like a bird. Price vs quantity vs quality, such a struggle to find a balance. On a more positive note, this Katsudon truly reminds me of the Katsudon in Japan and for that reason you should really give it a try.
Rick C.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Lunch in Richmond usually means a quick trip to Aberdeen Centre mall for some sort of Asian delicacies. My go to is Saboten and their express pork cutlet eatery. This time I went with the deep fried pork loin katsu curry plate and tenderloin katsu sandwich. I love katsu curry dishes and mixing the curry, pork, and rice together. Saboten offers some pretty tasty and solid pork cutlet options, all of which are well prepared and tasty.
Gabby S.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
My mom introduced me to this place and I like it. It seemed really clean compared to other fast food joints in the place. I once saw some guy sneezing with some runny nose residue in the Korean stall. Gross. Anyways, everything is made fresh and they are pretty busy so no time for any head scratching or whatever. Yes, deep fried pork… what more do I need to say? Okay, maybe more helping of the shredded cabbage just to balance/soak up the fried bits.
Lauren L.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Out
Annie M.
Place rating: 1 Vancouver, Canada
Saboten is a popular franchise in Asia, and it came to Vancouver finally. It grand opened at Aberdeen center food court. I was hoping to have same Tonkatsu as in Hong Kong/Japan. Tonkatsu means Pork cutlet! Well… Just an average food and not worth to line up for 30 mins to try it out! Hmm. deep friend pork cutlet was crispy and good, it sliced in few small pieces still looked very tiny. The curry was too watery. In addition, it costs $ 9 to eat at food court, worth it???
