Oct 18, 2014 - 1 min read

Sauce-Katsu Diner "Europe-Ken"

Fukui's most authentic & popular Deep-fried Pork diner

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

Europe-Ken viewed from the street in daytime

Noren curtain hanging at the entrance of Europe-Ken in Fukui reads, 'Western Cuisine'

Inside Europe-Ken; there are western table seats with chairs and also tables on a tatami-mat floor

These are examples of the famous Fukui specialty, Sauce-Katsu-Don (Deep fried pork dipped in special sauce on rice)

At dinner time, it's always crowded like this with many diners

Baby Sauce Katsu Set...they don't look like 'baby-size' pieces to me at all!

There's only one flavor of sauce available here, their special sour sauce, a favorite in Fukui!

For some reason, the statue of a happy-faced Daikoku-ten is displayed here

Autographs of celebrities who have visited this restaurant decorate the wall

Until I started to live in Fukui city, I'd never heard of the name 'Sauce Katsu Don (Deep-fried pork dipped in a special sauce on rice)' in my life. This restaurant, 'Europe-Ken', is the place that EVERYONE recommended that I go, because, this restaurant was founded by the chef who 'invented' it! Europe-Ken's history dates back to 1913. Mr. Masutaro Takabatake, who was born in Fukui, went to Berlin in 1907 for five years to learn western cooking. When he returned to Japan, he opened the restaurant called, 'Europe-Ken' in 1913, first in Tokyo, and it then later moved to Yokosuka. After the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) destroyed his restaurant, he returned to his hometown, Fukui, and founded this restaurant in Katamachi in 1924. So, the 'Sauce-Katsu' served here is the most authentic, original Sauce Katsu of all! If you wonder how it tastes, come try it yourself!