saboten

we went to eat lunch here for a post-birthday celebration for my mother after doing some shopping. it was lunchtime so understandably there were many people already. there was no one to greet us at the door so we just entered and when we did they asked us for how many, we were showed were to sit after a while.
we ordered the tuna katsu set, tenderloin katsu set, chicken cutlet set, iced teas for our drink, and the matcha lychee cake for dessert.
we were givenservicewater while waiting, and in a few minutes the cabbage salad was served, followed by our iced tea. the salad was really delicious, and i'm glad my mother liked it since the treat is for her. the rest of our food was served within 10-15 minutes. we asked for spoon and fork since there is soup, and we're really not good at using chopsticks 😄. as for the taste of the food, everything was delicious, the katsu was cooked perfectly and not oily at all. their condiments also complimented it, we really love the dressing provided at the table for the cabbage, and also the katsu sauce. iced tea was also good, and the matcha lychee cake is the perfect dessert to end this lunch.
the only thing that prevented this lunch from being a perfect dining experience was the service, it seems to me that they are understaffed on a sunday. we had to ask four different persons for our iced tea to be refilled, and finally the fourth person we asked refilled it. i don't know if they are understaffed or the staff we asked for the refills forgot about it. anyway, getting the bill was easy, and i still would want to go back to try other dishes.

the good:

- i ordered the mixed set composed of a deep fried shrimp, 300g of tenderloin and crab cream croquette. super love the croquette and the shrimp!
- i enjoyed the super fresh cabbage.
- the place is great. it is nicely decorated, semi-japanese feel.
- fortunate enough to arrive exactly 6pm. we were able to be seated immediately. after we finished eating, quite a long waiting line outside.

the bad:

-serviceis quite slow. one of the waiters is quite rude actually. he tried to clean up my plate while my wife is still eating. when i asked him to wait until my wife is done, i saw him make a face. however, other servers were nice and accommodating.

- food plating is sloppy. see picture for proof.
- maybe they should increase the 300g tenderloin included in the mixed set.

the plus:

- it is zomato gold particpant. hence, you get to save in your bill. we only paid 480 pesos for 2 mixed set. such a great deal!

as always food here was very delicious. greatservicefrom the employees even though the place was packed. the tenderloin katsu was very good.

food was good. katsu was cooked well and theservicewas fast. it is worth my money and will definitely go visit this place again. i love the katsu sauce as it was not too thick!

consistently one of the best katsu place since 2014.
and they got even better with the zomato gold experience.

highly recommendable.

customerserviceis very commendable.

quality if food is high and outstanding.

definitely value for money.

looking forward to more visits.

very similar to yabu, but their location is in a nice environment. place is comfortable and foodserviceis okay, recommended for family dining.

we usually eat here because we like the place,serviceand the food - fried pork cutlet with unlimited cabbage salad, rice, misu soup and pickles. the store also honors zomato gold promos and have a menu to our liking. lately we noted a slight change, they now serve your toasted sesame seeds already grounded, we miss the mortar and pestle for grinding the sesame seeds, it was a ritual that is part of meals in saboten.

it was my first time using zomato gold and got curious about saboten's high rating so my friend and i tried it yesterday. their katsu was really good and tender. theservicewas also good. they were very polite and accommodating and very generous in giving refills. i got confused at first on how 1+1 gold perk works but good thing the server explain to me the terms and conditions on my app. i should've read it in the first place. we will definitely come back to try other katsu.

did not provide sauce for my tenderloin take out. can’t even take out a small portion of cabbage when i paid for the set. i’ll go to yabu next time. theirserviceis way better.

food is excellent. but theserviceneeds to be improved. staff should be attentive. most of them just ignore customers. some makes face after taking customer's order.

saboten (bgc) have that classic feel/ambience of a japanese zen garden.servicewas okay. ordered tenderloin and loin set. presentation of the food seems dull. loin meat was stale and flat. if one craves to eat tonkatsu, they may explore other restaurants offering this viand.

so far my most favorite tonkatsu place!! the bread crumbs they use are lighter and crunchier. quality of the meat was fantastic and their prawns were huge.servicewas great! i wish they open a branch in qc soon. 🤞

i dined here twice in a span of 5 months (the first one was last april and the second visit was last september 2019). i used my zomato gold on both visits and here was my experience:

on my first visit (april 2019), i was able to use my 1+1 food privilege. no specific food item for the second order (shared sets are excluded) so my husband and i got the rolled cutlet meal and a katsu curry meal for him. we only paid for the one with the higher price.

on my second visit (september 2019), i dined there again with my husband and brother. saboten has changed their terms on the 1+1 privilege - the main dish available for the second item are a la carte cutlets (3 choices: tenderloin, loin and chicken cutlets). rice, soup and cabbage are charged with additional fee. i'm not sure if this is still the same or they have changed their terms again. no complaints though as every restaurant has their own terms on using the zomato gold privilege.

food was superb. i love the rolled cutlets with cheese. line is long especially during lunch time but staff is organized in handling the line.servicewas just okay - hard to call their attention and they sometimes forget your request.

i do not usually write a review but i was totally disappointed so im writing this.servicewas slow and i feel they prioritize foreign customers.

my favorite katsu place. great for dine-in (and even delivery). very consistent quality of food.serviceis also great based on my experiences.