Kagura

As excellent as Japanese katsu – panko-crusted cutlets, most often pork – can be, it achieves perfection when paired with Indian-style curry in what’s often called “katsu curry” at Japanese restaurants. The late LA Times food writer Jonathan Gold correctly noted nearly a decade ago that this lesser-known counterpart to Japan’s increasingly popular ramen noodles wasn’t getting its fair share of attention, but Kagura, a Los Angeles-based katsu specialist with a Little Tokyo location called TOT, might change that. Today, Kagura has a location in Orange County, and it’s somewhere between “pretty good” and “fine.”

Kagura arrived here in 2022, at a point when Orange County was beginning to recover from the pandemic-forced shutdown of Curry House and the decline of international katsu curry chain CoCo Ichibanya. The shop is located in Costa Mesa near the Japanese market Mitsuwa, and depending on what you order, you may be impressed. We found Kagura’s panko breading and frying to be perfect, some items (the crab croquettes and ikageso squid) superb, lightly spicy curry good, and service great. Even the prices are reasonable by today’s standards: Most plates include side dishes, rice, and soup for $20 to $22; beef katsu is available for closer to $32.