The curry I am eagerly waiting for is here. Goro Chiki Curry!! It has chunky pieces of chicken in a large portion, with a spicy and flavorful sauce. When these come together, it creates the best curry. It was once brought back to the regular menu but is now limited edition again (this time limited to 800,000 servings). I will eat it at least 3 more times during this period!! It was delicious! Thank you for the meal!

Visit on a regular night. There were about 5 customers already there. There were some concerns like the half-tickets of the previous customers not being removed, but overall the cleanliness was acceptable. While self-service is becoming more common in Matsuya restaurants, this particular location seems to have a lower level of self-service due to structural reasons, as they provide water and bring the food to your table. I purchased the Chicken Meat Plate with 3 pieces for 680 yen from the ticket machine. It was served in about five minutes. Since it is a beef bowl restaurant, the taste of the rice is better compared to other chain restaurants like Yoshinoya. Additionally, the chicken side dish was quite tasty, and I think it's good that it's healthier compared to other donburi and set menu options at Matsuya.

24-hour operation is a great ally for dining alone. Matsuya offers a variety of set meals, but my favorite is the hamburger, especially with demi-glace sauce. I wish I could add more spice without worrying about others watching. (laughs) I always think about going low-carb, but end up getting extra rice. The affordable prices are really helpful. I can get full for less than 1000 yen. Thank you for the meal. I will definitely visit regularly. (laughs)

I finished my night shift on May 6th in Japan and felt tired. There weren't as many customers as I expected, but I decided to treat myself to lunch at Matsuya Nakano store. I ordered the limited-time Chicken Curry with Onsen Tamago. The curry was a bit too spicy and garlicky for my taste, but it was interesting to see it being made right in front of me, unlike at the Ikegami store where the kitchen is hidden. Adding the Onsen Tamago halfway through made the spiciness milder. I thought this dish would become a permanent menu item, but it seems like it will remain limited-time only. Thank you, Matsuya, I look forward to more delicious meals in the future.

On New Year's Eve, at the awkward time of 4:30 in the evening, I was looking for an early dinner spot. The soba restaurants were crowded, and I wasn't in the mood for soba anyway. Then, a yellow sign caught my eye. "I know, I'll have some curry gyudon!" I heard a few years ago that "Matsuya's curry is delicious, you can't underestimate it," and when I tried it, it was really tasty. After a long time, I tried it again, and it was still rich, spicy, and delicious. They now include black pepper in a separate packet, which is an improvement, but it's still best to sprinkle it on and eat the curry and meat together. It's the type of curry that makes you want to eat more rice, which was a bit challenging to balance. Oh, Matsuya, you can't underestimate it... it was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

There was a coupon, so I tried the chicken Nanban-style dish, but it was different from what I expected. I won't order this again.

Because of my job, I always come home late and exhausted, so I usually get takeout on my way back. There are many foreign staff members and customers trickling in towards the last train. Matsuya is consistently good! I always get the Kalbi bowl to take home, and I never get tired of it. I'll be back soon.

Cheese tteokbokki hot pot, mini rice. Customer service skills are too low.

Cheese tteokgalbi hot pot

I visited Matsuya in front of Tokyu Naka-Nobu Station for lunch. The Matsuya here is a long, narrow store resembling an eel's bed. I have been using it many times since long ago. It is quite crowded during lunchtime. I quickly purchased a large serving of Kimukaru bowl, raw egg, and vegetable salad set at the ticket machine. The total cost was 760 yen. When I sat at an empty seat, the staff came to take the food ticket without saying a word. The staff here are two Asian foreign women, with no friendliness or energy. Soon enough, the Kimukaru bowl in a large serving, miso soup, raw egg, and vegetable salad arrived. The Kimukaru bowl is a bowl with kimchi, kalbi, and chopped seaweed on top. The sauce is sweet and savory, making it easy to eat. Now, I tried adding the raw egg this time. It definitely becomes milder. Adding raw egg to the Kimukaru bowl was the right choice. It elevated the taste to a higher level. Matsuya's most consistently good bowl dish. Thank you for the meal.

Visited on the morning of May 29, 2018 (Tuesday) around 8:00 am. The restaurant is located just a 1-minute walk from the Tokyu Oimachi Line "Nakano" station, and a 2-minute walk from the Toei Subway Asakusa Line "Nakano" station, right in front of the station. There is a food ticket vending machine on the left side of the entrance, and a long kitchen in the back to the right, with 18 counter seats in front of it. Just before I posted this review, the restaurant had 7 reviews and a rating of "3.00 points" (night use: 3.00 points, daytime use: 3.00 points). There were 3 customers before me and 4 customers after me. The restaurant was run by a female staff member. I purchased a "Sausage Egg Set Meal (Premium Beef Side Dish) for 400 yen (tax included)" from the ticket machine. While Matsuya's morning set meal started at the lowest price of 360 yen (tax included), they had introduced a "Tamago Kake Gohan for 290 yen (tax included)". Matsuya, which is aiming to move away from the low-price route, surprisingly offered low-priced menus. The variety of morning set meals has increased, which is a nice service. It is also nice that you can choose a side dish with the Tamago Kake Gohan. You can choose from a mini beef dish, natto, cold tofu, or grated yam. The food is cooked after you order. The sausages are microwaved and then grilled on a hot plate, so it takes some time. But the fried egg takes even longer. A round iron ring is dipped in oil and placed on the hot plate, and a raw egg is cracked into it. The "standard morning set meal" ordered by the customer who came after me was served first, but I didn't mind. Of course, the mini beef dish is probably served quickly as well. The food was served in 5 minutes. The main dish, fried egg, and sausage were served with shredded cabbage. The mini beef dish was made with premium beef, which I think offers good value for money. The pickles were lightly pickled Chinese cabbage. Since it's the season, it will probably change to pickled cabbage soon. The miso soup was an average one with seaweed and fried tofu. It used to be made with raw miso, but now it's automatically poured from a server, which is disappointing. It has fallen to the same level as the miso soup at Yoshinoya. And the seaweed sheet has been reduced from the giant size it used to be to a normal size. I think this is a hidden price increase and a loss of Matsuya's uniqueness. Restaurants have a hard time recruiting part-time workers as there are very few applicants. Even high school students in Tokyo are paid around 1,000 yen per hour. They have no choice but to rely on foreign workers, but it's still tough. I can only hope that the price of the Sausage Egg Set Meal doesn't go up. The menu for small beer mugs and highballs was displayed at the storefront, are they targeting casual drinking? Or are they aiming to add to the set meals? The total bill for this day was 400 yen. Thank you for the meal.

Visited on the morning of November 10, 2016, around 8:20 am. The restaurant is located a 1-minute walk from the Tokyu Oimachi Line "Nakanobu" Station, and a 1-minute walk from the above-ground entrance/exit of the Toei Subway Asakusa Line "Nakanobu" Station. The entrance has the kitchen on the right, and in front of it, there are 18 counter seats arranged in an L-shape. There are no table seats, and it is a small shop. Immediately to the left of the entrance, there is a food ticket vending machine where you can purchase tickets in advance. Credit cards cannot be used, but transportation electronic money is accepted. The takeout counter is located at the back of the store. There were 2 customers already seated and 4 customers who came after. The shop was being run by a female staff member alone. I selected the "Sausage Egg Set Meal (Premium Beef Bowl) for 400 yen (tax included)" from the vending machine. This menu was something I had eaten over 200 times at the shop in front of Nishinomiya Station during my business trips to Nishinomiya City in Hyogo Prefecture over the past year. It was my first time at a Matsuya restaurant in the Kanto region in a while. I had forgotten that the beef bowl was a premium beef bowl. I was surprised to see that the price of the beef bowl was not 290 yen but 380 yen! Outside the Kanto region, the beef bowl is still 290 yen nationwide. Also, Matsuya restaurants in Kansai have udon menus available, although they are limited to specific stores. It's refreshing to see a Matsuya restaurant that doesn't serve udon (laughs). The food arrived in 4 minutes. It was the familiar and reliable taste that I'm used to. However, the premium beef side dish made the meal feel more valuable compared to eating at Matsuya in Kansai. As I observed other customers' dishes, I noticed that the grilled fish in the grilled fish set meal was microwaved first before being grilled on the hot plate. I feel like they used to serve the microwaved fish as it is, but maybe I'm mistaken? Matsuya restaurants introduce many limited-time menus, so I think customers won't get tired of them. If you dine in the restaurant, you will receive complimentary miso soup, which is a nice touch. However, changing the miso soup to tonjiru suddenly increases the price, which is a bit questionable. Other major beef bowl chain restaurants offer the option to change to tonjiru for around an additional 100 yen, so it would be nice if Matsuya could consider this. The total bill for this day was 400 yen. Thank you for the meal.

At Matsucchan, the morning set meal is quite good after a long time. You can choose from 4 favorite side dishes. I used to think it was a pork dish, but this time it was a premium beef dish. I forgot how to eat it, but first, I finished the salad with sesame dressing. Then, I put a sunny-side-up egg on top of the rice and cut the sausages into quarters. Oh, the meat juice splattered when I cut it with chopsticks, so I had no choice but to calm down. I poured oil, finely chopped 3 sheets of seaweed with my fingers, and the person next to me seemed familiar with the food as they crumpled the seaweed bag with both hands before putting it on. Each person had a different way of eating, so watching them was also fun. After eating about 2/3, I finally tried the premium beef dish. It was delicious! Next time, I'll try the rice bowl. Thank you for the delicious meal!

I had "gyudon" (beef bowl) for breakfast. It might seem a bit heavy for the morning, right? Well, I'm not that young anymore... (laughs) But for me now, it's actually a late-night meal! Yes, because I just finished a night shift. By the time it's early morning around 6 am, the options for eateries are limited. I tend to lean towards 24-hour chain restaurants. So, I chose my favorite, "Matsuya." I've had their breakfast set meals many times, so this time I went for the "gyudon." Even though I've had "gyudon" countless times... (^^;) I still crave it, perhaps because of the generous portion for the price. In terms of taste, I personally think "Yoshinoya" is superior. I've mentioned this before, but I believe "Yoshinoya" is on a different level. However, considering the balance of price and portion, "Matsuya" is hard to beat. With miso soup included at this price point and portion, it's comparable to "Yoshinoya." Another reason I often choose "Matsuya" is the service. While it may not surpass "Yoshinoya," it comes close in my opinion. So, with that in mind, I made the choice, and it turned out to be a great decision. Of course, service quality can vary depending on the store, time of day, and staff... but the service during the early morning hours was excellent. ~~~(deleted for removal request)~~~ The service here was top-notch. They really did a great job handling the busy early morning hours. I was the only one nodding in agreement, huh? (sweat) The service here was impeccable. I will continue to patronize "Matsuya" in the future.

After leaving there, we headed to this place as a tradition! [Exterior] It looks like this... [Interior] It's like this... or rather, it's about the staff... laughing as we drink bottled beer while waiting a bit... [Beef bowl (regular size)] Ta-da! Tonight's finale is these guys... As expected from Matsuya, it's 280 yen with miso soup! We enjoyed it deliciously this day and were happy! ★★★ Below is the first appearance on this blog ★★★ After leaving there, we headed to this place! It's been quite a while since our last visit! [Exterior] It looks like this... Well, since it's a chain store, I think everyone is familiar with the exterior... [Interior] Even in the late night hours, there are customers inside... It's not crowded, but... [Spicy curry (regular size)] Ta-da! This day's drink (curry is a drink... by Uganda Tiger) choice is this one! (laugh) [Zoomed-in Spicy Curry (regular size)] Ta-da! It looks like this... It's a rather watery type of curry, isn't it... The fact that it has pickled ginger instead of radish is very characteristic of a beef bowl restaurant, isn't it... (laugh) [Beef bowl (regular size)] Ta-da! The finale meal of my companion is this one! A classic menu choice for my companion (laugh) [Completion of Spicy Curry (regular size)] It was really... quite spicy and surprising... laughing as we quickly gulped it down... Finished drinking it all... We enjoyed it deliciously this day and were happy!

■ Atmosphere and Ambiance This is a Matsuya branch located in front of Naka-Noborito Station on the Tokyu Oimachi Line. There are no other fast food chains or beef bowl restaurants in Naka-Noborito, making Matsuya the only 24-hour option. Depending on the time of day, it can be crowded, but it's quite convenient. The seating consists of around 15 counter seats only. ■ Food and Taste I had the regular size pork bowl for the first time in a while, which came with miso soup for 290 yen. Lately, I've been changing the miso soup to tonjiru (+180 yen) every time, so it was nostalgic to have it with miso soup. The miso soup ingredients, fried tofu and seaweed, have remained the same since the old days. ■ Ordered Menu Items - Regular Pork Bowl (290 yen) - Vegetable Salad (100 yen)

Located near Naka-Nobu Station where the Tokyu Oimachi Line and Toei Subway Asakusa Line connect. When you exit the ticket gate, go left and you'll see the restaurant on your left side right away. It's a small shop on the first floor facing the road, so it's easy to spot. During dinner time, it can get quite crowded due to the limited space inside. Most of the customers are business-looking men. There's a Chinese restaurant next door, but I prefer dining here as it's usually less crowded. Many people order the beef bowl, which surprisingly has a refreshing taste with the onions and rice soaking up the flavor nicely. It's quite delicious.