Chicken katsu has properly taken over London, and once you have had a good one, you get why. Crispy panko chicken, that curry sauce, rice sitting underneath get it right and honestly not much else comes close. But here is what most people miss until they are sat down at an actual Japanese restaurant. Curry is only half of the chicken katsu story. Ikkan Sushi on Marylebone Road worked out ages ago.
Four completely different ways to eat chicken katsu on the same menu. A curry, a bite, a roll, and a futomaki each one doing something genuinely different with the same ingredient and none of them feeling like a variation just to fill out the menu. Start with an ingredient this good and coming up with new ways to serve it stops being a stretch, it is just smart thinking.
What Good Chicken Katsu Actually Feels Like
Not every chicken katsu in London deserves the attention it gets. Thick heavy coating, shallow marinade, sauce that tastes like it came from a packet you have probably had that version, and you know exactly what it feels like to be let down by something that should have been brilliant.
Proper chicken katsu is a different thing entirely. Panko breadcrumbs lighter and coarser than regular breadcrumbs that create a crunch which holds up rather than going soggy. Chicken is tender inside because the preparation was done right not because it was undercooked. And a sauce that has depth rather than just sweetness. That is the difference between a good katsu and a forgettable one. Ikkan Sushi manages to get this right across every version on the menu, and somehow does it without ever turning it into a big deal.
Chicken Katsu Curry
The one most people come looking for when they search for katsu curry near me. And fair enough the Chicken Katsu Curry at Ikkan Sushi is the kind of version that makes people who thought they already knew what katsu curry was realize they did not quite.
Indian curry does its own thing. Thai curry does its own thing. Japanese curry does not try to compete with either of them it just goes somewhere else entirely. Mild, a little sweet, savory in that deep, quiet way, and smooth enough that putting it into words is genuinely difficult until a proper bowl is sitting in front of you.
That contrast katsu crunch against warm smooth sauce is the whole point of the dish. Ikkan Sushi gets it right every time without making a thing about it. Nobody sits down with chain restaurant katsu curry and thinks it needs fixing, mostly because there has been nothing around to suggest otherwise. Then the Chicken Katsu Curry at Ikkan Sushi turns up, and for a fair number of people, that is the first real point of comparison they have had.
Chicken Katsu Bites
Not every day is a full rice bowl day and that is completely fine. The Chicken Katsu Bites are for the days when you want the katsu experience without committing to a whole meal around it. Bite sized pieces, same panko coating, same quality chicken just in a format that works as a starter, a snack, or something to put in the middle of the table while everyone figures out what else they want.
And here is what makes the Bites specifically worth ordering rather than just treating them as a smaller curry. Because the pieces are smaller, there is more crunch per bite. The panko coating gets to do more of the work, and every piece has that snap that good katsu is supposed to have. It is the same ingredient doing something slightly different just by changing the format, and it works brilliantly.
They disappear off the plate before anyone plans them to. Order two portions if the table is larger than two people.
Chicken Katsu Avocado Roll
This is where Ikkan Sushi takes chicken katsu somewhere most Japanese restaurants do not bother going. A uramaki roll rice on the outside, nori inside filled with crispy chicken katsu and avocado. Six pieces at £6.95 for takeaway and one of the more interesting things on the menu for anyone who wants to see what happens when Japanese comfort food meets Japanese sushi technique in the same dish.
Getting the katsu crunch to survive inside a sushi roll is where most places drop the ball. The coating goes soft, the whole thing loses whatever made it worth ordering in the first place, and what is left is fine, sure, but not really what you asked for. Ikkan Sushi gets it right.
The katsu holds its crunch inside the roll; the avocado adds that creaminess alongside it, and the whole thing has a texture combination that makes complete sense the moment you try it. And why wouldn’t it? These ingredients were made for each other.
Chicken Katsu Avocado Futomaki
Futomaki is the traditional thick roll nori on the outside, generous filling inside, and a format that has been part of Japanese cuisine far longer than most of the things that show up on Japanese menus in London. The Chicken Katsu Avocado Futomaki at Ikkan Sushi is the most traditional format on the chicken katsu section of the menu and also the most affordable at £5.95 for takeaway.
The difference between this and the uramaki roll is immediately obvious when you eat them side by side. The futomaki gives the filling room the katsu crunch, the avocado, and the seasoned rice all register together rather than one at a time. It is a more generous bite, a different balance, and a completely different experience even though the ingredients are exactly the same.
Most people do not think about the difference between uramaki and futomaki before they order. But the moment both versions are on the table at the same time, nobody needs an explanation. Everyone has an opinion pretty quickly and it tends to be a strong one.
Chicken Katsu Crunchy Roll
Worth mentioning here because it adds one more dimension to what Ikkan Sushi does with chicken katsu, and it is a dimension worth knowing about. Six pieces, crispy panko coating on the outside of the roll as well as inside so you are getting crunched from the crunchy roll format and crunch from the katsu at the same time. Two kinds of crispy in one bite.
For food lovers working through the chicken katsu range at Ikkan Sushi this is the one to finish on. Most indulgent, most texturally interesting, and the one that makes the most convincing case for why chicken katsu in sushi format belongs on every japanese restaurant menu in London.
Why the Chicken Katsu Range at Ikkan Sushi Stands Out
Most Japanese restaurants in London do one version of chicken katsu. Two at most. Ikkan Sushi on Marylebone Road does five different formats, different price points, and different eating experiences. That range says something about how seriously the kitchen takes this particular ingredient and technique.
The standard does not change across the five versions. Same quality chicken, same panko coating approach, same attention to getting the crunch right in every format. And the prices are honest from £5.95 for the Futomaki takeaway up to £9.95 for the Crunchy Roll. For sushi in Marylebone that covers this much ground with this much consistency, that is a range worth exploring properly rather than just ordering one and calling it done.
Conclusion
Most food lovers think they already know what chicken katsu is. A few bites at Ikkan Sushi tend to revise that. The curry is the one people come for. Futomaki is the one that surprises them. The Crunchy Roll is the one they go gaga over on the way home. And the Bites are the ones they wish they had ordered two portions from the start.
Ikkan Sushi on Marylebone Road does chicken katsu four ways and does all of them properly. That is really all that needs to be said.
FAQs
What chicken katsu dishesdo Ikkan Sushi serve?
Curry, Bites, Avocado Roll, Avocado Futomaki, and Crunchy Roll. Each one is worth trying for different reasons.
What is the difference between the Chicken Katsu Roll and Futomaki?
Uramaki has rice outside, nori inside. Futomaki flips with more filling inside. Same ingredients, completely different bites.
Is the Chicken Katsu Curry spicy?
Not at all, mild and slightly sweet. Nothing that catches anyone off guard.
What are Chicken Katsu Bites?
Bite sized crispy panko chicken at £6.95 takeaway. They go fast. Order more than one portion.
How much does Chicken Katsu Curry cost?
It costs £9.95 a takeaway, £11.95 dine in.
