There is a version of comfort food that every food lover has in their head. Something warm, something properly made, something that hits the spot without leaving you wondering if the kitchen actually cared about what they put on the plate. Japanese comfort food katsu curry and chicken rice bowls specifically does this better than almost anything else when it is done right.
Ikkan Sushi on Marylebone Road does it right. Katsu curry and chicken rice bowls at this spot have built up a real following among food lovers around here, not because there is nothing else nearby, but because these happen to be the best versions most people have come across within walking distance of Baker Street. Once the best version of something has been had, going back to a lesser one just does not sit right anymore.
What Makes This Katsu Curry Stand Out
Katsu curry is one of those dishes that has been done so many ways in London that most people have stopped expecting it to be brilliant. Chain restaurant versions set up a floor that is easy to clear and hard to exceed. The coating does its job; the sauce is one people recognize, and the whole thing lands somewhere around fine, nothing that gets anyone particularly worked about it.
Fine is not what Ikkan Sushi does with katsu curry. The panko coating here is light and genuinely crispy about the kind of crunch that holds up through the sauce rather than going soft the moment it makes contact. The curry sauce is mild, slightly sweet, and savory in that deep quiet way that Japanese curry is supposed to be but rarely is when a kitchen is not paying attention. And the protein underneath whether chicken, prawn, or tofu is fresh and properly prepared rather than an afterthought inside a coating that is doing all the work.
These are the things that separate a katsu curry worth going gaga over from one that is just filling a gap on the menu. Ikkan Sushi gets all of them right and does it consistently which is the harder part.
The Katsu Curry Options at Ikkan Sushi
Three versions on the menu. Each one are worth knowing about before you order.
Chicken Katsu Curry
This is the one most people order, and it earns that spot fairly. Crispy panko chicken sits over rice under a pour of Japanese curry sauce, and the whole appeal comes down to that contrast, crunch against smooth, done right every time here. Underneath the coating the chicken stays tender, the sauce holds onto its familiar mild sweetness, and the rice never gets lost in the background; it does its job of tying the plate together. For plenty of food lovers around Marylebone, searching for katsu curry near me has ended the same way for a while now, right here.
Prawn Katsu Curry
The same curry sauce, but crispy prawn katsu takes the place of chicken. It reads lighter, and different enough that it does not feel like a simple swap, more like its own dish entirely. Prawn brings a natural sweetness that pairs with the curry sauce in a way chicken cannot quite replicate, and what comes out the other end is a version built for people who want to step slightly past the obvious order. Get this alongside the chicken version at least once; it is the easiest way to actually feel the difference.
Tofu Katsu Curry
This is the one that tends to catch people off guard. Done properly, tofu katsu has nothing in common with a bad version of it, and this one is done properly. Crunch and body come from the panko here, qualities the tofu simply would not have by itself, while the curry sauce ends up carrying most of the dish on its own. Nothing about the result feels like settling, no sense that this exists purely for people avoiding meat; it just works as its own thing. Priced at £8.95 takeaway, it also happens to be the cheapest katsu curry on the list and still manages to rank among the better value orders on the whole menu.
What Makes a Chicken Rice Bowl Worth Ordering
People tend to fall into two camps on rice bowls, the ones who take them seriously and the ones who barely give them a second thought, and which camp someone lands in usually depends on whether they have had a properly good one. A chicken rice bowl done right is never just chicken thrown over rice. Protein, seasoning, sauce, texture all of it has to land in the right balance, or the whole thing just feels like something to fill a gap rather than something worth actually eating.
The chicken rice bowls here hit that balance consistently. There are three on the menu, priced the same, each one taking the same basic format somewhere different. The chicken is fresh, the rice is cooked properly, and what actually separates the three versions comes down to sauce and seasoning, which is exactly why picking one over another gets genuinely difficult, in a good way.
The Chicken Rice Bowl Options at Ikkan Sushi
Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl
Most people default to this one, and it is easy to see why. Warm, dependable, nothing that requires much thought. Grilled chicken in a teriyaki glaze over rice sweet and savory landing where they should, chicken tender, nothing overdone anywhere on the plate.
Put this in front of someone halfway through a long afternoon and things start feeling more manageable. No heaviness once the plate is empty. Every order comes right, and that consistency is the actual reason this became a local favorite rather than just another decent option on the menu.
Basil Chilli Chicken Rice Bowl
This one is for anyone who wants a bit more character in the bowl. Basil chilli chicken over rice bold, fragrant, and about as different from the teriyaki version as two dishes at the same price can possibly be. The heat builds rather than rushing in, the basil adds a freshness the teriyaki cannot offer, and somewhere in there the dish makes a quiet case for Japanese cooking having flavor territory most people have never really explored properly. Underrated is the right word for it. Once someone orders it for the first time, the second order tends to follow pretty quickly.
Ikkan Fried Chicken Rice Bowl
The most indulgent version and the one for days when comfort food is the entire point of the meal. The Ikkan Fried Chicken is a house fried chicken with bold flavor and proper crunch sitting over a bowl of rice. Filling, flavorful, and the kind of thing that makes a very easy dinner decision on any evening when the decision itself feels like too much work. The fried chicken here is the same quality as the starter version, which means this rice bowl is doing a lot more than just filling space on the hot food menu.
Katsu Curry or Chicken Rice Bowl Which One to Order
This is the question most food lovers have when they sit down at Ikkan Sushi and see both sections of the menu for the first time. The honest answer is that it depends entirely on what the meal needs to be.
Katsu curry is the choice when the occasion calls for something that feels like a complete dish like the sauce, the crunch, the rice all working together as a single thing rather than components on a plate. It is satisfying in a specific way that the rice bowls do not quite replicate, and the Japanese curry sauce is unlike anything else on the Ikkan Sushi menu.
Chicken rice bowls are the choice when flavor variety is the priority. Three versions of doing three completely different things means there is always a bowl that fits the mood whether that is the reliable comfort of the teriyaki, the boldness of the basil chilli, or the indulgence of the fried chicken. And at £10.95 for takeaway across all three versions, the price point makes ordering two to share across the table a very easy decision.
The best answer is both. Order a Chicken Katsu Curry and a Basil Chilli Chicken Rice Bowl and let the table sort out the rest. That is how most regulars at Ikkan Sushi end up eating and it is not hard to understand why.
Conclusion
Comfort food at its best is the kind of thing that makes a meal feel necessary rather than optional. Katsu curry and chicken rice bowls at Ikkan Sushi on Marylebone Road do exactly that warmth, flavor, and proper cooking that food lovers in this part of London have been going gaga over for a while now.
Six options across two sections of the menu. All of them are worth trying. None of them have the same experience twice. That is what keeps people coming back to this Japanese restaurant near Baker Street long after the first visit. And long after they have worked their way through everything else on the menu too.
FAQs
What katsu curry options doesIkkan Sushi serve?
Three, Chicken, Prawn, and Tofu Katsu Curry. Same curry sauce across all three, takeaway between £8.95 and £9.95.
What is the best chicken rice bowl atIkkan Sushi?
Depends on the mood. Teriyaki for reliable and classic. Basil Chilli for something bolder. Ikkan Fried Chicken when indulgent is the whole point. All £10.95 takeaway.
Is the katsu curry atIkkan Sushi spicy?
No. Mild and slightly sweet. Nothing that catches anyone off guard.
Is there a vegetarian katsu curry atIkkan Sushi?
Yes. Tofu Katsu Curry at £8.95 takeaway. Proper panko crunch, real substance, nothing about it feels like settling.
Which katsu curry is most popular atIkkan Sushi?
Chicken Katsu Curry. Most ordered, most talked about, and the one people keep coming back to even after trying the other two.
