My husband’s work colleague recommended this curry place in Jinbocho called Curry Bondy, so we decided to check it out. It has good reviews - but that good reputation also comes with long lines, so I’d recommend trying to come by a little bit earlier in the morning if you can (the store opens at 11am).
I knew absolutely nothing about Jinbocho so I found this out as I wrote this post, but Jinbocho is known for its curry and Curry Bondy in particular has a long history - it’s been open since 1973, and is sometimes mentioned as being one of the best curry spots in Tokyo.
When we visited on a Friday around 12pm, we ended up lining up for 45 minutes. We had passed by the store on another weekend and had seen a much longer line then, so I think this was a fairly reasonable wait.
The store is quite efficient, and will take your order while you are still lining up. So once you sit down at your table, the food will be out fairly quickly.
I got the most-popular menu item, their beef curry. It comes with cheese, and quite randomly, a side of three small potatoes with butter.
The entrance to the store can be a little hard to find. When we arrived, the line was just stretching outside of the building in the photo above. But the line continues up the stairs and then into the second floor as well, so it’s deceptively longer than it looks.
My verdict? The curry was good - the beef was really tender, although I regret getting the medium spicy and I probably should’ve gone for the mild curry. I would drop by if there wasn’t a line, but I wouldn’t say its worth lining up a long time for (and definitely not for an hour or two hours). Tokyo is a crazy place.
Because of its popularity you do feel rushed a bit. The tables are rather wide, so they went with interesting setup where if you come in a pair, you will be seated next to each other and then across from you will be two strangers also eating. So the vibe is more there for you to enjoy the food and then get out, rather than enjoy a nice lunch date with your partner.
I would say skip the drinks in favour of another cafe in the area, though - the coffee wasn’t very good.
Leave a comment