kyoto

It's Austin so it sucks, right? Well yes, but that is not what I imagined when the hostess greeted me and read the Japanese lettering on my shirt. The service was very warm and friendly, but the food was an epic failure. Sashimi smelled fishy and several pieces still had ice and were partially frozen. Like I said, the service was very nice, and if just having drinks and edamame would have made for a nice time. But the complete lack of edible sashimi makes this a place to avoid at all costs. Pros: hostess, service Cons: food more

This hasbeen my favorite sushi place for years. They have the most delicious sauces for their rolls. I keep trying the newer sushi places, but always love Kyoto more. It is not the most glamorous restaurant, but the sushi is incredible. Must try the Kyoto roll and longhorn rolls. Pros: Kyoto and Lonhorn Rolls Cons: parking more

I feel like I need to address a couple of reviews first...\r \r DiamondSkyy: 1.) There's no squid in the seaweed salad, you won't find it with anywhere else. 2.) You're not looking to eat authentic sushi if you want eel sauce for everything. 3.) Most sushi restaurants in America aren't that authentic if they serve California Roll...much less something like the Longhorn. 4.) If you were there for happy hour, that's their way of letting you know time's about to be up. It's not that they want you to leave.\r \r tsangth: They're very strict about their happy hour prices; it's written ON THE MENU. Read it. They also refuse to sit people during happy hour if it's an incomplete party. I've been there many times with big groups and we've never had bad service aside from the one rude waiter.\r \r The general complaint about slow service--most, if not all, sushi restaurants I've visited are really slow. I've been eating sushi my entire life. Sushi takes awhile to prepare; try making it yourself. If you're looking for something fast, go to Japan and visit one of those fast service ones with their sushi on a conveyor belt. Sushi is definitely for those who are willing to sit around for awhile. All that said, their prices are great during happy hour. I've been going there for a couple of years now, and aside from the one rude waiter we got (he literally got into a verbal argument over procuring a spoon for my friend) my experiences have been nothing but great. The Japanese manager has always been polite to us. I definitely recommend Kyoto. Pros: Great prices, rooms for larger parties Cons: long waits during happy hour more

The happy hour is amazing! Get there early and pay 1/2 prices for select items. The service was average, during happy hour be prepared to wait a while...but it's well worth it! Pros: Happy Hour Cons: Higher prices during lunch and regular dinner more

I eat at Kyoto, mostly due to the close proximity to my job. Their sushi and lunch boxes are good, but far from fabulous. Their service at least during the lunch hour is very slow. They must have something going on for happy hour, because there is a line out the door every day. They must be doing something right. Pros: good sushi, good prices Cons: terrible service more

My finace and I had dinner here, and the sushi was very authentic, fresh and tasty, I had a rainbow roll and it just melted in my mouth, I also had a seaweed salad that was very small, and when I asked the waitress to add squid to my salad she said she couldnt do it, so that kinda bummed me out, they also dont carry eel sauce wich is one of my favorite sauces to eat with my sushi, the manager/host was super rude, and she told us that she would sit us at a table but that we only had thirty minutes to eat, we went ahead and took the table since sushi doesnt take long to prepare, however her rubbing it in and rushing us was totally uncalled for , its like were going to pay for it, so I hate the fact that the sushi is so good, but its such a shame to have a rude owner make one feel uncomfertable in their resteraunt, I still am undecided if i will be a returning customer. Pros: GREAT SUSHI Cons: HORRIBLE SERVICE!! more

I've been a patron of Kyoto for over a year now. They have the best sushi in Austin. It's the most authentic that I've tried here. Don't expect anything like they have at Kenichi or some of those other pretentious Dallas-like places. This is what sushi is supposed to taste like. Also, don't go during happy hour. The staff is over-worked and you have to get there between 6 and 6:45-NO EXCEPTIONS! But after happy hour, the place is quiet and the service friendly. Plus, their menu is better. This is definitely my favorite of all places in Austin, which is saying a lot cause I've tried sushi in Japan. Go here after happy hour and you won't disappointed! Pros: great sushi for reasonable cost Cons: the broke college brats at happy hour-go AFTER happy hour more

we went for happy hour yesterday and I must advise you: the old, asian permed lady manager there is condescending and rude. DO NOT GO TO KYOTO unless you are planning to either lose your temper or lose a lot of your money.\r \r We originally had a party of two eating during happy hour and when our two other friends came around 7pm, she made it VERY clear in a rude way that they could not eat the food we bought during their happy hour prices (from 6-6:45pm). WHO HAS HEARD OF SUCH A POLICY? To say the least, we obliged and instead of making our two extra friends sit and watch us eat, we decided to pay the non-happy hour price...which more than doubled our bill into the $130's.\r \r The worst part was that she was going to make our friends sit there and watch us eat. Even after I asked where the policy was written, she replied: ""if I had known that you were going to bring more friends, then I would have told you."" ... If I had known she was going to ruin my night, I woudlnt' have gone to such a pretentious and insignificant hole-in-the-wall.\r \r NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ALL. Pros: Food at happy hour was alright until they made us pay full price. Cons: Crazy, condescending old asian lady manager more

Kyoto was one of the first places I had sushi in in Austin and I have been going back ever since. They are located above the Elephant Room on Congress. Therefore, it's a great date place because it's quiet so you can hear each other, the food is great, and you can head downstairs afterwards for some live music. The staff is always pleasant and very attentive. The most fun thing about Kyoto is the authentic Japanese style seating. If you don't want to sit on the floor they do have tables but the floor is much more fun. Check it out if you like sushi and want something different! more

How cool it is! Japanese food! in austin. Just like you'd find back home if you lived in Tokyo, Kobe or Hokaido. Let's start with great soups. Choose between miso or clear soup. Simple, but tasty! Follow with side salad with vinagrette with a Japanese touch, and then it's off to the races. Choose from ""box"" lunches, freshly prepared sushi or daily specials and you'll leave happy.\r What a surprising restaurant! How many times did you walk past? Just upstairs is another world. Sushi bar, or tables. Warm, polite service. Pleasing decor. Scrumptiously delicious. \r If you like Japanese food and great value, this is a place where you can make yourself redundant; bring your friends!\r Pros: Great ambiance, service, and value. Cons: Can't eat there often enough more

Kyoto is very good sushi and a cute little place downtown for a great price between 6:00 and 6:45 when they... more

Kyoto is very good sushi and a cute little place downtown for a great price between 6:00 and 6:45 when they have happy hour and half price sushi! I... more

I went there twice- sushi is VERY average but service is HORRIBLE.\r Last time we came in, they were not even busy- only 4 tables had customers yet noone greeted us and we had to pick a place to sit . Noone even asked us what we want to drink- some lady threw 2 glasses of water at our table without saying hi or even a smile. We sat at sushi bar and a chef took our order. I had to chase a waiter to get us green tea. Same with a bill- we even stood up and went to the cash register just to pay. AWFUL PLACE! DONT GO THERE unless of course you do not care about service. Pros: Crowded parking, Awful service more

6-645 BUT U COME IN AT AROUND 545 TO AVOID LONG LINES...PARKING IS A PAIN THOUGH...\r I RECOMMEND PAT, SHE IS AN AWESOME WAITRESS =)\r more

Went to Kyoto on a busy Saturday night. The service was almost non-existent - our edamame never showed up, and we never had the chance to order drinks. The sushi was fair, but the portions were quite stingy (e.g. the tuna was cut very thinly). I shared our comments with the manager...she could not have been less concerned. Looking for sushi downtown? Try Maiko, Kenichi, or even the sushi bar in the downtown Hilton - all far better choices. Pros: Location Cons: Horrible service, stingy portions, indifferent management more

Save your money. Don't even bother coming to this place. It was absolutely the worst sushi I've ever had. First of all, the sushi rice wasn't even prepared properly. They used some sort of long grain rice and it was very dry. Sushi rice is supposed to be medium grained and it is prepared with some wine vinegar and sugar. The salmon skin hand roll was disgusting. We had to wait nearly 30 minutes for it even though the restaurant was practically empty. The salmon skin wasn't even cooked. I took one bite and left the rest. The eel wasn't cooked either. I can't believe that sushi can be this awful!!!! Pros: Nothing Cons: Everything more

Most sushi restaurants do not offer much in terms of happy hour, but Kyoto helps fill that void. Because they are one of the few places to do such cheap sushi during happy hour, they can get really really packed! The line can actually start before happy hour even starts! The sushi offered during happy hour isn't the greatest, but for the price of about ~3 bucks a roll, it is worth it once in awhile. Yes you will wait a long time to get in if you are late and you will wait a long time to get you food. This is probably because how many people they have ordering several rolls and a few chefs to cook it (it's not cheap for no reason - costs have to be cut somewhere unfortunately). Still if you are a value kind of person, Kyoto is definitely worth a try. Also, be prepared to sit on the floor for traditional seating just in case. I do not recommend coming here for any other time that for happy hour. Afterwards you can go downstairs to the jazz club elephant room or to Cork & Co for some wine tasting. Pros: Really CHEAP sushi. Something to just get full off of for a good price. Eat this much sushi anywhere else and expect to pay atleast 20-40 a person rather than per group! Cons: Long Waits, Long time to get food more

do not even think about paying full price for anything. get there around 6 and stock up on godzilla rolls, longhorn rolls, and some spicy tuna. the seaweed salad is dissapointing, but everything else is delightful! Pros: inexpensive, original sushi Cons: parking more

My friends and I had our LAST meal at Kyoto this week - after being a regular for years this place has declined SIGNIFICANTLY and isnt helped by the RUDE treatment by waitstaff and management. In the past I've been served sashimi with BONES in it...and had to send back; this time it was like shoe leather -- and at $17 for an order - I should have used it to resole my loafer... but instead I asked to speak with the manager who proceeded to argue with me to say the fish was good... NOT the right way to maintain a customer. DO NOT GO to this restaurant there are many other quality sushi options within blocks walk of this place. There is no need to be served poor quality food by people with an even poorer attitude.\r Pros: Can think of any Cons: It's still in business after all these years more

My friends and I were treated terribly on the two occassions we went. Once our waitress brought out an extra sushi roll we didn't order. We tried to send it back but the owner (or manager??) came out and grilled us about why this misunderstanding had taken place. We felt guilty and told her we'd pay for it. \r \r The second time we went the restaurant was nearly empty. A friend tried to join us about 10 minutes before Happy Hour ended and they wouldn't let him in. Out waiter complained in front of us about it. Then they chastised us and told that we were taking advantage of them. (If you want Happy Hour to end at 6.30, then make it end at 6.30!) On top of that, it took them about 45 minutes to bring out one of orders. They ruined our night. Yes, the sushi is cheap, but the selection is very small and the service is by far the worst I've ever had. more