Kyoto Japanese Restaurant

While I’ve done the happy hour a bunch of times over the years, the last 2 times I went for dinner and had good fresh sushi at a decent price with inconsistent service.
Both times the uni was very fresh which is important. I always ask the sushi bar what is the freshest and try to stick with that, and so far it has worked well. We tried a bunch of sushi and all was good.
The service was a bit frazzled, though in the end our waitress’ frazzled demeanor was overcome by her goofy yet friendly and gregarious attitude.
My least favorite thing about Kyoto is the iron maiden that greets you at the hostess stand. No doubt one of the owners, her rigid demeanor and reed-​like stiffness makes her seem better suited as a drill sergeant than a restaurant hostess. She has never been rude or mean, but she has also never smiled in the years of me going there… but I digress.
Given the shortage of good mid-​priced sushi in Central Austin, I’m a fan of Kyoto and would recommend it.

I haven’t been here since I started Unilocaling but I just went back the other day. Sometimes I leave there wondering what’s all the fuss about Kyoto? Well everytime I wonder, and then everytime I remember that the happy hour at Kyoto holds a monopoly for decent, cheap sushi in Austin. I mean nowhere, NOWHERE can you get nigiri for $ 1.50 a piece, and NOWHERE will you find rolls for under $ 5.
If you really want good sushi, don’t come here.
If you’re looking for a nice romantic sushi restaurant for a date, don’t come here.
If it’s the middle of the week and you think to yourself that you’re desperately craving sushi because it’s been three whole days since you had it last, but you already spent more money than you were supposed to this week, and you really wanted to go out with your friends this weekend, so you should save your money for that, and you know you will feel endlessly guilty about giving in to this moment of weakness to indulge in sushi, but then you decide that life is too short and you’ll be damned if you don’t get sushi today! That’s when you should go here.

Went here today for the cheap happy hour…
My friend works here and I really wanted to give him a good tip, but he didn’t get to wait on us.
Unfortunately, this will not be a good review.
We got there about 25 minutes early (on a Thursday) in fear of the epic line I’ve heard about. Thankfully, we were the first ones there and by the time they opened there were only 3 other people in it besides my friend and I.
The atmosphere is good but not really what I was expecting. I did really like their tatami rooms (traditional Japanese dining rooms where you sit on the floor) but they sat us at a table which was fine by me.
The wait staff was is pretty good, the wait was OK, but by the time we left there were only about 15 people total anyway.
The prices were cheap, especially for Austin. The servings could have been a little larger though, honestly. I could have counted the rings in the calamari appetizer on two hands, which speaking of was really good and tasted like calamari snacks I have had at a Japanese market when I was a child.
The seaweed salad (which was over two dollars) was about 3 tablespoons. The rolls were OK sized for 4 something but I couldn’t fathom paying full dinner price for them. They weren’t very good. I’ve had better at Whole Foods.
The fish was fresh enough but their selection is very limited.
Two pieces of escolar sushi, longhorn roll, godzilla roll, seaweed salad, fried calamari, iced green tea, and a Kirin for $ 23. Good deal.
So in summary, I would recommend Kyoto for happy hour if you’re like me and just want to eat some cheap sushi with not much emphasis on the quality. It’s still yummy, but I wouldn’t eat here full price.
PS– If you don’t eat everything you order at happy hour they don’t allow you to take it home, which I think is bullshit. No breakfast rolls for me.

A great sushi place to stop by if you’re near downtown Austin… this is my regular place to go when we drive down from Dallas to San Antonio…
Fresh nigiri, decent rolls… not really great sushi, but it gets the job done if you’re having a craving…

I had a businessman’s lunch here today, and my review is based solely on this trip.
Now, firstly, «businessman’s lunch» to my college friends (look it up at
if you don’t believe me) is ingesting a psychotropic substance called DMT which results in a catatonic state for under an hour with various epiphanies. Ideal for the cubicle worker on a lunch hour.
I chose the phrase «businessman’s lunch» partly as the restaurant is Japanese (themed?). I say themed, as the waiter seemed to speak less Japanese than one of my companions. I digress. Often.
While in Tokyo, I enjoyed seeing men scampering around in suits and eating at many great eateries, none of which reminded me of Kyoto, aside from the stairs. Tokyo seemed very vertically oriented to me — things on things on places on stuff. So yes, businessman.
So, did this one hour trip result in any insights or revelations? Is there a point to this review? Well, yes. I would say that if I have 6 or 7 dollars to spend on lunch downtown, I would certainly return for a lunch special.
Today, the broiled salmon box lunch with rice, salad, and some diced, roasted potatoes in a sweet tangy sauce hit the spot. Unfortunately the spot was an already alarming case of acid reflux. Which was nothing to do with the food I ate here.
In fact, the food was so tantalizingly tasty that I actually ignored the searing, burning pain in my sternum area and scoffed a good 70% of my square meal. Smiling all the time. From quaking chopsticks.
The setting was good, I had set my spiritual intent, and I had a relaxed positive attitude. The only thing that let me down was my physical health. Still a damn fine experience though.
Revelations? Probably that it’s not critical to speak Japanese to work in a Japanese restaurant in Austin. The service was excellent, my meal was good, and as a value hound, I give a solid four stars for my lunch. Which fit inside an hour. And I have had no flashbacks to date.

This might be the worst sushi I’ve had in Austin, and I’m counting the stuff I take home from the grocery store on rare occasion.
I’ve given Kyoto a shot twice now and both times my sushi looked like they prepared it two days before and left it sitting on the counter. At least they were kind enough to dust it off before they brought it to the table. The fish was wilted and chewy — clearly not fresh at all — and tasted old and… well, fishy.
The price on the lunch specials is nice but for a little less money you can go catch your own fish, leave it out for a day and then smack yourself in the mouth with it for that authentic Kyoto flavor.
Both times I went the staff didn’t seem to notice that I was done hating my meal and the check took ages. The atmosphere is nice enough but that’s like saying that this is a lovely place to be disappointed in what you did to your tongue.
Reasonable prices be damned, lousy food is lousy food. Raw fish that should come with an optional after-​dinner bucket just isn’t worth it.

I LOVE the longhorn. The calamari looks horrid and tastes the same way it looks.
The spider always comes out cold and gross.
The godzilla is alright. I am not a big fan of it but my big sis loves it.
I LOVE the tempura ice cream. Heaven in my mouth!
The service is decent. Unfortunately, with the popularity, I feel like the portions have gotten smaller, but I suppose that happens with every restaurant. I love going to the happy hour. It’s really the only time to go. Unfortunately, I’d say some of the single sushi pieces are not good, and due to the three weeks that have elapsed since my last visit, i cannot recall which fish was not to my liking. The unagi is good, but small. The veggie tempura can never go wrong. The yakitori is alright.
Overall– get the longhorn. SO GOOD!

Yeah. this place used to be so much better.
I’ve been coming to Kyoto’s for their happy hour since 2006, and in the beginning, this place was great. Delicious sushi for awesome prices, who could complain?
But the last time I was here, which was about a month ago after a year-​long hiatus, I realized just how far Kyoto’s has fallen.
The service was fine, but the food was not. The rolls were wimpy (they’ve been getting smaller and smaller.), the cucumber wasn’t crisp at all (a sure sign that the sushi wasn’t fresh), the tempura softshell crab in the spider roll was cold and soggy (gross) and I just didn’t feel like happy hour was such a great deal anymore. I ordered a squid salad and was shocked when it arrived because it was half the size of what I got a year ago. You get what you pay for, indeed.
I would rather pay full price for quality, freshly-​made, normal sized sushi than half price for mini sushi that has been sitting there for 20 minutes.
Maybe the food is better when it’s not happy hour, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to find out.

Happy Hour is great if you can get in. The hostess is pretty merciless if you get in late or don’t order in time. The wait in the line is pretty long too, so make sure you get there early.
It’s hard to beat ½ price sushi so I’ll just list the three I like the most.
Longhorn roll — nice and spicy and the cheapest of the lot (menu is smaller).
Spider roll– I’ve had better, but for the price its very good.
Godzilla– great roll, love the tempura flakes
Can’t lie: its hard to beat the atmosphere (especially if you get seated in one of the rooms) or the price. There is better sushi in town though.

I cannot be bothered to come here during Happy Hour. Yes, it’s super cheap, but you have to wait in line with a bunch of grumpy, hungry people who argue about who was there first (I’ve seen this happen multiple times… annoying) and the menu is limited.
But coming here not during happy hour is a real treat! I love this sushi! Everything with the eel/​unagi is SO delicious– I recommend the caterpillar or rainbow rolls (they’re kind of the inverse of each other, same ingredients). The Longhorn roll is fried deliciousness with a tasty sauce drizzled all over it. My favorite roll is the Capitol roll, which has lobster on it. It’s SO delicious!!! The wait during regular hours isn’t usually bad at all– the longest I have waited has been 15 minutes.
I’ve never sat in the no-​shoes/​sit-​on-​the-​floor area but there is one and it looks kind of neat.
The Elephant Room is downstairs so you don’t even have to leave the building for a pretty legit date night!

We had another stellar experience here last night. I was a little worried going here the day before Valentines Day because I thought it might be difficult to get a table, but it wasn’t. We arrived at 8:30 PM and were quickly seated.
We ordered a GREAT bottle of cabernet sauvignon for only $ 18. I can’t remember the name, but it’s the first bottle listed on the menu under the reds. The miso soup was tasty as were both the Alaska roll and the Longhorn roll. We got out of there for $ 48 (tip included). Amazing!

A group of 6 of us went here last night for a friend’s bday. The food was so-​so but the service was pretty great. A friend of mine custom ordered some sushi rolls and they had no problem whipping those up.
I would recommend sitting in the traditional Japanese tables. Those are the best.
For my friend’s bday, the waitress brought her half an orange and a pair of chopsticks «from Japan». The package of the chopsticks indicated it was from the 100 Yen shop which is the Japanese equivalent to the $ 1 store here. Hilarious, but also a nice gesture.
As we were wrapping up with our meal, a group of five girls sat next to us and were doing sake bombs. The restaurant manager (a woman who reminded me of a very strict teacher) came over and berated them and continued to stand there for minutes saying the same thing over and over to them while they just sat there and apologized. It was a bit overkill. Usually people only need to be told these things once and they’ll stop doing it.
Other than the mean teacher experience, this place was pretty awesome and I’ll be back.

Their happy hour showcases the cheapest sushi prices in town. can’t really say much for the sushi here though. Its neither top or bottom quality. somewhere in the middle. Just don’t go on Friday’s for the happy hour since it seems that everyone wants to go that particular day when happy hour exists Mon-​Thurs also.

I use to love going to this restaurant for sushi, but as my 5 years in Austin goes on I found myself going less and less to this establishment. I found that the quality in the food has decreased over the years and the prices have been raised up slightly. Also, there are just better sushi places to go to in Austin.
If you do find yourself here especially during happy hour which runs from 6 to 6:45 pm, try the Longhorn roll which is a fried roll filled with imitation crab meat and covered in a spicy orange sauce. Also make sure that your party is completely there or they won’t seat you and if you try to sneak someone to your table after you sit down the lady goes super crazy on you. Also the last time I came here which was near the end of August, it might have just been our waiter but my friend and I had to wait almost 30 minutes since we ordered our Longhorn roll to get it. However I still do enjoy the banana tempura!

Totally Nazi camp experience with crazy Japanese ladies yelling at you if you don’t have your complete party butttttttt if you stand in line 30 minutes early, for ONE HOUR you can eat an unimaginable amount of sushi for absolutely dirt cheap.
You should probably do this at least once in your life. Know what you want in advance so when you sit down you can order 10 rolls ($ 1 each!!) Sit traditional style and order the longhorn roll and banana dessert, you will thank me.

I came here for the Happy Hour and it was a great deal. Rolls were between $ 3 and $ 4 each.
My absolute favorite was the Godzilla roll. If I ever came back, I would just order two Godzilla rolls to myself.
I don’t know why this place has such a low rating when the line for happy hour is always so long.
Tip: Arrive by 5:30pm for the Happy Hour which starts at 6:00pm. By 6:15pm, make sure you have all your orders in because Happy Hour pricing promptly ends at 6:45pm and you will get charged normal rates.

I had been to this restaurant a few times before, but had kind of forgotten about it. Recently I went with one of my friends who had never been before and was reminded of why it was so popular.
Quite simply, the happy hour is crazy cheap. My friend and I got about five rolls each, with each roll having roughly eight pieces, and only paid $ 13, including tip and drinks.
Additionally, our waiter was nice and attentive, and the seating was really cool. We decided on the traditional seating where one doesn’t sit in chairs but on cushions.
The rolls themselves varied in quality. Overall, there was too much rice in everything. The Godzilla was a real standout, while the spicy tuna was disappointingly not spicy.
Still, for the price, this place is amazing. We left really, really full, which never happens at sushi places.

Just wanted to chime in that the happy hour (well, 45 minutes) kicks ass! It’s better than any other sushi happy hour deal I’ve ever run across in Dallas (not that Dallas is a sushi mecca, but there are a ton of sushi places here)…and the sushi ain’t half bad either! Just make sure you get there early because there will be a line… and don’t mind that smell coming from the Elephant Room downstairs.
I’ve never been here other than happy hour, but I doubt I would pay full price for any of it. Some of their rolls though, like the longhorn and godzilla are pretty fun and somewhat unique. I would say at normal hours this place would probably be a 3 star, but the happy hour is 5 star, hence the 4 star overall rating. Definitely worth checking out at least once, and they have the rooms on the side where you can sit on pillows if you have a big group… always wanted to try that.

I have only ever eaten here for the roll specials at lunch. I did try the sashimi salad, but I’d recommend against it — the pieces are tiny, the fish too warm, and the salad overpriced.
However, the super-​cheap rolls — an entire roll for $ 3.50! — are reasonably tasty, if fried and covered with mayo.
This is a student boon, and a quick lunch grab for downtown workers. Don’t go out of your way to eat here, but if you’re around, it’s not a bad choice for quick lunch on the cheap.

Kyoto’s sushi is pretty good, and IMHO, one of the better sushi places in Austin. I really like the downtown location’s ambience as it’s almost like you are in Japan. It’s also relatively quiet and you can find private seating for big groups too.
My favorite here is the Longhorn roll, I love the spicy sauce that comes with it and it’s a real hit with all of my chat room friends. I also enjoyed the Spider Roll and Godzilla too. Their rolls here are not as big as Mikado, (that’s what SHE said!!) but still tasty and good. The service has always been pretty good here, never any issues or concerns. I highly recommend Kyoto’s downtown for a great sushi experience!