Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse

There are approximately four restaurants to get sushi in Harrisonburg, VA and this is the best (in my opinion). I have no comment on Japanese steakhouse/​hibachi style cooking but for those seeking good sushi and friendly service without leaving town, this is the best place for it. Family-​owned and operated, this is the best bang for the buck.

I absolutely LOVE this place. Their food never disappoints and I always leave happy! What I don’t like about it is that they don’t have lunch specials everyday. I used to go all the time for lunch because of the specials. Now I don’t because I never know when they’re not going to have it. Sad life.

Took sushi to-​go. Took really long as there was a huge order before us. The first few pieces of salmon-​tuna-​yellowtail-​avocado sushi were nice but the next few were clearly not fresh anymore. Got another eel one with some spicy sauce on top. SO MUCH sauce on top… Like rice soaked in sauce. Besides the eel was not the best either. The sashimi was not that fresh either. Eel sashimi was good though. A friend got steak — but he got them cut up and more like stir fried rather than steak steak…

We’ve been to many restaurants like Kyoto & there are many others I’d go to before I’d come here. I find the wait staff pushy. I know keeping the customer flow is important, but I don’t feel as if take out boxes should be given just after the hibachi chef leaves the table. I’ve also been to hibachi restaurants that have a much better «table show.»

The hibachi was ok– less than stimulating and over sauced. But the chef was at least nice. As for the sushi and the service otherwise, it was horrible. The shrimp tempura roll came DROWNED in spicy mayo, rather than with a tasty dab on top, as did the second roll (can’t recall the name). When I tried to send it back, the manager pointed out that we had eaten some — naturally, how else would we know it wasn’t good? — and refused to remove it from our order. Perhaps a more basic roll or sashimi would be ok there, but I will never be back to find out.

Food was great. Went here after my sister’s graduation. It’s a bit pricy, but that’s to be expected of hibachi. Service was really slow when it came to getting us rice and refilling our waters, but that’s it.

I travel often and effort to find sushi everywhere I go. I’d say the sushi was average as was the edamame. The waitress was average… you see where I’m going with this, right? The tuna in the normal final roll was barely there. Not sure if I’d visit here again just for sushi.

If they tell you there’s a 15min wait, just go ahead and double it… we waited at least a half an hour… also it’s incredibly warm. Don’t worry about a jacket. 45mins until we got just the soup… haven’t even started cooking our food yet.

I have been here a few times and I absolutely love the fun atmosphere and the amazing food. My favorite is the rice. If you are looking for a fun night and some really great food this is definitely the place to go.

Came here Sunday night for dinner. I used to LOVE the Bomb Roll and would get it often when I was a student. The food was still very good, however the professionalism of some of the staff was poor. The hostess was extremely loud. We came here around 8 and the restaurant closed at 10. It looked like we were the only ones there. I used to be a waitress and I know how it can get boring towards the end of the night when customers stop coming, but there’s no reason to share your business loud enough that the customers who are still there can hear. It really was uncomfortable so we took most of our food to go.
After this experience, I don’t see myself coming back — at least not to dine in. Like I said before, the food was very good!

I used to come here often but the decrease in portions and lack of enthusiasm of some of the chefs spoils the experience. …Very disappointed the side of vegetables has basically been reduced to a side of onions… i used to always get extra veggies but who wants a big plate of onions? They also forgot the shrimp appetizer and the sauce on my chicken was a little scorched as if the grill was turned up too high. Server was very friendly and attentive.

My husband and I usually stop by here after our ski trips to Massanutten. We were pleasantly surprised to find this gem in such a small town. Their service is great and the food is even better. We have done the hibachi tables before but we’ve also had the sushi/​sashimi. You can’t go wrong with the tempura either!

Fantastic meal! Was in town for a short weekend to meet up with family. The 9 of us went there for dinner last night. The food was awesome! Most of us got the filet mignon, it was cooked perfectly and tasted even better. The fried rice was superb, as was the miso soup.

Kyoto consistently offers great food at a reasonable price for a hibachi restaurant. If you go at lunch, you can save a lot of money and still get basically the same amount of food. The sushi is good too! The service is always impeccable and the managers ensure that every guest is being waited on correctly, every single time. I have never ever had a bad experience after years of dining here. Issac is definitely the best chef! He engages all diners at his grill and makes jokes while creating a fun lively environment. He is also good at romancing it up if it is a special occasion — he made my anniversary wonderful! I will never forget it!

1.5 stars.
The hibachi chef (or whatever those guys are called) came shortly after placing our order. He didn’t know what we ordered so we had to tell him: Shrimp and Steak, Shrimp and Filet, and Filet and Chicken. Then we told him how we liked our beef cooked. Then he asked us 3 times the next 15 mins what we’d ordered. My steak was not cooked medium as I reminded him 4 times.
The hibachi chef also made some off-​colored remarks but I found that more funny than offensive. I could see that he’s got some interesting life story to be working at a place like that in a small American town at his age. He reminded me of the main character in the movie «Bad Santa»
1. Shrimp and Steak: Shrimp tasted like sugar. Steak tasted like salt and soy sauce.
2. Shrimp and Filet: Shrimp tasted like sugar. Filet tasted like salt and soy sauce.
3. Filet and Chicken: Filet tasted like salt and soy sauce. Chicken tasted like sugar.
We all got fried rice. It tasted like butter and sugar.
It also came with vegetables. They tasted like sugar.
The best part of the meal was the Sapporo beer out of the bottle. Had it been a draft beer, it would have also tasted like sugar.
Two good things:
1. The service was pretty good.
2. We didn’t have to get dessert afterward because our meal was the dessert.

Kyoto is our favorite sushi place in the area. It can be hard to find good sushi this far from the big city, but they do it right: fresh, well-​crafted, and reasonably priced. 5 stars.
I cannot comment on the hibachi grill, as we’ve never had it.
Tommy the sushi chef is excellent. Try the crabby patty roll. Delicious!

Here we go again, I thought. Yet another Teppan Yaki place where I have to feign an amazement when the knife twirling chef cuts and dices the shrimp and veggies in what seems to be an ultra fast speed and accuracy. Nah…
My guest and I decided to sit in their separate dining area where we can still order what the diners on the teppan table order.
Wow, the food tasted amazing. We ordered cross section of sashimi, sushi, and teppan grilled meets. They were all prepared excellently and to the correct temperature. Where it was supposed to be ice cold, it was that. Where it was supposed be hot, it was that as well.
Service was on the excellent side, as one assigned server catered to our needs promptly and efficiently.

A typical hibachi restaurant. It’s definitely all about the hibachi chef that makes the experience. It was a good experience though he needed some food tossing practice. Food was flavorful and filling. The shrimp hibachi was on point. I didn’t order shrimp but i got a few bites from other people.
Service was good, she checked up on us alot. The only thing I didn’t like is that she asked if we wanted to-​go plates while we were eating. We weren’t even finish and we never asked for the check. I felt rushed while I was eating. Sorry but that’s a pet peeve of mine.

I went back to Harrisonburg for a short visit for the first time since I left JMU with my Bachelor’s degree and most of my dignity still intact. While there, I had to pay a visit to Kyoto (since dining at D-​Hall wasn’t really an option anymore, le sigh).
As the only Japanese steakhouse in Harrisonburg (and probably several of the surrounding towns), and one of the nicer restaurants in town (at least when I was a student), Kyoto was always a favorite for celebratory dinners and special occasions — we had my post-​graduation lunch here! So needless to say I was anxious to return and see whether or not the ol’ gal stood the test of time and hindsight.
And I’m happy to report that it most definitely does! While the show itself was a little bit lacking (no shrimp tossing? Sad!) and I don’t love how they charge extra for fried rice when OBVIOUSLY I’m gonna get fried rice hellooooo (only $ 1.50 extra, but still), but the food was tender and juicy, the sauces weren’t as overly salty as they can be at places like this, and the yum-​yum sauce particularly hit the spot.
The shrimp appetizer they prepared was seriously the best shrimp I think I’ve ever had at a Japanese steakhouse before. I’m so used to them being dry and overcoooked, but these were perfect! I was so glad to be dining with two people who didn’t like shrimp because I got to eat theirs, too, hehehe. I actually was really impressed with the quality of the food overall at Kyoto, and I was VERY impressed with the prices. Ohhhh, Harrisonburg price-​points, how I’ve missed you.
Most of my dining companions got the teppanyaki chicken, which was a mere $ 13 or something — crazy! Being the fatfatfatty that I am, I opted for their dinner special, which consisted of a combination of filet mignon, shrimp, and chicken for $ 24. I thought this was a great deal! This kind of combo is usually over the $ 30 point up in Northern VA, so I was sold. The filet was AWESOME, so tender and flavorful, as mentioned the shrimp was bangin’, and the chicken was pretty good. I mean, it’s chicken, but at least it wasn’t super dry or anything.

Probably the best sushi place in Harrisonburg, Kyoto is your standard hibachi grill and sushi bar restaurant. Although the hibachi showcases the same standard chef routine as all others, the food is very good and the portions are large. You can even get a half (lunch-​sized) portion to cut down on the cost.
Kyoto’s sushi is, by far, their best offering, and it’s some of the best sushi that I’ve had (in both Virginia and New Jersey/​Philadelphia). Their spicy tuna is spicier than most, and their Bomb roll is topped with hot sauce, spicy mayo, and jalapenos – one of their top rolls, if you like food with a kick. Many of their other specialty rolls are just as good too, including one with soft shell crab.
The people there are always nice, and the atmosphere is good, despite being a bit dark.