Daigen — Restaurant in Kyoto

Terrible experience — avoid this place. The chef is extremely dishonest and disrespectful! No attention to hygiene - shady conduct. Cash only.

In-depth review: when we arrived, he showed us a menu (only in Japanese) and explained that we could order an 8-piece sushi set for ¥3000, showing us the available ones. We ordered two 8-piece sets. However, when the bill arrived, the total was much higher than expected.

When we politely asked for clarification, the chef started yelling, claiming we had never asked for the sets and that the individual pieces we had were much more expensive — which was absolutely untrue.

In two weeks of traveling across Japan, we met only kind, respectful, and honest people. This dinner was the lowest point of our trip. The chef was deceitful and showed no respect. He should be ashamed of his behavior.

To be fair, the fish was slightly better than average, but way overpriced. Hygiene was also a serious issue: the chef used his bare hands to touch everything while making sushi, and the kitchen looked so filthy.

ps. one major red flag was the loud “show” he put on — laughing, shouting, cracking jokes — which at first may seem entertaining, but in reality feels like a deliberate distraction from the poor hygiene and shady conduct. A...

Amazing quality sushi but even better service and hospitality. The other reviews do not lie- the chef here is truly the star of the show. He doesn’t look a day over 55 and somehow has the energy of an energizer bunny. Running around everywhere, producing sushi quickly and efficiently, keeping all the guests laughing and entertained and never missing a beat.

We ordered a ton of food and each piece hit the spot, particularly the fatty tuna of course and the eel but the tamago… wow. I think you can tell the quality of a sushi place by their tamago piece and this one was the best we’ve had in Japan.

Each piece is basically the size of two pieces anywhere else and this is the most fish you’ll probably be served at a sushi spot in Japan. Can’t say enough good things about our experience here- the chef and his wife were more than happy to communicate through google translate and we were able to easily converse the whole night. What a treat and an unforgettable experience.

Cannot wait to be back one day and catch up with our friend over some (many) glasses of sake and many pieces of sushi. Thank you so much to this amazing couple for a great last...

Horrible experience, tourist trap, scam artist, and ruined our night.

18,900 yen for 4 people. Out of the 8 pieces we individually ordered we only got 4 each. It was hot like 80 degrees hot… in a sushi place ?

The chef puts on quite a show to distract you from the dishonesty.

The place is messy which you NEVER want from a place dealing with raw fish. The chef makes everything with his hands and then touches his translating device which I believe is dirty and then touches the sushi. It was just highly unsanitary.

My mom spit out her yellow tail because it was too tough but I guess all the sushi was tough. The fish smell was overwhelming. I guess the empty tables on a Friday night should have been a sign.

We read a review that said that if you contest the price he gets angry and begins to yell. Which we did not want to add the stress on to our second day of our trip. So we accepted defeat paid the price and left.

I’m from LA which has very high quality sushi so if that’s what you like this is not the...