Falafel Garden — Restaurant in Kyoto

Some of the food was decent but the spicy pita chips were over saturated with grease and inedible. Even when the entire plate was returned because it was not edible, they tried to charge for it. I’ve never heard of an establishment hard pressed for ¥590 when their food is not edible and the entire plate of food was returned almost immediately after it was brought out. There were other dishes that I picked over and didn’t finish but I understand how an order works. I didn’t attempt to get out of the bill, simply the food we returned because it was cooked improperly.

Overall, poor customer experience here. The waiters were impatient and rude. The cashier told us we were lucky that the owner told us we didn’t have to pay for the greasy pita chips that we didn’t eat. Would not recommend eating here even if some other dishes are good. There are plenty of other restaurants to visit that sell better food and treat their customers with dignity...

Been passing by this place on my (almost) daily commute for the past three years now. Was really hungry on my way home and decided to give it a try.

Falafel was passable and the vibe was nice, what with the sounds of the Eizan Line right next to the place. I just really struggle to make sense of what the restaurant is going for. Their branding is "Israeli" food, but the dishes all come from neighboring countries/cultures: falafel (general Levantine), kebab (Iran, Iraq, Turkey), pita (Lebanon, Syria), etc. etc., i.e., so it all feels like native Levantine cuisine was appropriated. If there were maybe Eastern European dishes, that would have been more "authentic," since the vast majority of present-day settlers come from that part of the world anyway.

Overall, though, it was good enough...

I´ve been coming here almost every week while living in Kyoto because the Falafel are just great! There are so many clearly marked vegan options. I always get myself a Falafel Sandwich or a Mixed Plate which are also my personal recommendations. Everything tastes amazingly good and compared to other restaurants in Japan you can eat a lot of fresh salad which is just great. Also, while it can get busy during peak season, you usually don't have to reserve which is a plus point imo.

Only downsides are price and service. The prices are just a bit too high, although everything is fresh. Furthermore, the service is not really friendly a lot of the times and disinterested. I don't really care too much about that cause I'm coming for the food but would be really cool to feel more welcomed...