Go‐En KYOTO WAGYU YAKINIKU STEAK — Restaurant in Kyoto

This is a total rip-off, be aware. We went there after seeing the positive overall rating (4.5) - not sure how this place got those reviews honestly. We were forced to order at least two orders of a whole BBQ set and was told that they couldn't do one set because there would be "too little" food. In fact, even with the two sets was also very little food for the price - there are four plates of BBQ meat, more like Korean style, each only has a few slices, very thinly sliced, heavily seasoned, not very fresh. For those "two sets" (which come with some small kimchi and veggie dishes), it costs 9000 Yen. This does not match what we have experienced in Japan price wise (of course, not talking about more high end restaurant. You can have quite decent meal for 9000 in Japan). This is a total disappointment and in fact what a shame - feeling being cheated is a terrible feeling. Reading other negative reviews later, people mentioned this is more like a tourist scam - it resonates. Inside the place, on the wall, there are notes that ask you to rate the place on Trip Advisor. At the end, they gave you a small bowl of free icecream and in exchange asked for a review for service. This may be why they got foreign visitors to send positive reviews? This is not a Japanese restaurant. Foreign staff is hired probably for English speaking proficiency with customers - again, I take it as a sign for a tourist trap scheme. Simply don't go there. We really regretted we went there - a bad taste about our experience in Japan, which had been overall positive. Work ethics and business ethics seem to be held seriously in Japan in general - but not at this place. There are so many great places in Kyoto - stay...

Overall, we had a lovely time here. We were made to feel very welcome and were well looked after.

You can order sets at different prices for Yakiniku here.

You can also order a-la-carte which is what we opted for in the end as we didn’t want the tongue, seaweed soup and raw egg that came with the set.

We ordered 3 cuts each; loin, calvi and skirt with kimchi and rice accompaniments.

The sets are advertised as A5 wagyu… we asked if the a-la-carte menus was also wagyu and they said that it was… but it couldn’t have been.

The meat was hit and miss - some tender - some not - generally tasty though and we had a pleasant meal that was reasonably priced.

Most other wagyu restaurants looked like well over 10 000 yen per set and we just weren’t prepared to pay that.

This was a tasty alternative, and whilst may not have been the melt in your mouth experience we’ve had at other places when spending more, I would recommend it.

Perhaps would be worth trying the set for a proper comparison as this seems to be very well reviewed!

We like the neighbourhood that this restaurant is in - much quieter than the chaos of...

DON’T GO!

I can confirm negative reviews that have been posted before by other guests. I should’ve read it before I went there.

This restaurant has every aspect of a classical TOURIST TRAP.

Portion sizes are MUCH smaller than on the menu photos. Staff’s explanation was that photos on the menues are to be considered “symbolic”.

On final invoice were items I never ordered. They even admitted they ADDED NON-ORDERED items, but explained it by a fake “rule” to be applied.

At the end they tried to SCARE ME by calling the police. So classic.

I have traveled many parts of the world, and yes, there are countries where you experience similar stories. As an European, I know what I am talking about.

The staffs friendly face is fake, but it is easy to detect their routined way in lulling their victims.

This was the first and unprecented experience of such bad kind in 40 years of traveling this friendly country.

Just don’t go there. There are so many other nice places in...