KOKEKOKKO KYOTO — Restaurant in Kyoto

Went over last Thursday food was quite ok. Went over again, second time round, on Sunday, different chef, food was horrible. The standard isn’t consistent. Quality clearly subpar.

While service throughout day 1 & day 2 was both as usual terrible. They saw you at the door but they don’t sit you down nor serve you despite several empty seats at the restaurants. Nor are they busy either, all 4 waiter & waitress, they just stand there and look away, not waiting to serve at all. We had to approach them ourselves after quite some time waiting at the door.

We rejected the side dish Edamame and staff gave us a black face after that. They didn’t even mention that there is a charge of 600yen tied to each serving. They just go ahead and charge to your tab.

Their speciality chicken dish was tough and tasteless. There wasn’t much customers, the restaurant could even forgot and not serve some of our orders. That was clearly not at a busy hour as it was 1 hour away from closing time.

During payment, we queried the number of dishes that was charged. Staff doesn’t seem surprised when we asked why we were charged for the edamame and dishes that was not served to us. We were intentionally charged extras just because we can’t read Japanese for there aren’t any English written on it.

The lady manager and waitress they themselves knew we didn’t eat and had cancelled some dishes for they weren’t served, yet the lady manager still added to the tab bent on charging us. Obviously we had our point made across. The restaurant was dishonest, and unfriendly to international guests.

So disappointed in the inconsistency in food quality and horrendous service. Did not live up to the initial image that I had of honest Japanese… one rotten egg spoilt the...

Food was really good during my first visit to the restaurant. Restaurant was packed during the peak hours, bad service was forgiven. Was seated at the counter where I could see how the chef meticulously cooked our food.

Went over the second time, service was bad as usual. This time we came a little late, there weren’t much diners around. We were seated at the table, observed that no one was seated at the counter this time round. Drinks were served midway through dinner, after we reminded the waitress. Some food orders were not delivered even after multiple reminders.

Food was horrible. Probably due to no one watching over the chefs while they are preparing the food. They were chitchatting away, maybe distracted from cooking. Pork and chicken skewer were really dry. Speciality chicken dish was tough and bitter, overcooked and burnt.

During payment, staff overcharged for side dishes edamame that never came, skewers that got lost in transit. Doesn’t seem surprised when we told them we didn’t received so many food items. Staff just casually strike out those items that wasn’t delivered and proceed like nothing happened… No apologies, made the whole overcharging episode felt like it’s intentional.

Recommend to go during peak hours where chances of getting better food is higher, and crossing fingers that bad service is not too horrible ..

Ps: if the photos made the food looks good, probably attributed to my good...

4.5 / 5.0 - Kokekokko is a great lunch spot on the 10F of Isetan, adjacent to Kyoto Station. I went for the first time 20 years ago and have continued to go over the years, despite the huge variety of options at Kyoto Station. Many popular spots have long lines, but the lines here generally are not as long because it’s not on the main restaurant floor, which is the 11F.

I was meeting up with a friend at Kyoto Station for lunch today, which is right in the middle of a 3-day weekend. So there were people everywhere, but we went around 13:30 and were able to get in after a short wait.

They grill the meat on charcoal right in front of you if you’re sitting at the counter. They also have tables with a nice view of Kyoto Tower.

Today, I ordered the Oyakodon (JPY 1,400+), which comes with miso soup, pickles and a mini dessert. Unlike a regular Oyakodon, the chicken here is charcoal-grilled, which adds so much more flavor. And the soft, fluffy eggs and scallions complemented it well. If you like Oyakodon or yakitori, I highly recommend you give...