KYOTO BISTRO — Restaurant in Kyoto

Unbelievable how bad of an experience I had. I was in the area and my wife said she heard good things about this restaurant at the most prestigious 5-star hotel in Kyoto. We were greeted at the reception and asked if we were there for dinner. I said no, just some appetizers. The staff said ok, then couple minutes later a different staff repeated the same question and walked away, and then a third staff asked the same question and said if your not here for dinner you can only sit at the bar. The dining room was empty. We sat at the bar, the server asked if we would like to see the wine menu, I said we don’t drink alcohol. He then said so you just want to drink some tap water! Yes, “tap”water! Not filtered, bottled, mineral, or sparkling.

We ordered the octopus salad that was recommended by the server. Presentation was horrific, octopus was bitter because it was burnt on the grill, the iceberg lettuce was wilted, and my wife said what is this? I said it’s the head of the octopus. She said I didn’t know it’s edible. I said maybe at a cheap izakaya or takoyaki but not a 5-star hotel. The server came to ask if we would like some more “tap” water and I said what is this? He said it’s octopus. I said what part? He said the leg. I said no it’s not, it’s the head. He said no you are wrong, with a slight attitude so I asked to speak to the chef. The chef is busy, ok let me speak with the manager. Then I saw the executive chef walking around so I flagged him down and showed him and asked do you really serve octopus head in your restaurant? He said yes it’s normal in Japan. I’ve been a chef over 25 years with nearly 20 of them working at 5-star hotels in Tokyo. He then said octopus is expensive and walked away. Meanwhile the kitchen chef was having a sneeze attack in the open kitchen while stirring a pot of soup, didn’t even wash his hands after a few sneezes. The menu said Shichimi Aioli as the dressing, it was more like Kewpie with Shichimi.

When it was time to pay the bill the Captain or Manager asked how was everything? I showed him the head and he said what do you want? I said I want you so see this. He said this hotel has been open for 5 years and nobody ever complained about the octopus salad. I said so in 5 years the menu has not changed? Yes, that is correct. Everyone loves our food. I thought the restaurant advertises local seasonal ingredients therefore that would mean changing the menu quarterly. I guess not.

Bad experience from beginning to end. Nothing positive to say about the restaurant, the food, nor the service. I understand English might not be the national language of Japan but “tap water” and the servers don’t know the difference between an octopus head and the leg. Bad training on the managements part regarding the tap water and the staff not knowing what they are serving....

On my recent trip to Kyoto, Japan, finding a traditional American breakfast proved to be quite a challenge. Luckily, we stumbled upon the KYOTO BISTRO, conveniently located near the Park Hyatt Hotel, and it was a delightful find.

The breakfast at KYOTO BISTRO was a real treat. They offered an incredible variety of fruits, some of which were new to us, adding an exciting and exotic touch to our morning meal. It's always a pleasure to try new flavors, especially when they're as fresh and delicious as the ones we found here.

But the standout feature of their breakfast was undoubtedly the selection of fresh-baked bread. Every type imaginable was available, from classic loaves to more artisanal varieties, all baked to perfection. As a bread lover, this was an absolute dream come true.

If you're in Kyoto and craving something different from the traditional Japanese breakfast, I highly recommend heading to KYOTO BISTRO. The quality and variety of their breakfast offerings are sure to satisfy your cravings and give you a great start...

Stay away from this tourist trap. But do come here if you want a bad Americanized experience. My indian waiter said they only offer Evian water. It was my understanding that they don't offer free tap water. Well he lied. They charged me $7 USD for the Evian water bottle. Not even back home in America do I pay that amount. But i did notice all the asian/indian tourists were getting the free tap water but all the white tourists had the evian bottle. Very shady. The burger i ordered tasted pretty good, but the flavor was in the plain side. If you are from America it won't wow you! Also the meat patty was extremely small. It was pure bread. I paid $20 USD for the burger. Definitely not worth it. This was the most expensive meal I had during my 2+ week trip in Japan. And the restaurant/service was the worst I had. My waiter was not attentive and unfriendly. Same goes for the manager or whoever that woman was that brought the credit card slip. Save your money and go...