Kyoto Hamburger Steak “Conel” — Restaurant in Kyoto

OK - first things first...Reading through all the reviews, the common theme here is that folks kind of "stumble" across this place...you walk by and think to yourself - WTF, a hamburger patty restaurant in Kyoto, Japan?! Burger with no bun in a city known for Wagyu?! Must be a joke, right? WRONG. This place is a complete surprise. Underdog restaurant that you didn't even realize was a contender for top spots in Kyoto. My fiancé and I were aimlessly walking around, exhausted from our travels and beaten down by the heat and humidity, when I thought to stop in for a meat patty and a beer to regain some morale. For the first time in my life I tried a "Grape Beer" and it was like heaven's nectar. Imagine a beer and wine had a baby, but with none of the bitter hoppiness of a beer and no tenable alcoholic "bite" of a full bodied wine. Just pure bliss. The meat patty...reminded my of what we in Russia call "kotleta" or cutlet. Same thing my Babushka would make when I was hungry, except here they make it 10x better. The challenge with Kotleti is to ensure you don't dry them out. And man does this place know how to keep them juicy. It was almost falling off my fork as I hurriedly tried to eat bite after bite. Served with a tangy sauce and a bit of potato purée. What a treat. So yes, if you're looking for a place to eat while in Kyoto, stop messing around and go get yourself a patty and a grape beer. You will not regret it, and in fact it might be one of the most memorable meals...

The food at this establishment is excellent, they advertise an organic local grown Kyoto product and it doesn’t disappoint. For about 30 $ you get a 5 course meal and while the portions aren’t overtly big I left feeling filled my first day. The food was so good I came back the next day and wanted to try their cheese filled patty with a blend of 7 cheeses inside , here’s where my dissatisfaction lies..

the waiter brings out a regular beef patty with no cheese and when I brought this to their attention they essentially told me “tough luck, sorry” . The Jr. manager on site explained he had no authority there to offer me anything but some ‘grated cheese on top’. Mistakes happen but 0 remedies being offered left me feeling disrespected, and hurt, especially when you come back to back nights ready to further explore the menu. The food isn’t in question to me but I really hope they develop their amateurish customer service to make loyal customers feel appreciated when mistakes...

I have to say I am surprised people rate this restaurant so high! The first waitresses were lovely and despite my partner having a seafood allergy they did agree to serve us! They were friendly and enough but instead of being sat upstairs where the decor is nicely done and the atmosphere is better they took us downstairs to the basement with the other tourists! The walls were mouldy looking and the table cloths were not clean! They had a plastic cover on but still! The music was very low so you could barely hear it and there was a little alike talkie or static noise happening the whole time we were there! The bill for a salad to share 2 main plates, 2 beers each and a side each was 7.5k yen. The most expensive meal we have eaten yet, but the experience wasn’t worth this. I feel bad to leave a negative review but I also feel we paid to eat and were put in a grubby basement!...