Kyoto Shijo Kuon — Restaurant in Kyoto

I was recommended dinner at this cozy eatery by a friend who previously came on a visit to Kyoto, and my brother and I found it the perfect remedy for a rainy, cold evening. We didn't have reservations, but were easily able to find a spot upstairs at the main dining room. The first floor consists of a bar area where the kitchen is also located, while the second floor has tables for larger groups, as well as traditional seating with a cheat for gaijin who aren't used to sitting on their knees - there are cutouts in what looks like a raised seating area so that you can stretch your legs out beneath the table. Like us, all the other diners upstairs were foreigners when we went, and we suspect because they have an English menu available and staff who speak English.

Shijo Kuon is known for their curry dipping udon, specifically keema curry; grilled meat and veggie skewers also feature prominently on the menu. We wanted to try a little of everything and ended up with a super hearty meal of wonderfully chewable noodles with savory, punchy curry. The deep-fried mochi in the tsuke-udon was a fun little addition for extra mouthfeel. One of the unexpected delights was the delicious, orange Kyoto egg on rice that was served with each set, and we marveled at how much flavor was packed in each little bubble of yolk.

Everything was prepared elegantly and we left with absolutely zero regrets and 100% satiety. Definitely worth a stop if you're in this...

Service bad and unflexible. I speak fluent Japanese and tried to order the fried vegetable curry udon without the curry sauce (because I'm vegetarian and wanted to eat with non-vegetarian friends). I was told leaving out the curry is not possible because the noodles were cooked in the curry - which is not true as you can easily see in the pictures. Then I ordered the tsukemen (dipping noodles) because the curry is in a separate bowl. I asked if hot noodles were possible, but they denied. The cold noodles were very chewy and had no taste (the hot ones which I tried from my friends were much better). As I couldn't eat the curry and they forgot to give me dipping broth (which I didn't request again because I wasn't sure if it's really included in the set), a dinner of tasteless cold noodles was really no fun. The onsen egg I had ordered on top they put in the curry although I told them I couldn't eat it... My friend also received the wrong dish although they had confirmed the order with us beforehand. The skewers were very greasy and I didn't receive salt with them, even though the others received it with their skewers. When we asked for the free water refill, we didn't get it (probably they forgot). The only food I really enjoyed was the pickled egg yolk on rice and the dessert. Will definitively not go...

Bad customer service, not vegetarian friendly

Visited this place for dinner. I told the waitress I'm a vegetarian and she said my udon noodle dish contained no meat. But the dish then arrived with sauce containing bits of small, cut up chicken pieces. (The sauce was half the meal). I asked the same staff member if she could change the sauce since I had already told her I don't eat meat.

She took my plate away but then returned with it 2 minutes later, apologizing saying the kitchen could not change the sauce and I should by myself take the meat pieces out. Pretty strange to leave it up to the customer to solve the problem.

So in the end, I had to just eat plain udon noodles but, of course, was still charged the full amount.

I found the experience quite frustrating and unprofessional. I hope the restaurant can pay better attention when it comes to dietary restrictions - especially in a more severe case where some customers may...