Motsu-nabe Toraya — Restaurant in Kyoto

DO NOT COME!

I barely write any negative reviews but I really have to this time. I ran into this restaurant while browsing on the street and beef offal shabu shabu sounds quite unique so I decided to give it a try.

We waited for 20 mins before getting seated which is not too bad given the peak season. While we were ordering food, I pulled out Google Maps and started reading other people’s reviews, and it turned out that all the negative reviews were 100% true. They did improve a bit after some of the negative reviews were posted, but still were trying to trick tourists.

First, the appetizer costs 495 yen per person. It was mentioned on Google Maps that previously they wouldn’t tell the customers and would simply serve it and charge people afterwards. They did mention it to me this time though. However we literally paid 1000 yen for nothing. 3 super small dishes and tasted awful.

Second, apparently we are here for beef offal hotpot. The menu says 1815 yen for regular size and 2178 for large size. I specifically asked the staff whether the pot was enough for 2 people and he answered that we could share (not sure if this is intentional). It turned out that the price 2178 yen was PER PERSON. But no where on the menu says it’s for EACH PERSON. I only found out when I was about to pay and specifically asked for the line item bill because it should be ~4000 for 2 people instead of 6200 yen. I went back and forth with the staff several rounds and eventually they only charged for 1 person because they admitted that the price was not clear on the menu.

Third, the food was not good at all. The beef intestine is 95% fat and impossible to chew. I only ate the vegetables and left all the intestine in the pot.

The whole experience was very unpleasant and is the worst of my entire trip in Japan. I feel deceived and it appears that the restaurant intentionally tries to trick the customers. Please do not come...

Chanced upon this store while looking for nabe to have for dinner, however it was not a satisfactory meal.

We ordered the Motsunabe which comes with offal, apparently it's some intestines. It's very fatty you can barely see the intestine lining, and just be chewing on fats. But that is fine, we take it as trying something we've never had. The soup was thick and slightly sweet, with some chilli bits to make it slightly spicy. Soup was refillable. The Motsunabe for the price of ¥1815 per pax was filled with vegetables that can barely fill you, so you have to order add-ons for sure if you need a full meal.

They served us appetisers without asking if we wanted it, of course we thought it came with the meals , like any other places. However we later realised we were charged ¥495 per pax for appetisers that we did not ask for and they did not tell us it will be chargeable, simply served it to us and expect us to pay for it. At the payment counter they only showed the total sum instead of by line to us, which we got to see after getting the receipt which by the way is in Japanese and we had to Google translate it to realise there was a hidden charge. I can only blame myself for not scrutinizing the bills and ask if every single thing handed over to me was chargeable or not, because THIS IS JAPAN, the last country you expect dishonesty to be tolerated.

I would not recommend this place, just AVOID if you...

We just had THE WORST restaurant experience. It's a shame because we had a wonderful time in Kyoto otherwise. We waited for 1.5 hours to get a table but were hopeful because we were the first ones in line. They didn't take reservations so it's first come first served. When there was a table opened, the waiter called to let the Japanese couple who came after us to be seated; he completely ignored and skipped us. Even the Japanese girl was saying we were there first. I asked the waiter, he gave us this very terrible attitude but seated us--you could tell he was not happy that I, as a foreigner corrected him. He rolled his eyes and muffled Japanese under his breath. The worst part is this! When I was taking off my boots (winter walking boots, take longer to take off), he got so impatient with me that without saying anything, he bent down and grabbed my foot and started to yank my boot off!! He looked angry and I was horrified! Thankfully we had a different server and we were too hungry to leave by then.

When the bill finally came, we got a wrong bill.

Food itself was mediocre, not bad but also not good comparing to other nabe places we tried in Kyoto. We had a great one the night before that was just over two blocks from here. Do yourself a favor to avoid this place and find a better place that treats you...