Nakashimaya — Restaurant in Kyoto

I write a new review as we made our second visit to Kyoto and this restaurant (first one was July 2023). I will start with the part we felt was lacking before the overall positive review. I want to underscore that this is very much a place we still recommended (but hope they will read our feedback).

First: to foreigners (Japan visitors) that might be reading this: please be respectful. I'm amazed at how badly some guests behave here in Kyoto when speaking to staff.

Then to our review.

Since our first visit (last year) to this restaurant there have been a couple of changes. The most important is the use of qr code to order. Unfortunately, when compared to our first visit, where one employee took the orders, this means there is less communication with the staff (which we found delightful and missed today) and also harder (for us from Norway🙃) to get into contact with other guests. So in short, this place has become more anonymous, and it impacted the service and atmosphere a lot for us.

Someone also took my umbrella on their way out :-( I liked that umbrella.

Place is divided into a desk opposite to the cooks and staff where you sit comfortably, often with other people, and an upstairs part (which we've never been to). It makes for a very cozy environment!! You get food and drink over the desk, which is lovely. Staff seems to be hard working and are kind and forgiving.

The food itself has not lost its potential. There are many small dishes and you order as you go. It makes for a great time with a friend. There's a surprise when you leave :-) Which was as welcome and cute as it was the first time we were here.

In short, a delightful experience and I still recommend this place. Remember to book, they are busy. But I hope they will consider taking the steps to be more communicative to their guests. QR codes were great in the pandemic, but they have not been a boost for the atmosphere, and kind, funny and communicative staff, that WAS here last year.

It is still very much possible to talk with other patrons, but you need to approach them yourself, so pick up some Japanese words before you go, if that...

Came yesterday but failed to get a seat. So we reserved for today. Arrived early and thankfully we were admitted cos it was cold outside.

Once within, we were filled with the warmth of the food. It was advanced in that we used QR code for menu selection. We chose about 14 dishes, and only ordered one large rice later. Let me begin...

Hits: Drinks. I only ordered the home made ones, except for an orange juice for the youngest. The pear soda was interesting, but I like the hot ginger tea(with hint of yuzu).

Dishes. The obanzai is like Korean banchan. I particularly found the tofu mash interesting, maybe it was cooked in an umami sauce with carrots and mashed.

Fried. In the following order, we liked the corn tempura, simple and sweet. The deep fried horse mackerel was excellent. Prawn with mayo used very fresh, crunchy prawn. Fried chicken with what tasted like ponzu was well seasoned, but nothing really special.

Stewed beef brisket with radish was a very very homey dish with delicious soup. Must order.

Sashimi was fresh and my two kids enjoyed the 5 cuts.

Salad with boiled pork with a sesame and miso dressing was very healthy yet tasty treat for us, after being largely carnivorous.

Misses: Stir fry sliced chicken breast with leek was a little too sweet for me. The drooling chicken didn't really do it for me. It was steamed/boiled chicken breast in a soy, vinegar sauce. Thigh would have been better.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal. We paid ¥13k for four and enjoyed a homey meal in a foreign land. I hope the young chefs continue their journey to produce great...

Would give 0 stars if I could. Japan is known for its people’s hospitality, but this place is the opposite. It only allows cancellation through a phone call, but when my mom tried calling to cancel, no one picked up the phone. She tried calling for over an hour, but no one picked up. She then tried using a telephone booth, but again no reply. After that, she went to the local police station to ask if one of the officers could call for her. They called the restaurant, but no reply. Since there was a no-show fee if you had a reservation, my mom decided we should go. When we were there the next day, my mom told them of her experience. The manager then said that no one ever called. He then said that our phone must not have worked, so he told us to call them. My mom said her phone had to have WiFi to call, and the owner refused to give us the WiFi. My mom then used my phone to try calling, as she also did that yesterday. We then heard the phone in the restaurant ring, and the owner confirmed it was us. He then started vehemently telling us to leave, which we eventually did. At the entrance of the restaurant there was a sign saying “Due to the number of foreigner no show on the day of reservation, we are not accepting in person same day reservations.” This is evidently because they refuse to pick up the phone to get the no-show fee. Huge scam. Do not go as if you have to cancel, you may end up paying large amount of money. My mom left a review earlier about the same thing, but they hid it from the...