Pizzeria Osteria e．o．e — Restaurant in Kyoto

This restaurant is not child or gaijin friendly. After a great first experience, we decided to go back again as despite being gaijin, I speak Japanese and we live in Kyoto. Upon arrival they let us know we could only have 90 minutes but that was fine, our children get restless so we don’t take long. While waiting for food, my son started being loud as he is only two years old so I went outside. After coming back inside, the waiter brought me google translate saying “don’t exit and enter as it disrupts our neighbours”. Next door to the restaurant is a parking lot. There was another table where the woman who seemed European went in and out with her grandson a number of times but they were not shown the phone with translation. We ordered the chicken and sausage and they both came with sauces on top of them that weren’t listed on the English menu. These sauces contained allergens so I couldn’t eat them. Staff didn’t care that I was upset by the whole interaction. I was solely thinking of the other people dining and to stop the noise my son was creating. When we were leaving, the waiter opened the door and our children ran out on to the street by themselves. I suggested that maybe they should not children or foreigners in the restaurant and the waiter said “yes”. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone ever again. They should really consider why they’re in the service...

By far the worst dining experience in all of Japan during my month-long stay.

Open hostility toward tourists, zero professionalism, and a business model built on smoke and mirrors. (Notice how many “5-star” reviews there are? This is because free dessert bribes are given for ratings.

We arrived to a half-empty restaurant but were told to wait outside. When finally seated, we were warned of a 40-minute wait, which we accepted without complaint. Instead of service, we were left sitting in a dead-quiet restaurant, ignored for 20 minutes. no menus, no acknowledgment, nothing.

So we upped and left and spent our money elsewhere.

This place isn’t about food or hospitality. it’s about attitude. They clearly want to play the “locals only, outsiders unwelcome” game.

If you’re a visitor, don’t waste your time or money here. There are far better, more authentic pizza spots nearby that actually care about their customers and treat people and tourists visiting with basic respect.

Shame on you, Pizzeria Osteria. If the owner is reading this! don’t bother replying with the usual canned “we’ll try harder” excuse.

fix your staff or...

Good atmosphere and definitely felt like a more upmarket pizza place in Kyoto. My partner said Japan was known for having good pizza (kinda weird but apparently better than Italy??) so we tried this place out.

The staff were okay. They weren’t super duper friendly but we’re not rude or anything. They got us seated and we quickly got to ordering. They ran out of/ didn’t have prosciutto that day which was a shame so we got the Margherita and a different one that the staff member recommended which had ham and something else.

The pizza was decent but seemed very thin and the base was a bit soggy, vs being crispy. We also felt that the group beside us (who were a very boisterous Japanese group), had ordered the same pizza and got one that was a fair bit larger, so we were not sure if this were a coincidence or preferential treatment. Either way, it was decently good pizza 🍕

Just note that they can get a bit busy so make a reservation beforehand...