Sereno Shokudō — Restaurant in Kyoto

Our group of 7 arrived at the restaurant at lunch time. It was relatively easy to find a table. The first thing that was much appreciated was the aircon as it was a very hot 34 degree day. The menu had English and it was clear as to what was in each dish. We had the week day lunch specials - 2 Japanese Black Beef Steak set, 4 pasta sets, 1 pizza set. We loved the options of drinks and were surprised by the size of the salad. We are traveling with kids and they chose the fresh tomato sauce with mascarpone and basil. This was loved by them. The carbonara with tuna and corn is creamy and al dente. The adults had the peperoncino chicken and burdock root with yuzu kosho (this is a little bit spicy, but very nicely balanced flavors). The only thing that we would add it the double meat option for...

It was a waste of a meal to eat here. It is edible, but otherwise expensive for what you get and doesn't taste particularly great.

Pizza Margherita looked great on their display storefront, but was not really a pizza, more of an anemic flatbread with sauce and cheese/basil that you can make at home. No baked or charred taste to it. Also very small and flat, more like a personal pizza size for the price of 850 yen.

Got the bacon and spinach pasta, but the bacon was more like kolbassa ham and spinach was mostly thin stems rather than leaves. Lots of pasta, not a lot of toppings.

Overall there are better options in the station. Save your money...

Took a chance on a small italian place in japan but it really wasn’t great. The food was mediocre at best but the service was really bad. They didn’t us any water when we sat down or clean our plates up when they were empty.

I understand if it’s a busy place but we were the only people there and the staff were on the side chatting with each other and eating with no regard to me and my family.

Will not be returning in the future and I would advise people to try...