SHAKE SHACK Kyoto Shijo Karasuma — Restaurant in Kyoto

Tl;dr: Had it not been for price and service, it would have been 5 stars for me. There are cheaper spots with better food.

Not too sure how I feel about this place.

Food: on the one hand, the burger tasted delicious. I got the Shake Stack burger. Had most of the typical toppings as well as some delicious breaded and fried mushrooms which made the burger what it was.

The chocolate shake was just good. A nice consistency, with the flavour you'd expect.

As for the fries, they were well-fried, but are standard crinkle-cut fries that anyone from the Americas would have had before. Nothing crazy.

On the other hand, prices and service were a bit of a miss. I'll come out and say it: the prices for what you get are much too expensive. The burger alone was about $14, and when combined with the shake and fries meant the meal cost $26. I feel like you pay more for the vibe of the restaurant than anything else.

Service-wise, it was lacklustre. Nobody manning the cash meant I had to go pull someone to take my order, and the bathroom was in a pretty sad state with garbage overflowing and no toilet paper. Granted, it was an hour before close so "we'll do it when we close" might have been the motivation, but still,...

I cannot recommend this place enough!!! tourists like me might ask, shake shack tastes the same everywhere in the world so why bother going to one in Kyoto. but this was the most wonderful experience I ever had in this neighborhood. Okay no exaggeration, burgers and fries taste the same. only difference is that they offer their signature sauce as a dip instead of mayo. However, their matcha edition shakes and concretes were phenomenal. I ordered Kyoto Cookie crete which is a matcha-flavored ice cream. This was just great. And their hospitality is the greatest of them all. The clerk frequently checked with me if I needed anything, and they even helped me move a seat to use a charger. I mean, their food might be expensive a bit but it was worth every penny considering their service, taste, free Wifi and the atmosphere. I would definitely come here again to taste the Uji...

Shake Shack is a staple in my life when it comes to a tasty well made burger. The bacon avo combo is my particular favourite. The Kyoto shop is in a great location in a very pretty and interesting part of Kyoto. Staff are fabulous. It really deserves 5 stars but is let down in my opinion by the ridiculous size and water supply to the miniature hand wash basin in the only unisex toilet which is actually enormous by Japan standards. Please please please🙏 can you install an adult size wash basin in your toilet. It would also assist in minimising the constant mess around the basin which the staff must be tired of trying to keep it constantly clean.I come regularly so I really would like to be able to give you a five star...