SHOGUN BURGER祇園四条店 — Restaurant in Kyoto

Wanted to end my Japan trip trying a Japanese-style burger - ended up with a raw burger and disrespect instead. I was already brought out the wrong sandwich twice but because of my broken Japanese I figured we were bound to have some hiccups and I would be patient as that is my fault not theirs. However when nothing came and my cousin was halfway through her meal I asked about it and they had had a mix up resulting in needing to make my burger again.

A little shocking that I had to remind them of my burger order to have it finally be cooked 30 minutes later but again the language barrier from before was to blame and I could be patient. In the meantime I asked to snack on fries.

When it did come out, it looked delicious. Took my first bite and the flavors were there and I was relieved! Until I realized my burger meat was a little off. I look and it is just bright pink. Not medium, more like medium rare to just straight up raw. Like barely cooked. I like a good medium myself but this was just too raw. I guess in their haste to fix the mix up they rushed the cook? At this point, I was just ready to get a refund and cut my losses and eat elsewhere. I brought it to the kind waiter’s attention and he said he will get that refund situated and left to inform management I guess? Then he came back and took my plate and all I see are all the cooks surrounding my plate and inspecting it because I guess they didn’t believe me? Because a minute later, the waiter comes back and tells me that’s just how they cook all their burgers but if I INSIST they could do a refund…

At this point, you are insulting my intelligence. My cousins burger was medium well, you could just drop your pride, explain they rushed to try and make up for the lost time but no. You didn’t believe me when I say it’s raw and then when you do see the proof you want to lie to my face. I would’ve respected them more and not written this review if the cooks and management apologized and just quietly gave me the refund. Because I’m fair, I will tell you, the taste and flavor is definitely there. The waiters are pleasant. And in the end, I got my refund. However, more than the refund, I value basic respect and honesty. Cooks or management or both need...

Sadly, this was a terrible experience and mid-burger at best. But to be fair, I think they have new hires who have no idea what they are doing and that this is an atypical experience. Came here on a Friday night at 9pm. Didn’t get our food until 10:30pm. They’re supposed to close at 10! They warned us as we were ordering that there would be a 30 minute wait but an hour and a half! For a burger!?

What’s worse is that the whole restaurant was waiting even longer than us. Everyone was looking around wondering where their food was. The only staff member to care at all was the server bringing the food to the tables but you could tell the staff behind the grill and counter had no idea what they were doing. They had zero hustle or stress. Each order that came out would be given items piece meal. A drink would be given 20 minutes after an order and dips 10 minutes after the food was given to the table.

The Burger itself needed salt and was barely formed into patties that it fell apart completely into chunks after 2 bites. EVERYONE - and I mean everyone - in the restaurant was pissed at the wait time and quality of the food. Multiple tables complained and everyone gathered outside in awe of the terrible experience to complain to one another since the restaurant staff seemed to think there were no problems.

We spoke to several different tables but another family told us the Shogun in Shibuya Tokyo was incredible and that this must be due to a lack of experience. They encouraged us to try a different location and to not judge this restaurant by this experience of which they shared the same complaints.

Took two hours to have a fast food burger that definitely didn’t live up to the hype and wasn’t even good. Maybe we will try...

I tried the Chili Meat Sauce Cheeseburger and the Fried Chicken at spice level two. The burger was excellent, fresh, and full of flavor. The bun was soft with the perfect texture and matched the burger very well. The sauce was creamy and slightly tangy, adding freshness to the rich meat flavor. The lettuce was crisp and the jalapenos added a good touch, even though they could have been a bit spicier.

The beef patty was juicy and full of taste. It was well seasoned and had the perfect balance between tenderness and structure. It felt like a high quality burger made with care.

The fried chicken was flavorful and rich. The crust was crispy and the seasoning powder had a strong and exciting taste. The spice level was enjoyable without being too much.

The fries were amazing, thin, crispy, and perfectly salted. The citrus mayo worked very well with them and made the combination even better.

Overall, it was a great meal that I would recommend to anyone nearby. Fresh food, great flavor, and a very...