Sumibi and Wine Karasuma — Restaurant in Kyoto

Just go somewhere else.

We had dinner at this restaurant but the experience was not nice. let’s first start with the wine and food. We started with the two hour unlimited wine tasting. Because the menu was in the Japanese language we asked the waiter if there was a menu in English, he told us there was and we could scan the QR-code. Via the link you could see the dishes and order by your mobile. We started with the salad and meat platter, both were nice!

We really like ruquefort cheese and we saw it on the picture so we ordered it. When the platter came there were totally different cheeses on the platter witch was a little disappointing.

Also we ordered a form of stew with mushrooms, taro and Wagyu. The waiter told us there was no more taro and if she could replace it with patatos, no problem of course. When the dish came there was no Wagyu in the stew as wel, it was just a plain dish with garlic, potatoes and mushrooms. When we pointed it out the waiter had a discussion at the kitchen en came back with the menu. She pointed out that the Japanese menu did not have Wagyu. When we showed here the English ordering link with the Wagyu she went back to the kitchen. After a while she told us they would remake the dish and we needed to wait. After a couple of minutes she came back and showed us a translated text on her phone telling us that we could not order any more. We asked her what she ment because we still had a hour of the wine tasting. She added to the text that we could not order any more food without any explanation.

In most places in Japan we had the feeling that we were most welcome, the male staff at this restaurant did not give this impression. We felled unwelcome. It started when we came in and the employee at the counter totally ignored us when he walked by us. When you get seated at the table the whole crew welcomes you, this feels a bit weird when they won’t even look at you when you come in. Also the first male waiter was really short and rude in his conversation. We try to speak some basic Japanese words and normally people appreciate it. The waiter just gave of a arrogant vibe. The lady who helped us next was really nice!

At the end of the dinner we were just done and did not want to continue our stay...

There were 6 of us yesterday. After a few minutes, they informed us that we were all required to order a salad, as per the house rule. After another 10 minutes, we were able to order our dishes. The starters were very small, all cold and without any sensational flavor for the prices of + 1500 yen. One of the starters (sealed meat) was so tough that it was inedible, in addition to a very strong smoked taste. My wife ordered a carbonara, which was inedible, it had nothing to do with traditional carbonara - it had fish eggs and cream, and there was no parmesan or peccorino romano - terrible. My father had a crab dish that had no crab pieces at all, just a decorative crab shell. My dish was the Wagyu A4, which took almost 1 hour after the other dishes. The service was very bad, slow, they didn't clean the table and they also had great difficulty speaking English. When paying, they didn't accept Apple...

I made a last-minute reservation at this bustling restaurant, which is quite popular among young people. Initially, I was concerned that we might feel out of place, but the staff quickly put those worries to rest with their warm hospitality. Our waitress was incredibly helpful, offering a variety of insightful recommendations that enhanced our dining experience.

The grilled Oita Japanese beef was simply fantastic, especially when paired with the fresh wasabi. The mushroom and taro ajillo was both innovative and delicious, and the crab pasta was absolutely perfect, with a rich flavor that tied the meal together beautifully. Overall, it was a truly memorable...