Sushi Kyoto Saeki — Restaurant in Kyoto

Don't get me wrong. The sushi was tasty. But we considered it worse taste-wise than most omakase and Michelin-type experiences we've had across Asia and North America, despite being one of the most expensive. There are amazing omakase experiences in this world at a quarter of this price point; I recommend you stay away from this one.

The meal started with a very tasty grilled tuna and leek skewer, followed by a series of soups and small plates before going into nigiri. The main letdown was the most important and individualized part of sushi: the sushi rice. It had a much subtler flavour with less rice vinegar than most omakase restaurants. It was good per se but felt bland in contrast to various cuts of fish. Not bad, but disappointing on a value-for-money basis. The preceding small plates were good but nothing blew us away.

We don't really care much about service, but it was surprisingly poor for the price point. We were even made to feel a little uncomfortable. Often the translator only explained the dishes quietly to the customers at the other end of the table, and we had to repeatedly ask her to repeat them for us. The staff chatted about the two of us at length in Japanese in front of us, and even made a couple jokes about us and laughed. (That they were talking about us was obvious from hand gestures, glances, and keywords.) I'm sure the jokes would be funny if we were in on them, but alas, we were not. Totally inappropriate for this type of restaurant. We were afraid we had offended them somehow.

The atmosphere was good. The restaurant was gorgeous. There's no music playing, which sounds fine at first, but eating in complete silence as the staff stared at us made for a slightly awkward vibe. This was especially true for us in light of the other service concerns.

At the end, we were confused when asked for a tipping percentage. It was the only time we were ever asked in Japan. The rates they recommended were something like 10,...

Absolutely an amazing experience to have. It is not the cheapest that you can find in Kyoto, but definitely recommended for people that like a special experience.

We arrived a bit early (better early than late) and had the luck there was a good English speaking chef (not head chef but still skilled of course) that helped us during the dinner with communication and explaining the different dishes.

We had the pleasure to dine here through Tableall (Dutch people sadly cannot reserve through the own website due to Dutch law). However they even gave us an alternative way of reserving at the end of the dinner so we did not have to pay extra the next time we would come (for sure on the itinerary next time we are in Kyoto).

The ambience you arrive in is lovely, and the service is outstanding. Wardrobe is taken care off on arrival and the staff is beyond helpful and sweet.

The cooking is out of this world good. The chef worked with local and fresh ingredients, of which most were also special for the season. We got to try a lot of new ingredients prepared in a very simple or complicated way. Seeing the food prepared in front of us was an incredible experience. Even though the headchef himself did not speak a lot of english communication through his collegue was fun and felt nice.

Even though the dinner did not take too long (2 hours, nice pace of dishes and timing) it felt like the entire night flew by.

Both presentation (from the dishes and glasswere that were used) and quality were outstanding.

Overal I would reccommend this place if you want to experience an amazing Omakase, however I would not advise it for people who want a quick and cheap bite. You get what you pay for, incredible service and food, but it does also require more from...

A true let down—I came out of this meal almost feeling scammed for the price. Compared to other omakase experiences I’ve had at the same price point, I can’t believe how chaotic and thoughtless our meal at Sushi Saeki was.

The food: Way worse than I would expect at this price point. The mackerel was definitely very fresh, but they kept serving the same fish over and over again. We were served mackerel at least 3 times, and tuna at least 3 times as well—there was very little variety in the nigiri, compared to basically every other omakase I’ve been to. Also, the uni was pretty bad… like not bad enough that you can’t eat it, but it didn’t taste fresh and it still had that stinky smell from low quality uni. Honestly the uni I had in a shopping mall chirashi dish was better. There was no tamago dish, and the dessert was a simple, standard ice cream.

The service: So chaotic, and not very professional. The staff kept rushing around and bumping into each other, and a few times they asked each other what was being served next. It’s honestly the most disorganized “fine dining” experience I’ve ever had. Bowls were dropped, and it often seemed like the chefs were just making things up on the spot, since they were so confused about what dish was coming next.

There was a translator, but they had to keep clarifying with the chef whether they were saying the right thing, and once I noticed the translation was just wrong (they stated the wrong kind of fish).

Honestly shocked at the experience here for the price point. I usually do not leave negative reviews, but I truly would not recommend Sushi Saeki to anyone—if you’re in Kyoto, I would skip this and book a kaiseki meal instead (Kiyama was amazing, and well...