Sushi Naritaya — Restaurant in Kyoto

Was definitely a tourist trap!! 2 stars because the fish was ok, staff were friendly and it was middle of tourist area.

BUT, the sushi rice seems like made from a box (very square shape and big portion) not hand made, the nigiri and rolls have way too much rice. So it looks like even worse than a hundred yen cheap running sushi shop!!! For this quality you pay almost the same as a high valued fine dinning sushi restaurant, way too expansive. I only got full because of the rice portion in each nigiri or roll.

I can believe some good review was real and from each’s heart, because the restaurant tried to give English indications for better communication. Or maybe the guest who reviewed with over 4 stars have never had tried a normal sushi restaurant in Japan yet. So it seems the restaurant just try to trap foreigners. If you observe better, no Japanese was even in the shop or queuing outside, if you read the review more carefully almost no Japanese reviewed it. Lessons learned, if no local says good, run away!

After having disappointed of the meal, I have read some bad reviews, can’t agree...

I found Sushi Naritaya via Yelp, when I was searching for a lunch spot in the Arashiyama area that accepted credit cards. Saw that it had a perfect rating, so we gave it a shot. It's not where Google Maps says it is but instead, it is located in this alley way with some other shops. When we arrived at around 3ish, there was only one other couple dining there. The place is pretty small.

I ordered the assorted sushi, which came with eight pieces including fatty tuna, salmon, yellowtail (?), shrimp, eel, uni, and ikura. The only thing I enjoyed was the fatty tuna. It was really good, like melt in your mouth good. You can't go wrong with some fatty tuna. Everything else was like U.S. takeout quality sushi, not Japan-quality sushi. Plus, it was pretty expensive. This plus the chirashi bowl my BF ordered, two extra pieces of fatty tuna, two miso soups came out to 6220 yen. At least we were full. And service was good - the employees there could not be any nicer.

This place was definitely a tourist trap. Don't let the 5 stars fool you. 2 stars for the fatty tuna, and the unlimited green...

The best sushi spot I’ve had in my life from anywhere in the world.

Do. Not. Miss. This.

Ambiance: 5/5 - it was so nice to be in a spot that was so authentic, had the Japanese small town food shop vibe, and only a few tables. You knew it was authentic and well-maintained for a long time.

Service: 5/5 - all of the waitresses were so friendly with a nice smile. They were delighted to serve the sushi and take orders and spoke a bit of English. Very kind people.

Food: 5/5 - I’d rate it higher than 100% if I could. The salmon and tuna sushi were incredible, we savoured every bite. I’m not sure if it’s because we didn’t have any expectations going into it, but the freshness, flavour, even colour, blew us out.

What really put it over the top was the fatty tuna. Don’t come to this place and not try atleast one piece. You won’t regret it no matter what. This was one of those once in a lifetime food moments lol.

Thank you so much to the restaurant, chef, and owners for giving us the best food experience in Japan that we had during our 3 week stay. I hope one day to...