Sushi Ovino — Restaurant in Kyoto

My comment is partly in response to Sugar Mui’s review of the restaurant. I had the displeasure of sharing a dining experience with this individual who right off the bat had a bad negative energy as soon as she walked into the restaurant. You carried yourself as if everyone around you should serve you and nobody else in the room exists. You were rude, obnoxious, nit picky, and had something to say about everything. You even got upset at the staff when you noticed your plate was the only one that had pickled ginger at the start of dinner service. Not to mention your obvious display of displeasure and annoyance when the staff had difficulty communicating with you due to the language barrier. Imagine planning a trip to a foreign country and expecting everyone around you to speak English. Maybe do some research before entering a foreign country and don’t get frustrated and annoyed at the staff for their inability to communicate and respond to your needy requests. On top of that you snapped your fingers at one of the waitresses to get her attention. In all my years of dining out, I have never experienced such a rude, demanding, obnoxious person, ever, and I’m from the states. You treated the staff so poorly and picked on all the waitresses bc people like you know the staff can’t retaliate. Your negativity and disrespect was so overwhelming that the other gentleman dining at the same time spoke up for the staff and told you to relax and take it easy. Imagine thinking you’re so important bc you’ve left a couple reviews on an online platform and thinking your opinions really matter. You have no self awareness and zero class as you got up and left without even paying for the drinks you ordered simply bc you were upset at the fact that myself and the other diner called you out for your behavior. It’s people like you that ruin it for everyone. These chefs spend years and sometimes over half of their lifetime training and practicing their craft just to be harassed and have their business called out by someone who thinks they’re way more important than they really. You've been leaving reviews on Google for how long? A few years tops? Your opinions don’t matter, and you obviously lack basic food knowledge bc when I asked you if you knew what omakase meant, you had no clue and no response. It was blatantly obvious bc you made snarky comments to the chef about every piece of sushi that was served to you, and even told the chef how soy sauce shouldn't be served with the fish. Your behavior during dinner service shows how under qualified you are to be writing any reviews pertaining to food. Nobody should ever take you or your reviews have to say seriously. I don’t know what you were dealing with or going through that day, but that is never an excuse to treat people the way I saw you treat the staff. Your review comparing the restaurant to Kura is laughable and shows just how petty of a person you are. Do better.

The food and dining experience was excellent. Exponentially better after Sugar Mui stormed out of the restaurant like a little child upset that she didn’t get her way. The staff was very friendly, respectable, and service was top notch. The chef treated us with respect, was very engaging, and tried his best to communicate with us even with the language barrier. You can tell the chef is very passionate about his craft and wanted everyone there to have a great dining experience. The sushi was fresh and the presentation was immaculate. It was the best omakase experience I had during my 3 week stay in Japan. Please make a visit to this restaurant if you’re ever in the area and able to grab a reservation....

This ranks up there as top 3 Omakase’s I’ve ever had in my life, which includes Michelin-starred ones I’ve tried in New York, Tokyo, LA, etc.

The philosophy of the owner is quite beautiful, Omakase is losing the younger generation and Japanese’s high end omakase spots are also not friendly to foreigners nor family either. It’s now a stuffy occasion where you’re eating in silence. So Sushi Ovino is trying to break that trend by being friendly and approachable, hospitality to the core.

Service alone doesn’t make a restaurant and food and taste needs to be there and Sushi Ovino fully delivered on that front.

On top of the omakase set with Uni I also had the 3 sake flight and ordered grape juice and before I review the food, let me tell you, the sake and grape juice was exceptional so don’t skip out on those. Generous pours of sake so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.

1st: Sardine Maki with Shiso and Ginger, Ginger was freshly pickled and worked well 2nd: Uni hand roll, great nori with fantastic crunch. Generous heap of uni.

Below are nigiri courses: 3rd: Spot prawn, perfect 4th: Lean Tuna, aged blue fin tuna, super creamy and tender. Probably the best I’ve had ever 5th: Golden Eye Red Snapper, perfect amount of light wasabi with a light soy brush. Very buttery 6th: Medium Fatty Tuna (Chu Toro) perfect as always 7th: Hokkaido Salmon, very buttery and perfect bite 8th: Squid, well tenderized balanced with a light soy brush and lime zest 9th: Tiger prawn, a bit of the head juice still on - great 10th: Scallops, great 11th: O Toro, fatty tuna. Chopped with pickled radish which balanced the fattiness perfectly 12th: Monkfish liver, with burdock root. Incredible bite, slightly warmed too. 13th: Mackerel, aged which made it so buttery and it was by far my favorite rendition of mackerel 14th: Eel, good bite 15th: Futamaki with o toro, chu toro, frozen egg. Creative and tasty 16th: Tamago and a delicious shrimp-based miso

It’s hard to find something to critique to be honest. Incredible sushi and hospitality. I will make this a recurring stop whenever I’m in Kyoto again. Thank...

Amazing restaurant and food in Kyoto, I had the best time here! Kenta is the owner and chef and his work with the Omakase sushi was immaculate. I loved every serving and not only was the restaurant atmosphere peaceful and beautiful but Kenta did his best to make conversation with us during our stay and even made recommendations for other local restaurants and cuisines whilst we were in Kyoto!

The rest of the staff were also amazing, there was a new hire starting the evening we went but despite multitasking training and serving us, the staff did an excellent job making sure our service wasn’t affected in any way. The staff was fluent in English and gave a very professional and top notch service throughout. We had the earliest booking possible at 6pm and then was only one other individual dining at the time with us so the ambience was nice and relaxed but also not too busy or stressful for Kenta and the staff. We felt Kenta had his full focus on providing us with the best Omakase service and providing us with lovely dinner conversation. He explained every dish to us and the origins where applicable. All the food was presented beautifully and he served us the next dish at a good pace. He ensured we were happy with the right amounts of wasabi we could handle and since we had drinks included with our course, he gave all the best recommendations for which sake to pair best with the sushi courses! We had plenty of sake each with different flavouring and everything tasted so so great!

Kenta explained that he has been working as a chef for many years now but he only opened Sushi Ovino a few years ago (maybe 4 years, around COVID time?) I couldn’t ask for a better service and throughout our 2.5week stay in Japan, Kenta’s Sushi Ovino restaurant still tops the list of my favourite restaurants I ate at during my stay and this was my first time in Japan!

I would definitely recommend and go again the next time I visit but let the photos speak for themselves!

Hontou ni arigatou-gozaimasu Kenta-san for a wonderful...