What’s Matsusaka Beef — Restaurant in Kyoto

(Another Tourist trap?) Made reservation through hotel reception for 6:30pm on a Sunday, after seeing the high ratings on Google. Arrived 5min early and escorted to private room. Pretty nice ambience. Thought of starting with some wine and appetizers. Just before 7pm, was informed that last order for us is at 7:30pm and we also need to give up the table by 8pm. That’s just 1hr to order and grill and then eat everything.

Raw marbled beef was nice (steak tartare). Some decent wines at ok prices. That’s about it. We are big eaters of offal but only half of it was edible (liver is nice but the stomach is too tough to eat mostly). Also ordered the platter (4 cuts) but only 2 out of 4 were ok (yes, very marbled but not particularly tasty). Yes we know wagyu is expensive (and are prepared to pay as long as quality and service is good) but honestly portions are small for the price. Have had better (value and quality) elsewhere.

Take note 95% of the reviews are from tourists (and many are non-Japanese who are perhaps less familiar with makes a great Yakiniku restaurant). Hardly any locals spotted (make of it what you will). 10min before 8pm the staff came in with the bill. On the way out we saw many empty tables and outside was nobody queuing. Really unsure what the...

Definitely a tourist trap and not a traditional Yakiniku experience in Japan. Meat was mediocre at best, the red wine was fridge cold (!!!), insanely high prices compared to other local restaurants, the heat of the grill was very low to cook the wagyu as it should be, the kimchi felt store made, as sauces we had just soy sauce served (!!!) which is something we did not find in a traditional yakiniku.

I would recommend avoiding this place at all costs if you are looking for a traditional Yakiniku experience and try finding a place that doesn’t look fancy.

Charging €250 for 600G of beef is absurd considering the quality of everything mentioned above.

For the owner and staff, please take into consideration what I have mentioned and try focus on the details. You have a lovely space with pretty good service, it’s a shame not to perfect this.

Honestly, I am even more shocked by all the positive comments and reviews I read before visiting, probably from clueless tourists which have never tried anything else.

I never write negative reviews but this one felt like someone was joking me or just taking me money.

Hope you don’t take the above in the wrong way and try improving the overall...

Arrived on a Tuesday evening around 6 pm, and without a reservation, we were informed that the next available slot would be at 8 pm. Needing to consult with my wife, I stepped outside for a brief discussion and returned within a minute, ready to wait for the 8 pm slot. Surprisingly, the staff then informed us that the next available time had shifted to 8:30 pm, causing confusion as we were initially told 8 pm just a minute earlier.

The hostess and a person in a white shirt displayed unwelcoming behavior when we questioned the sudden change, prompting us to reconsider our dining choice. Later, we discovered that this establishment is notorious for being a tourist trap, and we were fortunate not to have fallen into that trap.

The inconsistency in the information provided and the unpleasant encounter with the staff left us with a negative impression. It's disappointing when a dining experience is marred by miscommunication and rudeness. In hindsight, our decision to leave seems justified, and it serves as a cautionary tale for those considering this particular venue. Should change the name to what the fk instead of...