Kura Japanese Restaurant • 1 Utama — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

Ordered pretty much everything from each category except noodles! What we had were assorted sashimi (7 types), salmon belly 5 pieces, 5 fancy maki variations topped with mentai sauce, fish roe, avocado etc. Also fried prawn stuffed maki. Some sushi items for my little son. Edamame, natto with lotus roots, okra etc. Also teriyaki sauced eel set that comes with typical chawanmushi, miso soup, rice and some cut fruits. Also, looking at pics, we ordered assorted bbq ed skewers. Lastly packed icecream , Japanese cheese cakes. After all these, the price reached around rm520. To be honest, the overall food is tasty, but nothing to shout out! In particular, the 7 types of assorted sashimi is a pure waste of money, which only have paper thin sliced fishes and equally thin octopus and cuttlefish fishes. Considering the heptic price of rm 120 something, it should be more thicker and bigger. Equally bad for money value is that salmon sashimi that's way too tiny in size and so thin that i even barely had tasted. So, a salmon belly crazy like my husband thought he was so upset that point coz he couldn't enjoyed 1 tiny piece alone, so he had to pick 3 pieces together to savoring at a time. And voila! The rm 40 something is simply evaporated in a blink. I guess that's why we 4 of us including 1 child, ordered around 5 maki rolls to fill up our stomach. Then the makis rolls aren't cheap either, which the prices range from rm 28 to rm 40. What's more, the assorted bbq ed skewers set is a kinda joke that's just bunch of low quality mushrooms, leeks, okra etc that cost around rm 40 something. The only thing great was the big size eel set that's rm 59 ++. Even though it's still not cheap, at least the quality justify the price. I personally love the natto and lotus grilled, but it would have been even better if less saltier. Okra in miso mixed sesame sauce is not tasty!

Last, not least, the seasoning octopus we ordered, arrived so so late only after we reminded 3 staff about it. That point, now I'm thinking we should have canceled it when i received a cold tiny saucy cut octopus in a tiny tiny bowl. I regretted that why we had ordered this after all.

The ice creams and cheese cakes are highly over priced at over rm 12 ~ , considering they are all commercially super...

1. Service: One of THE friendliest restaurant staff greeted me, especially the waiters. In various branches, the waiters and managers were happy that my family came back again! Some of the waiters also recommended various seasonal items, and that's a bonus. The chef, Mr. Terence is the NICEST guy you can ever meet.

2. Hygiene: The restaurant is pleasantly clean, and usually the tables are set tidily when the seats are taken, so it's definitely a point there. The sashimi is also top notch, and the fact that the restaurant takes pride in hygiene and cleanliness is what makes the sashimi here worth every cent.

3. Pricing: Expensive pricing is par for the course with high end Japanese restaurants, but they deliver in spades. Often, the food there are reasonably priced for the money's worth.

4. Food: LOVE it. With a diverse smorgasbord of food items and fresh sashimi from Japan, who wouldn't come back for more? Too bad they're off menu and seasonal, but the on-menu items are phenomenal all the same. And, my kohada fish.....

5. Atmosphere: Chic decor and the sushi counter makes it soothing to the eye.

Will I visit again? When given the opportunity, since it's high end and not many families can afford the luxury of eating here often. However, there is no doubt that when it comes to Japanese restaurant franchises, incontrovertible proof stands that this restaurant is the king.

FINAL VERDICT : 9/10 = OUTSTANDING

Above all, your establishment earns the Badass seal for being the perfect ambassador for Japanese haute cuisine.

RESTAURANT DEFCON RATING = DEFCON 5 (Consider me a...

I've been a loyal customer of Kura at One World Hotel for more than 15 years. The food has always been excellent, and the service used to reflect the premium standard you would expect from such an establishment. Unfortunately, my last visit was nothing short of a disgrace.

During our meal, the restaurant was infested with small bugs — they looked like gnats or fruit flies. One was dead inside the ikura bowl that I was feeding to my child. There were more on the walls, and one even ended up in my wife's drink. I raised this with the staff and manager, but their idea of “compensation” was giving me two out of three desserts for free. Frankly, I didn’t push further because I’ve always liked this place and wanted to move on.

But it got worse.

Today, I called ahead to reserve a private room for 15 pax. The staff initially tried to accommodate me, stating there was another large group at 6pm, and suggested 8.30pm instead. I agreed, expecting the earlier group to be done by then. But at 6.30pm, I received a call saying the previous group arrived late and they couldn’t accommodate us anymore. Just like that — cancelled. No backup plan, no effort to rectify it. After all these years, this is how Kura treats a loyal patron.

Unhygienic conditions. Poor handling of reservations. Pathetic customer service. Kura has clearly lost the standard it once proudly upheld.

Not coming back ever. I suggest others stay...