Aqua Kyoto — Restaurant in London

We came here for our anniversary. The menu is pretty comprehensive with plenty to choose from and we decided to pick a range of dishes. The tempura shrimp was out of this world - Really fabulous. Tuna Tataki was, however, dreadful. Greasy, oily and over-fishy, we left the whole plate. It’s not supposed to taste like that…

Chicken Yakitori was excellent as was the black cod with rice. Even the humble Edamame was really good here. For dessert only one dish really appealed - There’s a bit too much Matcha going on which is fine if you like it.

Sushi and Sashimi were excellent too, and nicely presented.

We had the Fuji apple (IIRC) and as a nice touch the staff stuck a candle in it and wished us a happy anniversary. I’m not a big dessert fan but this was so good!

Cocktails were excellent - Cosmopolitans made properly is always a good sign. If I wasn’t driving I’d have tried some others and they had a good selection. Coffee was also good but needs to arrive hotter.

When we walked in I wasn’t sure if having a DJ there was going to ruin dinner but the way the rooms are separated is done well so you still get some background music without it being too loud to talk. The decor was spot on and it’s a shame it was tipping it down as we’d like to have done outside on the roof garden.

Service was poor, and for a 15% default charge added to the bill it’s just unacceptable. We were reminded when we arrived they’d want the table back for 9.30 (7.45 booking) so certainly didn’t want to be waiting about for the service. Initially we were seen quickly but the time between that and ordering was way too long. The guy was pleasant but a bit vague when taking the order and he left with us wondering if we’d get everything we asked for. During the meal we had better service from other staff (manager with the beard) and a blonde lady who flogged us another bottle of overpriced water but come time for the bill and we had to wait too long to find our waiter. In the end we flagged down another senior member of staff and they sorted it. Given that the place was only about 2/3 full it seemed unnecessary so remind us of when they’d want the table back - There were plenty available throughout our meal.

We enjoyed the visit. I’d seen some negative comments about the service but you can only go by experience so we gave AQ a go and by and large weren’t disappointed. It’s clear that the service is still not on point though so maybe they’re one or two short of the right number of people or they need to sharpen up their training. It’s not cheap, though, so for that outlay I’d expect better.

If I were to compare food to somewhere similar I’d say that Roka is better. It’s not by a mile but the Tataki really was awful and nobody seemed interested as to why it was barely touched. In hindsight I should have sent it back. The rock shrimp Tempura is killer though - I’ve spent plenty of time in Japan and across Asia and never had shrimps that melt in your mouth like that. Frankly, I could sit in that place at lunchtime and devour 3 or 4’plates of it with a few beers and leave perfectly happy.

AQ’s atmosphere and decor is cooler than Roka and it feels more of an experience too.

Would we go back? Yes, definitely. I’d be prepared for the patchy service and if I had the same again would knock that 15% default down to 10% because that’s really the most they should be “suggesting” for that level. I wouldn’t bother with the coffee either - You can walk outside and have your choice of any number of great coffee places where it’ll cost less and arrive hot,...

We ordered the experience menu for our group of four. The food quality was quite good, especially the lamb cutlet, and the tempura sauce was excellent. The sashimi was fresh, but the sushi toppings were a bit over the top, overshadowing the seafood, which should’ve been the star. I had high hopes for the Wagyu, but it was overcooked, losing the distinctive flavor that Wagyu is known for. This was disappointing.

I was so excited to bring my friends here—they had flown all the way from the Caribbean to visit me in London. It might not have felt like a special occasion to them, but for me, this meal was truly meaningful. It’s such a disappointment!

Regarding the service, we had a reservation at 7:30pm and were told another party was coming at 9:30pm, but within the first 5 minutes of sitting down, we were already asked if we were ready to order. One of my friends isn’t fluent in English, so I had to take time to explain the menu. The server kept coming over every 3–4 minutes asking if we were ready to order, which made us feel quite rushed. They even asked twice if we wanted edamame after we’d already said no the first time.

The first dish was miso soup, which came quickly, but the table only had chopsticks, and the soup was so hot that drinking it directly from the bowl was difficult. After one of us burned their mouth, we had to ask for spoons, which felt like an unnecessary inconvenience.

We originally asked for tap water, but at one point, the server came over and poured still water without asking. I didn’t notice at first, but I saw two other staff members waving their hands and shaking their heads at the server, which was unprofessional. When I mentioned we asked for tap water, they said, “it’s okay, it’s on us,” which put me in an awkward position to accept.

Even though I knew we had to vacate the table by 9:30pm, the server cleared my plate (which still had kimchi on it) immediately after I finished the lamb. I had to ask them to leave it so I could finish the sides, which made me feel uncomfortable.

Overall, it was so loud that I felt like I was in a bar, not a restaurant. It was difficult to have a conversation, and we couldn’t even hear the servers explain the dishes when they were served.

At £105 plus a 15% service charge, there are definitely better options out there. I spent the whole meal watching the clock, worried about being rushed off the table. For the price and the pressure, I definitely won’t be...

We booked here on the 16th December at 19.30 for a birthday dinner but was very disappointed not with the food but the service is extremely bad for such a high end restaurant, Staff on reception are very welcoming as expected and were very helpful, Used the terrace for a drink as we always like to enjoy the whole evening not just the restaurant and was intentionally over 45 minutes early to have a drink before the table reservation, this was a Monday night and plenty of staff with a very quiet restaurant unfortunately took over 20 minutes to even get served for a drink and then not once was we asked if everything was good or if we required more drinks then had to go find some to serve us by this time it was now our table reservation time. We felt the waitress we had was very uninterested in serving wasn't very helpful or informative you could even see everytime she served another table she would she very little then stand with her hands behind her back as if you was wasting her time. We always like to order little at a time and keep ordering all evening so we can pick and enjoy as much as possible but at one point we ordered more sushi and the waitress rolled her eyes as if she didn't like it then just walked off, at which I want to ask what the hell is her problem but my partner asked me not to so I left it. Luckily we also got served by a very good oriental waiter which was extremely helpful and pleasant as expected and I think it was also the manage which served us as well at one pointhe was also very good. A while later the the waitress just walked up and bluntly said with a total attitude "I know you what to order a bit at a time but the kitchen closes at 10pm" she was very rude and extremely unfriendly. This was disgusting service from the waitress has definitely brought down the experience. Overall I am finding the discretionary service charge should be fully removed as a lot of customers will just not embarras themselves asking for it to be removed and as like myself will just not return to the restaurant. With the bar and restaurant we paid approximately £660 if which approx £86 was service in the restaurant and over £220 in the bar l, the waitress definitely didn't earn a tip and most staff just expect it, the 15% service charge is just way to high and should...