Kyoto Sushi & Hibachi — Restaurant in Simsbury

Was really excited to have this place close by but it fell flat in many ways.

Had the Kahni salad to start which was delicious I’ll give them that. Then had the spider roll, which oddly was very bland, and the wonton soup- also incredibly bland.

A friend had ordered gluten free Ramen, because it states they offer Gluten Free on the menu, and half way through our meal we realized they did not bring her gluten free noddles. She was very clear about her allergy, and when it was brought to attention it was dismissed like they had accidentally forgotten a drink. The waitress said I’m sorry, can you go take medication to fix it? She said she told the kitchen about the allergy but they just forgot. We were the only people in the restaurant so they were not busy, but the staff seemed very distracted with eachother. I was floored by the reaction to the mistake. We explained how serious this was and really can be for people, and they kept just offering more food. When the check came they had not even removed her meal, we were charged for a random extra soup that we had to point out.

We had also mentioned that they decided to mop the floor as we were eating, which was rude. It was 30 minutes from closing time and that just really wasn’t appropriate. When the manager finally came over to rectify everything he would barely let us explain and just kept talking over us. He then proceeded to go in the back and start screaming at the staff so loudly we could hear every word. Bad food. Bad service. Bad form. Hopefully they can learn to do better and treat customers better. Staff needs to be versed on the seriousness of food allergies, as that can clearly cause serious...

Kyoto is a new Japanese restaurant that recently opened its doors in Simsbury, promising an authentic taste of Japan. For the most part, it delivers by offering fresh sushi, a host of great appetizers such as crispy tempura, perfectly pan-fried gyoza, and an unexpectedly amazing coconut shrimp with dipping sauce that’s a must-try.

Unfortunately, Kyoto's ramen dishes fall flat, and while this may not be a dealbreaker for most people, my Japanese family LOVES ramen and is very particular about the flavor. The broth in all four of our different ramen choices lacked depth and was missing authentic Japanese broth ingredients such as konbu, mirin, bonito flakes, and dashi. The sliced pork (chashu) was also bland and forgettable. It felt more like a basic noodle soup than authentic ramen, which was disappointing. My husband also ordered a boba tea that was small and watery, also lacking authentic bubble tea depth and flavor. However, it may have been the flavor he chose as he originally wanted strawberry (they didn't have it).

All in all, Kyoto is worth a visit for their small plates and sushi, but I recommend skipping the ramen and boba tea for now. I'm hopeful that, if they make some critical updates to the preparation of their ramen, they will...

Be very, very careful if you have a gluten allergy. I came because it is listed on the menu that they have gluten free rice noodles. I was very clear about my allergy, was brought a meal and told it is gluten free. I started to eat it and the noodles did not appear to be rice noodles. No one came by to check on us and our server was not present or visible for a long while, the only staff member was the man mopping the floor next to our table which was fairly off putting. The server came back after 15 or so minutes, and I said I did not think it was gluten free. She went to check and she said no that isn’t gluten free. While she did offer to have a new meal made, I did not feel comfortable doing so, and at that point it was a few minutes from closing time and had already felt pushed out by the mopping next to us. It was not handled smoothly or well by the server and no one was particularly concerned or apologetic about giving me something that I was very specific about saying I had an allergy to. I was highly disappointed in how little care and concern was put into an allergy. If you have something that says “gluten free available” on the menu, you need to understand what that means and take...