Kyoto Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Tallahassee

We have been to Kyoto twice in the past week.

Our first experience was on Sunday (8/31) for a late lunch, and it was 5/5 on both food + service. We had gotten sushi and tonkatsu ramen. We loved it all so much, particularly the tonkatsu ramen, that we added Kyoto to our list of favorite places in Tally.

Our second experience was on Saturday (9/6) for dinner as we were craving ramen, and we left feeling quite disappointed. We had ordered a sushi roll and two ramen dishes (spicy miso & tonkatsu). The sushi was great, but when the ramen came out, we were correctly given a spicy miso but incorrectly given a regular miso. The server checked with the kitchen who told her it was tonkatsu, even though it was not. They then agreed with us that was miso, but we were never offered the correct dish (when that was the main reason we came back to Kyoto). The pork chatsu was also missing from both ramen dishes, which they then brought out separately later on after we asked. They said they couldn’t give us a full refund on the dish, so they offered 50% off the miso ramen ($8) and a free appetizer ($8). We did not need more food so declined the appetizer but were not offered anything else in return. After finishing our meal, our check was brought out, and we were told we’d instead get a 10% discount on the whole check (~$4). We were not pleased, but it was the server's first shift, and we did not want to make her feel badly (she had put in the order correctly, so it wasn't her fault). No manager or other staff ever came to speak with us, and we left after we paid. We still tipped 20% to not punish the server.

Overall, we felt this situation could have been handled better. They were very busy, and we understand mistakes happen. However, the mistake was not actually corrected, nor was much done to make it up to us. It's not about $, and we would have waited for the correct dish, but it was never even offered.

We hope to have better experiences at Kyoto in the future and may revise our review then. Based on this experience, we would not recommend going on busy weekend nights when they are too busy to get the orders correct or fix them if a mistake happens.

EDIT: Thank you to the owner for responding to our prior comment respectfully. We had a much better experience the next time we went to Kyoto. It was a Thursday evening so it was less busy than a weekend. The service and food were...

7.18.25/4.40p - The rebrand is beautiful and so is the interior. Our fried rice and lo mein were delicious; piping hot, fresh veggies, and the portions were huge; 2 plates were $40 though. I wanted sushi rolls; yet the entire sushi bar was prepped and set up by a person who wore NO GLOVES until more guests started arriving and I did NOT see them washing their hands. We sat right in front of the sushi station in a booth so I SAW IT ALL! In fact, the prep person was slender, with glasses, and a ball cap turned forward; spoke an Asian language. The other 2 prep persons wore gloves off and on, as well. Again, the ENTIRE sushi bar was stocked with BARE HANDS! I tried to discreetly take pics of that; yet I was sitting too close. Additionally, (what appeared to be an owner/manager) kept going behind the sushi bar touching things and putting food in her mouth with NO GLOVES on. She had on black pants & a white graphic tee; bob cut hair. After eating half of my plate it dawned on me: imagine this is what I witnessed outside the kitchen; are they properly washing and sanitizing inside the kitchen?! 🤢!

I wanted ramen. However, ALL of the broths are pork-based and can't be subbed?! WHY?! Maybe because the broths are premade and frozen before adding other ingredients.... IDEK! I overheard the server ask the kitchen whether the broths are only pork and whether there are non-pork options are available. They said no and she repeated to me "unfortunately no (although I heard their reply)".

Our server was okay (a little impatient and talked over me; I think that I asked too many questions about substitutions & ingredients) and the bathroom was pleasantly clean and smelled great. All in all, I CAN NOT and...

Food was fantastic, service was helpful, and atmosphere was clean, elegant and beautiful. I am thrilled to have this place in town.

I tried the BOGO sushi rolls (buy one special roll, get a classic roll free). I chose the Godzilla special roll. The flavor, texture, and presentation was beautiful. The eel sauce was delicious. For my free classic roll, I chose the spicy salmon roll. Both rolls were fresh, tight, and tasty. The waitress was very attentive, catering to each request my table made. She very kindly helped me choose my boba tea selection.

I told her I did not want anything too sweet, so she said to request reduced sugar. I chose the White Jasmine Green Tea with Black Pearls and 30% sugar (I asked for reduced sugar). It was perfectly balanced with a wonderfully prominent jasmine note. It was nice to find boba in town that wasn't sickeningly sweet, but rather focused more on the natural flavor of the tea.

She also kindly recommended things to try next time. I told her I wanted to try the ramen next time, so she highly recommended a few options for me. She also highly suggested trying the Iced Lemon Tea for the summertime and said it's a very popular drink in China and Japan.

Overall, the menu selection is a 10/10, the food freshness and quality was a 10/10, the plating and presentation was a 10/10, the pricing was very reasonable so I'd say 8.5/10, the staff was a 10/10, and the atmosphere was beautiful and comfortable 10/10.

I will most definitely be back, and I look forward to trying...