{"id":64157,"date":"2014-12-03T00:03:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T22:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=64157"},"modified":"2014-12-13T10:29:39","modified_gmt":"2014-12-13T08:29:39","slug":"restaurant-review-kyoto-sushi-gardens-over-priced-over-salted-over-slow-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-kyoto-sushi-gardens-over-priced-over-salted-over-slow-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Kyoto Garden Sushi over-priced, over-salted, over-slow service!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kyoto<\/a>From having been low key for eight years since opening, 2014 has been kind to Kyoto Garden Sushi, in it winning a 5* Smart Casual accolade in the 2015\u00a0Diners Club Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, as well as Best Asian Restaurant in the 2015\u00a0Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Awards<\/strong><\/span><\/a> last month. \u00a0As a result friend Whitney Wentzel and I had extremely high expectations when we had dinner there last Wednesday evening, which sadly were not met at all!<\/p>\n

I was surprised that I could book a table for the following day when I called, being the week after the Eat Out<\/strong> Awards, the Japanese chef taking the booking. \u00a0I had seen a parking sign with an arrow to the left outside the entrance, and had thought that parking was available behind the building, but was told that\"Kyoto<\/a> it was for upstairs tenants and that we should park at the school down the road, not great on a rainy night. \u00a0The waiter I asked had no clue about the parking sign outside. \u00a0Luckily a parking bay became available across the road. \u00a0At the entrance to the restaurant a candle is lit, and two Noren cloth dividers hang in the doorway. \u00a0We were shown to a table, sitting next to another couple, so close to each other that we could hear each other’s conversations. \u00a0 There seemed to be some uncertainty about our booking, but it was eventually found in the book. \u00a0MasterChef SA Season 2 winner Kamini Pather was there too, having dinner with a friend.<\/p>\n

The space inside Kyoto is tiny, with no more than nine 2 seater tables, or so it felt. \u00a0There is no obvious reception desk at which to announce oneself. \u00a0 The decor is lightweight, with Californian shutters to the street, a Japanese umbrella and a bamboo stem in one corner, and a Japanese lantern in another. There are old-fashioned ceiling fans. I had heard word of Feng Shui, but there were no obvious Feng Shui elements. On \"Kyoto<\/a>the right is a bar, serving cocktails, and the chef making sushi, one being able to eat at this counter and observe Chef Koshi Koyana from Tokyo making the sushi. \u00a0There is an open plan kitchen at a mezzanine level , in which two Malawian chefs prepared all the dishes other than the sushi. Lighting is very low, a nightmare for food photography. \u00a0The wood top tables have a pair of chopsticks, the reusable kind clearly, as they were not wrapped in paper, and a candle. \u00a0A shock was seeing the cheap paper serviettes in this 5* establishment!<\/p>\n

The waiter looked after us initially, bringing us the menus, and water for me and a glass of wine for Whitney. It was a shock to see the worn A4 paper menu, which did not reflect the 5* status of the restaurant. \u00a0For the restaurant being uniquely Japanese, and us being first time visitors, we were surprised that the waiter (or owner Scott Wood, who took an hour to acknowledge our presence) did not explain the menu, or make recommendations about the specialities of the restaurant. \u00a0 Our waiter was not knowledgeable about the menu – when I asked him about the Tender Abalone Japanese style (R165) he said it was served raw, but when he went to double-check, he said it was lightly cooked! \u00a0This happened a number of times. <\/span><\/p>\n

I found it hard to make a choice from the extensive menu, with minimal descriptions of the items on the menu, untidy presentation, and extreme prices, making us hold back on ordering. \u00a0Whitney and I both choose the noodle dishes, she with duck (R175) and I with prawns (R165). \u00a0I ordered a\"Kyoto<\/a> side of mushrooms too (R75)! We waited for an hour to receive our dishes, but tiny (unordered) treats were sent to the table, clearly in retrospect to keep one quiet about the slow service of the food ordered. \u00a0The first treat was a collection of three tiny bowls, of bamboo, scallops, and mustard cabbage. \u00a0Then heavily salted edamame beans were brought to the table. \u00a0Then we received previously-frozen and extremely salty shrimps, described as ‘prawns<\/em>‘ by the waiter! Every time we had eaten one of these little amuse bouche treats, the dishes would be removed, and Scott would come to our table, without talking to us, and put our chop sticks back on a tiny stand, at a very specific angle, clearly his fixation. When a table becomes free, Scott cleans it himself, and puts the chairs at an angle to the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

The menu starts with some dishes that are not introduced or categorised, including the Abalone dish, ‘Jewels of the Sea’<\/em> (which seems to be a signature dish, and contains oysters, scallop, and abalone, at R155), ceviche (R110), and thinly sliced Wagyu beef (R135). \u00a0A Soup section offers a range of Miso soups, costing between R75 to R145. \u00a0‘The Sea<\/em>‘ (R135) sounds interesting, with prawns, octopus, clams, mussels, scallops, and seaweed. Six salads range in price from R85 – R155, and all but one contain seafood. The Tempura is highly regarded at Kyoto, from what I had read, but none of the items was of interest, costing R 105 – R175, one not knowing how many items one receives. \u00a0A Japanese curry costs R115. Mains start at R155, for saut\u00e9ed mussels, and peak at R290 for a whole crayfish, the list including only fish-related dishes, other than the duck noodle dish. \u00a0The sushi list is extensive, and contains prices for 2 and for 4 pieces, ranging from R40 (quail egg) to R110 for eel, and Alaskan King Crab, for two pieces.<\/p>\n

\"Kyoto<\/a>We knew next to nothing about owner Scott, had heard about his oddness, and that he has been known to show customers to the door if he does not like them. \u00a0He asked me if I was a chef, and I said I wasn’t. \u00a0Whitney took out her business card, being a chef. They spoke about Banting, and Scott promised to visit her restaurant when he is off. \u00a0I asked Scott what had brought him to Cape Town (from Los Angeles in the USA). and he said it is a long story, and he would tell me another time!<\/p>\n

After more than an hour the two noodle dishes arrived (Whitney had seen from her seat that the Malawian chefs made the noodles out of a packet, not having made the noodles themselves). \u00a0When Whitney asked Scott when the food would be served, she was rudely told that the restaurant is not a KFC! \u00a0 My dish had 6 prawns with their tail shells still on, and Whitney’s duck dish came with lots of mushrooms, not having been told so when we ordered the mushroom side dish. \u00a0Whitney took one bite of her duck dish, and put down her chop sticks, saying it was dreadfully salty and overcooked. \u00a0 I was annoyed that I had to use my fingers to pull off the shells on the prawn tails, and could not believe the after-bite of my dish, Scott explaining to us that it a \"Kyoto<\/a>Japanese spice, but this is not mentioned on the menu. \u00a0Even worse was the saltiness and odd taste of the mushroom side dish, which Whitney did not want to touch. \u00a0Whitney did not want a replacement dish, being so annoyed about the long wait for the food, no longer being hungry, and \"Kyoto<\/a>the disappointment in the poor duck she was served. \u00a0Scott offered to replace my dish with an unspiced one. I agreed initially, but then reconsidered, thinking it could take another hour to prepare it, so I declined too.<\/p>\n

Scott opened up more and more, from his very formal introverted communication, or lack of, initially, to sending us a dish of his black sesame ice cream, which I had eyed for a dessert choice. \u00a0Big was our surprise when the much more relaxed Scott (by now he had taken off his\"Kyoto<\/a> jacket) brought us two photographs of himself taken in his youth at the pool, showing a very well-toned body with well-developed muscles. \u00a0We did not get why he did this at all, unless it was to impress Whitney!<\/p>\n

We must commend Scott for taking both our dishes off the bill, and only charging Whitney for her wine. Despite this generous gesture, we did not get Kyoto Garden Sushi at all. \u00a0It was disinterested in our arrival and who we were; there being very little small talk with customers, there being no explanation of the menu, crappy in its poor presentation; \u00a0there is barely any branding on the exterior of the building, which has no 5* quality look to it, especially when they put their Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide Certificate in the window, but had removed it by last Wednesday; it is exceptionally loud when the guests are loud, there being nothing to absorb the sound; the food is exceptionally inedibly salty; and very very expensive. One does not know how Kyoto can justify the prices it charges. \u00a0Service quality by the waiter was poor, not of \u00a0a 5* standard. \u00a0The lack of a website must reflect Scott’s introversion!<\/p>\n

Kyoto Garden Sushi,<\/strong> 11 Kloof Nek Road, Tamboerskloof, Cape Town. Tel (021) 422-2001 \u00a0No website. Twitter: @KyotoSushiCT Monday – Saturday Dinner only.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Tel (021) 433-2100, Twitter:@WhaleCottage Facebook: \u00a0<\/strong>click here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From having been low key for eight years since opening, 2014 has been kind to Kyoto Garden Sushi, in it winning a 5* Smart Casual accolade in the 2015\u00a0Diners Club Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide, as well as Best Asian Restaurant in the 2015\u00a0Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Awards last month. \u00a0As a result friend Whitney Wentzel and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[26463,3,124,20,22,21],"tags":[6582,28612,29104,29130,9940,29132,19367,15404,29133,26782,1639,32404,29131,16977,29129,1403,29134,18083,28611,3494,32373,20483,24950],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t