Kyoto Japanese Cuisine

Worst sushi I’ve ever had. Worse than all you can eat sushi. The fish is gross, the rolls are terrible. They fall apart. It’s not good sushi at all.

This will be our go to location from now on. Much better than the Argyll location. The service was a bit lacking, but the food was delicious and we don’t need much attention. They even made me a yam maki roll (recommended by a friend), even though it’s not on the menu. IT WAS YUMMY! The beef in their Bento box was a little tough, but for the most part we were happy with our meal.

Lunch was pretty sub-​standard.
Ordered a Bento C Sushi and Teriyaki Chicken. Also a Bento D Beef, Chicken and Tempura. The Bentos come with a side salad. Dressing was very salty and just tasted of soy sauce. Tempura was oily and the batter was chewy. Teriyaki chicken looked like it was made ahead of time and just reheated. The batter was dried out so it was very crunch and hard to chew. What little chicken there was inside though was moist. Sushi was just ok. Tuna smelled fishy and was warm. Salmon was fresh.

I order take out from here quite often since I live pretty much next door. I am impressed with the quality of their rolls and the fresh taste. I pretty much always get the isobe roll, and the Kyoto special roll is a real treat. I have eaten in the restaurant and though the space is nice and classy, the service is very slow. I will always be a fan of their take out though. I do wish they would put a menu somewhere online…

The worst sushi I have ever had. The construction is absolutely terrible, the rice falls apart from the everything. Portions are small. NEVER AGAIN.

Went with a colleague over lunch, but I’ve come for lunch and dinner many, many, times. The quality is great, the fish is fresh and the recipes are authentically Japanese. As someone who lived in Japan a couple of years I can say this takes me back! The agadashi tofu is incredible and the isobe roll melts in your mouth! A lunch bento is good value and so is a shared sushi dinner among friends. The place is child friendly too, and good for groups. Kyoto is a staple of Japanese cuisine in the city and I always enjoy my meal here.

This place is conveniently located in Garneau near the University of Alberta campus. However, parking may prove to be difficult
Kyoto offers more-​than-​decent Japanese cuisine at an affordable price in Edmonton
I was given miso soup even though I didn’t order it, which was nice. Katsu don was delicious, and very filling

I have been to Kyoto near Argyll but I went to this one on 109 because it’s right next to my house. What a great meal! I got the spider maki, and a dynamite roll, along with green tea. I had a dessert there, but can’t for the life of me remember what it is. It was so good though! I would definitely have it again. I’d like to come back and try the sashimi as it looks really good. The service was super friendly and quick (I feel bad because my guest and I were just gabbing) but the server was very patient. Will be back again!

I have been here many times and I would usually rate it a 4 star for its sushi or sashimi. However, its Gyūdon tastes absolutely disgusting. It is a big bowl of cabbage (in it’s original taste) mixed with overlooked beef that has been seasoned with too much soy sauce so the taste is almost bitter. When inquired about the quality of this dish, the server nonchalantly brushed it aside with «that’s how WE make it here» and her dirty look. Now if you are in the restaurant business, treating your customer like this is most likely unacceptable let alone professional. I am sure those who come from the real Kyoto would also be appalled by this and it’s ramen (tastes like they are from one of those instant noodle packages in leftover soup). I hope they improve on those areas.

One general rule a friend and I developed after living in Japan is that places named after cities/​towns in Japan are usually not very good at providing an authentic Japanese meal or experience… yes, Tokyo Express I’m looking right at you!
Fortunately, Kyoto breaks that generalization and provides a good meal at an affordable price with nice ambience.
The bento boxes are fairly priced ($ 12.50 IIRC) and have decent portions. It’s also nice that they give everyone miso soup and bean sprout salad after you sit down. I’m a big fan of their donburi dishes — the oyako-​don in particular, which has lots of tender tonkatsu, eggs, mushrooms and rice.
If I have a complaint about Kyoto it’s that the parking lot is small and cramped, but you can’t have everything I guess.

So let me start this review out by saying I’ve never been to Kyoto Japanese Cuisine before, although I’ve known about it for far too long. A staple, go to for many Edmontonians and with two locations to boot (their other digs are downtown on Jasper Ave and 109 Street), they’re doing quite well.
I went with a friend on a Sunday for an early dinner (6:00pm) and it was fairly busy. The interior is slick and modern. Didn’t realize they would have private tatami rooms (where you sit on the floor) but that’s a nice option to have if you have a big group or want some privacy.
Pretty decent hours if you’re looking to grab some late night sushi (11:00 am to 11:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays).
— Squid karaage ($ 6.50) — no picture but these were quite good. Crunchy, light, and addictive.
— 2x salmon, tuna, toro and hamachi ($ 2.30 each) — from top left and going clockwise, we ordered two pieces each of salmon, toro (tuna belly), hamachi (yellowtail) and tuna. The quality is decent but I didn’t get that creamy, melt in your mouth, must order more that I normally get with toro and hamachi. Ordering sashimi is definitely not cheap at Kyoto!
— Tsunami ($ 11.60) and maximite ($ 10.80) — the tsunami maki (front) had salmon, unagi, tempura shrimp, tobiko, crumbs and mayo while the maximite maki (back) consisted of spicy tuna, green onion, tempura shrimp, avocado, masago and mayo. Both maki rolls were tasty, presented nicely but again, nothing to rave about. They’ll fill you up if that’s what your going for.
If I come back again, I will have to try out their ramen (I wasn’t expecting that on the menu!). Not sure if they have it all the time but it was on their daily special menu. All in all, Kyoto is what I would call a safe, reliable bet to get your sushi fix.

The food is fresh, service not bad, taste average

I remember having really delicious and affordable sashimi here many years ago, but my recent visits have been less satisfying.
The restaurant is large and well-​maintained, and seating was available quickly during my visits. The staff were attentive and friendly.
I found the dishes here to be fine, they have many standard rolls and nigiri, but I felt that the selection was lacking (at least, they didn’t have a lot of what I like to eat, which is pretty much anything with scallops). What I did order tasted good — the fish was fresh and the taste was pretty standard. The prices were on the normal-​to-​high side, and all in all, I left a little underwhelmed.

If you need a sushi fix before hitting a movie at the Garneau, Kyoto is waiting for you. We usually head to his place when in the neighbourhood for a film and the line-​up at the Sugar Bowl is too long. While not my go-​to sushi pick, Kyoto does a great job with the whole «raw fish» experience.
Last time there, we went with an assorted plate so that we could have good sample of what they have to offer. What we got was plentiful (for the price) and a nice mix of the offerings. The fish/​seafood was fresh and tasty (you KNOW when you get a bad piece — amiright or amiright) and and plated nicely with the rice.
We had mentioned that we were catching a movie and the friendly, attentive waitress made sure we were served fast — so kudos to Kyoto for serving up a quick and delicious sushi fix!

This is a solid bet for lunchtime sushi or even dinner during the week. (make reservations on date nights as it gets busy)
I personally love the Maximite Roll (Max something …) — it’s spicy and a nice mix of fish. If you order a half roll you don’t have the option to go half-​rice (which I like to do in order to lessen the guilt of carb-​consumption)
Give the Hurricane rolls a try… also another fave.
Lastly, a solid choice is Isobe. It’s sashimi wrapped in seaweed like a roll and I think it’s quickly deep fried as it has a tempura-​esque finish to the outside. Delicious and always fresh.
The only thing holding back a five star here is they go really heavy on the rice on all rolls. Like, really heavy.
They do offer a brown rice and quinoa option though, which I have yet to try.
Service is always friendly and prompt.

Kyoto is one of my favourite place to go for sushi during the school year because it’s so conveniently close to campus. Around lunch time it’s always quiet and they’ve got lunch bento box deals, which are great value!
Their sushi is always very good and doesn’t take too long to reach your table. Sometimes it can be a little on the warm side though, but I’ve never had any that were super fishy tasting. My favourite rolls are the Maximyte and rainbow rolls. They are wonderful! And also more filling than you would expect since there’s all the rice and tempura going on.
They give you complimentary miso soup and little bean sprouts in sauce that I could eat all day long. Who doesn’t love a good complimentary starter?
Definitely one of the better sushi places in Edmonton.

I’ve consistently liked the food here over the years I’ve been coming, and certainly no complaints about the service or ambiance.
My one complaint is that they have two locations on the same street, albeit far apart.
«Hey come meet me a Kyoto»
«which one»
«The one on 109 Street»
«Oh, I know that one, see you there»
* Waiting at separate restaurants

So this is the second time I have been seated here and then been left without service for twenty minutes. No water, no drink, nothing.
Is it really my job to track down a waiter? Just got up and left this time. No one noticed. Big suprise. My recomendation is to just keep walking.

Edmonton does have decent sushi after all. Yay!
Parking is available at the front of the strip mall, though it’s a really ghetto lot.
The inside is somewhat classy, though I recognize some of the décor from Ikea. Nothing wrong with that though.
The service was reasonable, though not all staff wore uniforms. As a result, there were times when I didn’t know who to flag down.
Chirashi don ($ 14.80) — generous portions and lots of different types of sashimi. I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the seafood tasted. Reasonably priced too.
Isobe Maki — salmon, tuna, and avodado mixed into one roll and lightly battered. Interestingly, this roll does NOT contain any rice.
One last thing: tea here is NOT free. It’s measured at $ 1.50 a pot.
Overall, I was actually quite happy with the food quality, and pricing. Recommended.

This place isn’t bad. I went in late one afternoon to get a takeout Mexican and rainbow roll. They got it ready for me in about 20 minutes (longer than the 5 they said it would take…). They were really nice and gave me lots of extra soy sauce, wasabi, and some containers to mix it up in on the go when I asked for it. The fish was fresh and the rolls were tasty but they weren’t rolled up very tightly and so they kept falling apart when I tried to dip them in the soy sauce. This was especially a problem with the tempura flakes in the Mexican roll.
The price wasn’t bad for the quality (compared to other, worse places around town) — I think it was about $ 8 per roll and they were 8 big pieces each. Kyoto does the job in a pinch.