Sushi Matumoto Kyoto Review Summary

I ate at a selection of Michelin star restaurants during my month in Japan, and this was my favourite! I got in just on a whim in my birthday and was blown away by the service and the intense flavours going on. I got a larger set menu and the variety of different fish in the sushi selection was really satisfying and super tasty. Really great experience all round. And beautiful sake too!

Currently dining in as I write this review.

My husband made reservations for us for the omakase dinner at 8:30pm, but as you can see there was a line out the door with others who also had reservations. The chefs and waiters looked flustered and unprepared with the crowd.

It seems like they provide better service to regulars/locals because a woman just walked in after us and sat down at the counter.

Since this is suppose to be “high-end, Michelin star rated”, I can tell you it clearly is not.

Each dish was nicely plated and small servings (as expected), but it took 20-30mins between each dish to be served.
We’ve been here for 2 hours and have only received half of our dishes.

The waiters were very-friendly and apologetic, however, we’ve been in a cubicle with closed doors still waiting to be accommodated.

There’s a call-button, which is odd for a “fancy restaurant”, but I pressed it twice for more water and no one came.

Still currently waiting for the next dish, since it’s actually been 40 mins since the last item we ate.

We’re just so tired now and want to get back to our hotel room.

Definitely not worth the price of $300 USD.
You can get better sushi and service at a regular sushi spot.

Outstanding sushi experience. Best otoro I ever had. Good knowledge on gluten free and celiac disease, even changing plates from the regular omakaze

The food quality does not match the high price. We paid 17000 for a set menu (plus a percentage for poor service 10%), but the taste was very disappointing. Definitely not worth the money. Would not recommend.

SCAM -- NEVER EVER EAT HERE!!!!!!

I wish I could give this establishment 0 stars.
DO NOT TRUST OTHER HIGH REVIEWS.

We were originally confused, thinking that we had booked Sushi Matsumoto in Gion -- I guess another reviewer had a similar experience -- but we had wanted to make a last minute reservation for dinner and followed the high Google and Tablelog reviews, so didn't have time to research fully... a very sad mistake...

Me and my partner are sushi lovers and are pretty adventurous eaters, so this isn't a situation of -- well it was my first time having eel and it wasn't very good... The food here was genuinely terrible, besides some decent uni, the chawanmushi and miso soup were inedible at best. The most deeply confusing thing was their take on tamago, which in this case was sort of like a jiggly rectangular flan? Literally dumbfounding, fall on a ground no-words EMBARRASSING BAD--not at all like a genuine tamago should be.

When we arrived, the bar was completely open, but we were instead lead to a tiny room. We tried to order multiple types of sake from the menu -- all sold out -- then we trying to order whiskey -- also sold out.

Each time we finished a dish the waiters would peep in through the door to see if we were done and loudly knocked each time before entering. Of course, this would be fine if it amounted to pure politeness, but the result was the feeling of constant surveillance and knocking for the entirety of the meal.

If the quality of the food and the ambience were not enough to merit a terrible review, I received the bill, which felt like a true slap in the face ($80/person before drinks), which was rushed to us before dessert, which felt uncharacteristic for most meals, but especially unusual in contrast our other dining experiences in Japan.

This experience–while comical at times–was HORRENDOUS, and honestly upsetting. DO NOT come here, it was a disaster and the fact that this place is masquerading as a 1 Michelin-star restaurant is beyond absurd.