Kyoto Downtown at 10128 109 Street
On Friday night I had a girls dinner out with my friends Meghan and Alyssa! Whenever we do our catch up dinners we tend to gravitate towards Japanese restaurants so for this one we ended up going to Kyoto Downtown (10128 109 Street).
Very busy at Kyoto Downtown
We’ve all been to Kyoto before and have had great experiences. I wanted to go again because I hadn’t ever blogged about it so any excuse to add another restaurant to my growing review list, I’ll take! ;) The restaurant was packed when we arrived around 7 p.m. We had to wait about 10 minutes for a table to open up but we were first in what grew to be a very long line up!
Menu at Kyoto Downtown
I consider Kyoto to be a lot like Mikado in many ways. The atmosphere, food quality, selection, prices, and service are all pretty similar. Dinner can add up quickly (as it does for most Japanese restaurants at night) so I’d recommend going for a cheaper lunch. Still the quality of the food is superb and I’ve never left Kyoto with anything but happy feelings and a full stomach.
Dynamite Rolls at Kyoto Downtown
Alyssa ordered the Dynamite Rolls with a side of Spicy Mayo Sauce (her favourite, pictured above). Her meal came out to about $15.
Kyoto Special at Kyoto Downtown
Meghan ordered the Kyoto Special (pictured above) which is a combination of Spicy Tuna and Dynamite rolls. She also ordered the Full Order of Tuna and Salmon Sashimi (pictured below). Her meal came out to about $25.
Full Order Tuna and Salmon Sashimi at Kyoto Downtown
And my meal (pictured below) consisted of Assorted Tempura and a Chirashi Bowl (my usual order at Japanese restaurants if it’s not a bento box for lunch or all-you-can-eat). My dinner came out to about $25 as well.
Assorted Tempura and Chirashi Bowl at Kyoto Downtown
So yes, it is a bit steep (for me and my love of all things cheap). Especially when you consider that a dinner for two from Mt. Fuji consisting of a Chirashi Bowl, Assorted Tempura and Beef Teriyaki with Rice comes out to a total of $25. Again I must profess mine and Mike’s love for Mt. Fuji! And yet I still haven’t done an actual blog review on it!
Nice lights at Kyoto Downtown
Still as I said, I have never had a bad experience at Kyoto (neither have Meghan and Alyssa). Friday’s meal literally left me stuffed, my belly feeling like it was about to burst, and I still had leftover tempura to take home. The chirashi bowl looked a little small compared to others I’ve had elsewhere but it came jam-packed with a variety of delicious raw fish so I really can’t complain because the bowl filled me right up!
Kyoto Downtown at 10128 109 Street
Again if you’re craving Japanese I always recommend going for lunch instead of dinner because there’s a significant difference in prices. But either time of day I absolutely would recommend Kyoto to satisfy the craving. There’s so many other dishes on the menu I wish I could have ordered if I had more money and a bigger stomach (beef tataki, seaweed salad, etc. The place has a great appetizer selection.) Our server was also terrific. She checked up on us a lot and refilled our drinks instantly. The food came out very quickly, especially considering how busy it was that night. You get great portions, you get great food!
So have you been to Kyoto? What did you think??
Linda :)
