Medium chefs creation.
Zen minimalism and a tranquil air envelop you as soon as you enter Kyoto Garden Sushi.
Cape Town is bursting at the seams with half price sushi joints (and they are packed) so why come here? Well, the chef is genuinely Japanese. Koshi Koyama hails from Tokyo, and he trained in Japan to be a sushi master. Also, each dish is served freshly made, using the absolute best of ingredients.
You won’t get big soggy sushi rolls here, with dollops of mayonnaise on top. It’s done the right way, the Japanese way.
The same attention to detail is shown to the cocktails.
But it’s not all about the sushi, there’s the cocktails. And boy do they mix a mean cocktail here.
You would not do better than to start the evening with a Dirty Ninja Saketini – which comprises sake, “muddled with fresh cucumber” finely sliced and dried nori and a dash of sweetened rice with vinegar, all mixed with Stolichnaya Vodka and Tanqueray Gin. Now that’s what I call a cocktail.
But on to the food. The sushi is excellent here, which is not to take away from the rest of the menu, the real reason to visit.
Subtle dishes of seafood, lightly and delicately steamed, stir fried or seared are the hallmark of the cooking in Kyoto.
Sake steamed clams with egg noodles are a top end delicacy – and that’s the point about a lot of the dishes. They are not fast food Japanese or Asian. They are prepared and served with a slow precision which shows a huge respect for the ingredients. The steamed fish in a bamboo pot sounds ordinary, but when you lift the lid and inhale the aromas and sample the fish time seems to slow down.
The saute is a real treat, with tofu. oysters, scallops, mushroom, prawns, octopus, mixed greens and langoustine. And if you are really in the mood for a treat, Scott, the owner, will serve you some of his freshly grated Japanese horseradish. But shsshh….it’s a secret, you have to ask.
The portions are not huge. But you leave feeling content and properly fed. Beautifully prepared portions of fish protein will keep
Warm scallops in their shell.
most people happy.
They stock plenty of Japanese beer from Kirin, Sapporo and Asahi. You can also try the Whiskeys from Suntory, which are a real experience.
A gourmet treat with top class Japanese cuisine.
Kyoto Garden Sushi, 11 Lower Kloofnek Road, Tamboerskloof. 021 422 2001.
Starters R42-R89. Mains R85 – R155. Sushi R25-R55 (Two pieces). Sashimi R40-R78 (Four pieces)
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Yes delicious, but honestly slowest service I have received in a long time!
The best sushi in Cape Town: Kyoto Garden Sushi
I am a frequent globe trotter with some certainty that I’ve been in some very good sushi joints world wide enough to say i have a fair standard of sushi-judging.
I have visited beluga, Sevruga, Willoughby and nobu which have been so called rated as the best for quality of sushi. I was just scanning through my lonely planet tourist guide to find some thing to do, when I saw article on Kyoto garden sushi. Tucked away on Lower Kloofnek Road, very easy to find parking not too over crowded.
upon entering Kyoto Garden Sushi, I felt like I was transported Japanese restaurant in Tokyo. The place definitely had a lot of thought and taste get put in to it, Japanese style at its best. The Zen-like atmosphere was so relaxing. mini water feature next to the bathrooms only added to this.
The menu confirmed the Japanese authenticity allong with the Japanese Sushi, I had never had abalone sushi. While the menu doesn’t have what you’d expect as the full range of Japanese dishes, I had never thought of having tempura oysters.
We were handed a cocktail menu on being seated, the boyfriend had a drink mix of whisky, lime, fresh ginger and I had a drink called the dirty ninja, it was not the name that sold it but the fact of putting cucumber with sake, i had to try it to see if it worked. the drinks were very well thought and tasted great.
after ordering we were served snacks edamame beans, baby clams, prawns, fried squid and jellyfish. You have to love about Japanese people they’ll eat anything. You could never accuse them of unadventurous eating. It all felt very authentic.
For starters, the boyfriend had Miso soup, and I tried The Sea, Both were delicious.
We moved onto the highlight of the evening: a chef’s choice sushi platter of sashimi, nigiri and california rolls. I can’t effuse enough praise on the sushi: it was unfaultable. The fish was the freshest I’ve ever had in a long time even when I have been for sushi London and New York, the rice was perfectly soft and flavoured and even the wasabi paste tasted better than at other sushi restaurants. I could have eaten piles more.
we got told about the dessert by the polite waiter who told us about Green tea ice cream with a green tea crêpe, that topped off my evening.
But seeing as the rest of the food was so top-notch, I decided I had to come back before we left back to the Uk. I felt that we had not even delved deep enough in the how good the rest of the meanu is and I felt am going to miss out on some very special foods.
Scott the owner, who told us that he only uses the freshest ingredients available and had also traveled extensively. It’s this attention to freshness that is clearly evident in the dishes and makes Kyoto Garden Sushi stand out from its competitors.
Kyoto Garden Sushi is a bit more pricey than your average sushi restaurant, but then it’s definitely not your average sushi restaurant. It’s more a special occasion kind of place
This is the place to go for fine Sushi and fantastic cooked Japanese food for sure. I have never been so impressed.
Best regards
Jane