Hyōto Shijō Karasuma

Waitresses and waiters all show excellent hospitality with impressive proficiency in English. Extremely thoughtful services with attention paid to every fine detail from plating to cooking durations; everything is almost too-good-to-be-true! High-quality Japanese ingredients serving origin flavors with optimal seasoning, the overall dining experience is totally worth the price.

An Unforgettable Shabu-Shabu Experience!” From the moment you step in, the service is on point—going beyond expectations with attentive and friendly staff who make you feel truly welcomed. The atmosphere is just right, striking a perfect balance between cozy and sophisticated. But the real highlight? The experience itself. From the interactive cooking process to the premium selection of meats and fresh ingredients, everything is designed to be savored. The quality is undeniable—every bite melts in your mouth, and the broth is rich yet balanced. If you’re looking for more than just a meal, but an experience worth remembering, this place delivers flawlessly. Highly recommended!

This was truly a treat! Kyoto’s hospitality at its finest. With top ratings on both Google and Tabelog, this restaurant lived up to the hype. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed with warm, attentive service. Every dish was fresh, beautifully presented, and crafted with a deep passion for culinary art. Our experience exceeded expectations, and we’ll definitely be back! ☺️

Wow! Such a delicious meal and a very special experience. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a special and exquisite meal in Japan. It was very filling too we were so full, but we couldn’t let anything go to waste.

We visited as a party of 4 on New Year’s Eve, Dec 31 2024. While the food was really actually really good, unfortunately the restaurant was extremely overbooked/understaffed and was not equipped to handle so many tables. As soon as we arrived at 8pm for our reservation, there was a long line to enter and we were not seated until 8:20. It took us almost half an hour to receive each course on our set menu, and we did not finish until almost midnight - so we were there for almost 4 hours. We did not receive the hojicha pudding that was on the set menu that we had pre-ordered and only got a vanilla ice cream instead. There were also a bunch of dirty uncleared dishes on other tables and staff running around trying to attend to everyone. Clearly not the staff’s fault, but it was just a bad experience all around for both diners and staff. There were multiple diners who walked out early without having received their full courses because it was taking so long. The staff were friendly and really apologetic for the slow service, but considering this put a damper to what was supposed to be a special occasion and prevented us from going anywhere else for the evening, we want to warn other people booking during busy periods/holidays and also urge management to cap the number of reservations so that this doesn’t happen again in the future.

This was our first meal in Kyoto and we were so happy that it was! We got the Kyo shabu set and every course was so yummy. My favorite was the yellowtail and broiled mackerel, and the dashi shabu was such a great experience too. The service was great as well! Got to share some conversation with the servers - they were so polite and friendly!

For me this is an average score for me. Beef quality is good as you eat in japan. As we order pork, Crab and beef I think It’s ok if you want to eat shabushabu but personally it’s not tasty for me. Restaurant is clean, good location

A superb shabu shabu experience with the finest pork and beef. I came here with my cousin and friend because the weather was turning cold and we wanted something warm and soupy. The ponzu sauce was extremely fragrant and the perfect dip for the melt-in-your-mouth wagyu beef. There was also a separate dashi dip for the pork and for the first time... I preferred the Japanese pork over beef. The starting appetiser which is a sesame tofu was a beautiful start to a wonderful meal. Everything was tasty and they had a variety of sake to pair with the food.

The place was so clean and ambiance was very calming and nicely suited the aesthetic of the restaurant. The food itself was very high quality and fresh, definitely worth the money. Service was fast and the staff was foreigner friendly trying their best to help us understand how to eat the food. Even the trainees were very good at being fast and helpful.

We made a last-minute reservation at this famous shabu-shabu place on our first day of visit in Kyoto, and had to admit that it was certainly not an easy one. The restaurant was completely full during our entire dinner time; and service very slow, at least according to my friend, who used to visit here. We opted for the full shabu-shabu set, including assorted sashimi, sushi, soba, dessert, and of course, the shabu plate. Really impressed by the thinness of the pork meat, as thin as a piece of paper! The meat can be ready simply by dipping it into the hot soup for ten seconds, amazing! Their sushi plate was a bit disappointing though...a bit fishy. Dessert served as a perfect ending of our meal with the refreshing pudding. Only if everything can be faster...by the time we left there, the entire restaurant was almost empty. But good quality and service were impeccable.

The place itself is very nice and the staff is good, from there it goes downhill, we paid $70 per person at night. We got some very good quality food, but I am not sure is worth the price. Then, why 2 stars? I would not go back and I would not recommend the place to anyone in Kyoto.