Aqua Kyoto

What an incredible, superior service! We haven't experienced such attention from staff for a long while. The restaurant manager at Aqua Kyoto Japanese restaurant is truly talented, confident and professional waiters smiling and always keeping an eye on our table. The lady at reservations has also been absolutely helpful and very nice to us. The food is interesting and tasty, waiting time is around 10 minutes and everyone seems calm, friendly and happy. This place is definitely something to discover if you're expectations are very high. 10 out of 10! We'll return soon.
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Aggs, MD of a food spec company
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 26, 2011

I went for the first time to Aqua Kyoto on a Monday evening. I am definitely coming back!

We had drinks at the terrace before dinner!

Great food (we shared 5 dishes and sushi). Very helpful staff. Beautiful decor! Worth a visit!
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, May 08, 2011

At my friend's insistence, we tried Aqua Kyoto for the first time over the weekend. While the dark and velvet entrance may have signalled a lounge/cocktail bar type of ambiance reminiscent of some great venues in New York, before I got to our table at the restaurant, we had at least 3 people check our dinner reservations and size us up. Our original intent was dinner versus heading to aqua spirit, the bar nestled between the entrance and the restaurant.

While we had a dedicated waitress, she definitely did not have the skill to be working at a supposedly high calibre restaurant. Not only did she not have a good understanding of the food and drinks menu, there was a problem with the food at the adjacent table with whom she was also serving and spent the majority of the night in a somewhat heated discussion with the patrons. When we wanted to order, we had to wait at least 10 minutes, despite our table being near the till area where it was teemed with other wait staff who ironically appeared to be complaining of sorts (no one was smiling) and would not lend a hand. Further, her hair was dishevelled and she did not appear to have an interest in actually serving.

When the food came, we had a mix of sushi and some hot foods, the food was no better than an itsu or a standard fare korean bbq. Chicken skewers were tough and not marinated well. Sushi - overpriced for what you get and does not compare to some great sushi restaurants in London. What lacked in how the food tasted was further compounded by the waitress just pouring our wine and water like nobody's business - I think the staff was taught to empty the bottles asap. This appears to be a prevalent theme when you look at the other reviews.

While the roof top bar was nice, since it overlooks Regent's street - it was not lit at all and heating lamps - a basic offer at most establishments with an outdoor venue, were not present. Most of the people who were passing through appeared classy, it definitely attracts those who only want to be noticed. The sad part is, it wasn't even style over the substance.

Overall, the atmosphere was fairly good - the background music was a bit loud and the noisiness from the bar permeated to the restaurant area. The venue was quite minimalist and looked nice. This place may probably be better for a cocktail than dinner if you want proper Japanese food.

Overall, Aqua should probably stick to being a cocktail bar versus a Japanese restaurant. It doesn't do the cuisine justice from someone who has frequented the best Japanese restaurants in London. While it tries to make up the lack of good food for presentation, it's definitely not value for money in terms of what it tries to be with it's overall restaurant concept.
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Christianne
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Sunday, April 24, 2011

Managment and staff are rude, obnoxious and you wait hours to get served.

I keep going back hoping that it would improve but it just seems to get worse.

If you like japanees then go to Zuma 100 times better and staff are very pleasent and helpful.

The only plus is the roof terrace.
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Katherine
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Thursday, April 21, 2011

The top Japanese restaurants in London have set a very high standard and clearly Aqua Kyoto has ambitions to be elevated into that exhaulted company.

If I were to judge this restaurant by those standards I would say it fails. However Aqua Kyoto is still quite enjoyble The setting is great, 5th floor of a building overlooking Regents Street, modern minimalist interior, the atmosphere has a great buzz. The food is good but from a dinner that included sashimi, soup, black cod, tempura to say that the highlight for me was the twice baked pork belly seems a bit odd for a Japanese restaurant.

This restaurant huffs and puffs but didnt quite deliver the knock-out blow!
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Deji - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Saturday, March 19, 2011

The service is not to my liking, constantly moving your cutlery and invading the space of a conversation.

Good quality food but you pay through the nose and they pour the wine so quickly that, with out you knowing, you're drunk by the main.
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Nadine Talalla
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 0
Monday, January 24, 2011

This is one of the worst places in London. Positioning themselves as a luxury restaurant the girls check your booking 3 times at different places before letting you to your table.

then we were told to ait 20 mins for our PREBOOKED table and NO APOLOGIES!!!! they didnt even care! the main restaurant area is vey small, not like on the picture at the website, some cheap-looking bar with hundreds of noisy drunk people.

omg, never never go there if you are used to pay big money for GOOD service cuz this isnt the place to have a good evening at. staff is rude and dumb and everything is incredibly disorganised. Imagine you take a girl for a date and then you are told : wait 20 mins for PREBOOKED table, how would you feel?...

another WANNA BE POSH retaurant with WANNA BE posh people.. ha ha
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Vanessa
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Don't waste your time there. Rude door staff (probably think they're bouncers at some Mayfair club) and food is not that great. Go if you're an attention-seeker.
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A.b.
0 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, November 02, 2010

I've eaten at Aqua Kyoto three times now. The first couple of occasions were for lunch with the girls. We all ordered the Bento box, some opting for the chicken teryaki, while I went for the beef with Japanese mustard sauce. Both were delicious! I think my favourite thing about the Bento boxes was the mixed veg and shrimp tempura, which were so more'ish. There was so much to choose from in each box. We all thought they were great value for money at around £16 per person. The only negative I can think of was the miniature cup of what can only be described as savoury jelly, which we tried. We all decided it was an acquired taste, and something the menu could probably do without.

My third time at Aqua was for a friend's birthday celebration in September. I suggested the venue and when I rang to reserve a table, the lovely receptionist informed me Aqua could provide a birthday cake at £6.50 per person, which I ordered. We started the evening with cocktails on one of the fantastic terraces because it was such a beautiful day, before moving inside for dinner. We opted for lots of different dishes, which is a great way to eat at a restaurant like Aqua because your whole table gets to sample various things from the menu. The service was great, with our waitress explaining all the dishes to us with care. The sushi and sashimi were very fresh and got a resounding 'thumbs up' from everyone. My stand out favourite dish from that night was the crab wrapped in nori with crab miso. At the end of the dinner our waitress brought out the sumptuous cake, to the surprise of the birthday girl! It was made of light and dark chocolate, and more than enough for the six of us. In fact they very kindly put the leftover cake into a box for my friend to take home.

I highly recommend Aqua Kyoto, and all my friends who have eaten there feel the same. I'm looking forward to my next visit!
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Gloria Greedy-Guts
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, October 14, 2010

I went to Aqua for lunch and had the Bento Box, and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. There was just enough there to fill me up without making me feel bloated, the sushi was so light and tender, full of flavour, and with the Box there was a really decent variety of things to choose from. Plus, some of my party wanted a bit from one Box and a bit from the other and the staff were more than happy to arrange that. We were totally looked after, the staff were very friendly but also left you alone to get on with your meal, only checking on every now and again which I really appreciated - I can't stand it when waiters hover! But when you needed something, there was always someone there to help you out. Overall a really enjoyable, relaxed and tasty lunch, I'd definitely go back for more :)
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Kat
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, October 12, 2010