Aqua Kyoto

i went here last week, the food was not that great, the service was appalling. at the start of the evening i ordered a bottle of wine. my bottle didnt come, the food came. after 30 mins of ordering the wine i asked the staff about my wine, she said she had forgotten to order it. I wanted my wine first, the service overall wasnt good, the price of the food and wine was tooooo expensive. Dont go there.
Comment on this reader review

duncan greenaigh
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The restaurant was far too dark.

We made the mistake of going on a Friday night where the restaurant sits inbetween two overly packed bars (terrace and indoors). Which was a strange experience. When you want to use the bathroom, you have to take a ticket when you leave so you can get back in (like a club). Once out of the restaurant, you then push through hundreds of posers, and return to your pitch black table.

Watch out too, as the waiters/waitress use the classic scam where by the tip is already added to the bill, but they still pass you the card terminal, knowingly with 'would you like to leave a tip' on the screen.

On the plus side the cocktails were great, food was tasty. A little too expensive, but basically ruined by the hundreds of people continually walking through the restaurant to either bar. Very strange for a 'high end' establishment.

I would recommend you 'pass' on this place. There are many better.
Comment on this reader review

DVC - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Saturday, September 10, 2011

We went to Aqua Kyoto to celebrate a birthday. The service was good as the waitress offered to fill up our teapots with more hot water. The food was very expensive and therefore I would have expected better quality. The flavours of the dishes did not come together as well as what I would have expected. Although, it wasn't bad.

I particularly enjoyed the taro and miso beans dish and the sushi dishes are very good. However, having been to places like Roka and Nobu, it doesn't reach this standard yet.

The decor is impressive and the bar with a terrace is a big attraction and is no doubt a stunning place to impress friends.

I would probably come here more for drinks and the atmosphere rather than for the food.
Comment on this reader review

foodie - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, July 17, 2011

My experience of Aqua Kyoto was of a well run restaurant with a great selection of food on the menu and what we selected was all excellent.

I liked the way when we got up to the 5th floor, the reception staff welcomed me by name. We there then shown through to our table and led through what is a very attractively designed restaurant, of the style & slickness you tend to find in miami/vegas/L.A. There is plenty of space in the room with tables not too close together, there is music on but not too loud. Yes, the bar is lively but that is surely a good thing if you fancy a couple more drinks after your meal ?

We had the spicy crab soup, chefs selection of sushi (portions noticeably bigger than zuma and nobu), blackened cod, and some prawn and crab rolls, with mandarine sorbet for desert...all of it excellent. Our waitress was polite & faultless.

And of course there is the lovely terrace that sets it apart from a lot of trendy shiny room restaurants that just want your money but don't really offer anything special back.

Whoever designed this place has thought about it and created something, slick, modern and very appealing. Its not cheap, but I felt I got a good experience in exchange for my money, which is often not the case in west end London restaurants.
Comment on this reader review

pablo
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, June 12, 2011

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.
Comment on this reader review

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!
Comment on this reader review

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.
Comment on this reader review

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.
Comment on this reader review

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!
Comment on this reader review

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.
Comment on this reader review

Nadine Talalla
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 0
Monday, January 24, 2011