A bit over a week ago was the boy’s B-day, so us and a friend went and checked out the new Japanese restaurant on Lincoln St, Kyoto. Let me just say this: ZOMG.
So we get in and the decor is pretty nice… big bar. Pretty tables.
No mixed drinks for us, sadly… the three of us is all broke. We splurged on some appetizers: edamame, a rainbow roll, and a dragon roll. Edamame was cooked well, but undersalted, and that made me a bit sad. The rainbow was standard. And by standard I mean nothing about it stood out, but it was a superb roll. We generally love the rainbow roll no matter where we go =). The dragon was really good – the eel was done perfectly and the tempura shrimp was awesome, but it was cut too thick. We usually get eight pieces in a dragon and this time there was only six, which isn’t really a huge deal but was still a bit sad. Also thicker rolls are a bit more difficult to eat, but y’know, whatev.
So okay, the main course(s)…. Salad with standard ginger dressing, yum. Soup was watery… but I was the only one bothered by it, so I guess I’m just picky. Entrees: R got scallops, Boy got scallops and shrimp (I think) and I got swordfish. Let me say that again: Swordfish. I think that may be the first time I’ve seen swordfish on a teppanyaki menu. Everything was PERFECT. Seriously. One thing of note that I found interesting is that the chef fried up some bacon to mix in with the fried rice. Also, the dipping sauces were the standard ginger sauce and also the really good creamy sauce like Osaka serves, not the watered-down hot mustard like Sakura serves (this is a good thing. we LOVE the creamy sauce). And as the rice was cooking, he ladled on some of the cream sauce too. So the fried rice had just TONS of awesome flavors working through it. I’m a steamed rice purist, but I tried some of Darren’s rice and I gotta say… it was fantastic.
The swordfish was pure ecstasy. That’s all I can say. Oh, and the nice man put some teriyaki sauce on it for me.
We did get the big gong she-bang for the birthday celebration. The coconut ice cream had hints of ginger in it, which was cool for Darren, but bad for me, since I actually really dislike ginger.

The waitstaff was really awesome. All very nice, and okay, I hate to be mean, but here it is: The waitstaff at Kyoto speaks much better English (chefs included) than the other places we’ve been at, and that actually makes a difference for me. I can connect better with them at Kyoto and it makes the experience much more enjoyable. The chef was incredibly friendly and funny (you should have heard some of the horrible puns he made; it was awesome) and we definitely laughed and smiled throughout.

Pricewise, it was pretty on par with Osaka. Maybe a little bit pricier, but … dude, I got swordfish. It was worth it.

So recap: Kyoto Japanese on Lincoln St. Extremely awesome, and you should go there. Now.