Sushi has become really popular in Cape Town – from only a few restaurants offering it a decade and a half ago, you can now get it in your local supermarkets, and in about any restaurant offering fish, apart from the many dedicated sushi places themselves – with or without conveyer belt.
But, while I think sushi’s combination of rice, fresh fish, nori, wasabi and soy sauce is delicious enough to have anytime, there are occasions where one would like it in an environment a bit more, well, “fitting” given its origin. Kyoto Gardens is such an environment. It’s a small restaurant, with pale wood furniture in a minimalist style, and Japan-inspired design elements, resulting in a peaceful, relaxing, even calming environment. The service is professional and attentive. The stem-less wine glasses are unusual, and fit the environment, as does the presentation of the food. The sushi itself is excellent – the fish was fresh, the rice not overly compacted, and had a good balance of flavour. Apart from the sushi mains we had a miso soup starter, which was also delicious. There is much more than just sushi on the menu, but as we were here for that, stuck to it – and were definitely not disappointed – it was simply better than that from the local Spar! All in all classy sushi.
If there are any negatives, these are not really the fault of the restaurant, but worth noting: parking is an issue – the restaurant is located in an older part of Cape Town, so most cars park on the street – and there is simply not enough to go around. I would recommend parking in the Lifestyle on Kloof centre – corner of Kloof and Park, and just walk the 3 minutes it takes to get to the restaurant. While the parking in the centre isn’t free, it is safe, and you also save having to deal with the parking touts.
The other negative is that the restaurant is on a somewhat busy road (an intersection is close by), which together with a noisy bar/restaurant diagonally across the street, and an open restaurant door (due to it being a nice evening, to allow for balmy summer air to come in), did mean the noise coming in was a bit distracting from the otherwise peaceful interior of the restaurant. Maybe closed doors in winter work better…
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