Williamsburg, Virginia is recognized as a great travel destination for families. Well-known for Colonial Williamsburg, the nation’s largest living history museum, Williamsburg is also part of the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which includes other historical places of interest including Jamestown and Yorktown. Nestled in the picturesque city of Williamsburg, Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is geared to serve the locals but also serves up great Japanese meals to the many tourists who visit the area during the summer.
Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is housed in a stylish building featuring a pavilion, courtyard, bridge, and small pond that makes people feel like they are walking around in rural China. As told by owner Henry Wang, it is an enchanting combination of Ming Dynasty style and contemporary Japanese design. Featuring a hibachi grill towards the front of the restaurant and a sushi bar further inside, the 6000 square foot area can comfortably seat about 200 customers.
The restaurant is also ideal for all sorts of functions including parties, big family gatherings, corporate events, or even a simple meal where one can relax and enjoy the sushi, sample the hibachi dishes, and even sip a glass of sake outside in the well-kept courtyard.
First time customers will love the extensive menu which features a variety of selections, including a medley of sushi, sashimi combinations, teppanyaki, and tempura. Even with so many options, the ubiquitous shrimp tempura and miso soup are still some of the more popular items. Rounding things out are various desserts and Kyoto cocktails that complement the beautifully presented and palatable dishes.
Teppanyaki is definitely the focus of Kyoto. Originating in Japan, teppanyaki is a combination of Eastern flavors and Western finesse. Placing an emphasis on the chef’s cooking show, Kyoto has attracted people from miles away from Williamsburg.
The fragrance of food cooking on the shining teppanyaki plate drifting through the restaurant will surely whet your appetite. Patrons will want to take a seat at the hibachi grill in order to watch a true cooking show by the chefs who not only fix up great meals but also dazzle patrons as they demonstrate their unsurpassed knife skills. Interspersing knife tricks and flare into their performances, the chefs cook up steak, chicken, scallop, shrimp, lobster, and vegetables right before your eyes, customizing your meal just the way you like it.
Teppanyaki should be enjoyed leisurely; there is no need to hurry the chefs. Instead, sit back and watch their splendid demonstration, admire the expertise, and enjoy yourself. The kids like the cooking show, as they often find joy in watching the chef toss an egg up in the air or flip a flattened shrimp into their mouths.
“All of our chefs have over 10 years of teppanyaki cooking experience,” reveals Wang. “They have a great sense of humor and are ready to entertain customers while preparing meals so that customers can have fun and enjoy a delicious meal at the same time.”
Sushi is just one of many reasons why many first time customers become regulars. The varieties include tuna, yellowtail, salmon, flounder, octopus, mackerel, fresh water eel, and crab. Kyoto’s chef doesn’t just churn out assembly line sushi, instead, he strives to really interpret sushi and its meaning. At Kyoto, you will also find sushi made using local ingredients, but with a special twist. The tastes are modified slightly to suit the needs of customers. Aside from the raw items, such as sashimi, there are also a number of rolls featuring cooked fillings such as tempura, and more.
Ardent sushi aficionados may find pleasure in eating the Sushi Sashimi Deluxe, which boasts tuna, flounder, salmon, yellow tail, shrimp, octopus, squid, cucumber rolls (3pcs), tuna rolls (3pcs), and crab meat on a plate. A cute bowl of fresh orange slices with an umbrella helps beautify the presentation and diversify the meal.
Some classic rolls that are fixtures on the menu are the California Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Volcano Roll and Salmon Roll. The experienced sushi chef prepares each order in a way that creates a harmonious combination of color, aroma, taste and presentation.
Many customers at Kyoto choose to enhance their dining experience even further by ordering a drink to go along with their meal. The restaurant’s lengthy drink menu covers cocktails, wines, sake, and other beverages. More adventurous patrons may want to consider having a shot of sake with their beer. While a bit different, the sake bomb is a surprising drink combination created by dumping a glass of sake into a cup of beer. Drinking this trendy drink is an exciting experience as sake bombs are loud and can be a bit messy!
Customers can rest assured that Kyoto’s offerings are fresh and cooked in a healthy manner. Being close to the ocean gives Kyoto access to a huge a variety of seafood. The flounder, striped bass, rockfish, and blue crab are locally sourced and delivered to the restaurant on a daily basis by a top notch Japanese delivery company that is known for being able to maintain freshness during transit.
In addition, they are now in the process of teaming up with Healthy Dining Finder, a corporation that provides accurate nutrition information and suggestions through thorough analysis of the nutritional content of restaurant dishes.
“We try to use local fresh fish rather than frozen fish from halfway across the globe,” says Wang. “Everything we use is very carefully selected and we always look for the freshest fish available even though this approach means higher costs.”
A sushi chef who has more than 20 years of experience under his belt, Henry Wang partnered with Willis Ma and Tom Chan to open two Japanese restaurants. The first one opened in Chesapeake, VA in 1990. It was followed by Kyoto in 1999, a time when Japanese cuisine was just beginning to emerge onto the American dining scene. He decided on the current location after discovering that there was a naval base nearby. By opening a Japanese restaurant in this diverse community, Wang realized his dream of bringing unique Japanese cuisine to both locals and the many tourists who visit the area each year.
His decision proved wise as business has been good from the very start. The number of customers goes up even more during the peak travel season which lasts from June to August. But even with the bigger summer crowds, Kyoto still remains a great place to dine as the staff is always able to place and deliver orders in a timely manner, refill glasses quickly, and answer questions about menu items when needed.
The restaurant won a bundle of awards from 2000-2004 including the Special Recognition Award and Special Presentation Award at the “Taste of Williamsburg” which was organized by the local Chamber of Commerce. Winning these awards has prepared Kyoto to excel at the Top 100 Asian Restaurants in the USA competition held by Chinese Restaurant News, an internationally published magazine which recognizes outstanding Asian restaurants around the world.
What makes a restaurant successful? Obviously, great food, service and always catering to customers’ requirements but a favorable location sure does help. Restaurants located in a popular tourist area are often able to enjoy initial success just by virtue of their superior location. However, long term success isn’t guaranteed, these restaurants have to have something more than just a good location in order to keep people coming back. Kyoto keeps foodies returning by offering a complete experience that appeals to everyone, not just hardcore fans of Japanese cuisine.
Some may believe that the restaurant serves mainly tourists but in actuality, Wang has always placed an emphasis on serving the locals. “We really appreciate being able to serve our local customers and work to always provide them with a pleasant dining experience—even during the peak travel season. We are locally owned, and like to serve the local community. We'd like to thank the community for all their support and hope that even more people will come and try out the great food here at Kyoto no matter what month of the year it is.”
Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar
Location: 1621 Richmond Rd. Williamsburg, VA 23185
Phone: 757-220-8888
Offers: Hibachi Grill, Sushi Bar, Full Bar, Dine-in, Take-out, Catering
Cuisine: Japanese Cuisine
Signature Dishes: Kyoto Special, Sushi Sashimi Deluxe, Tuna Tataki, Spicy Volcano Roll
Year of Establishment: 1999
Website: www.kyotoofwilliamsburg.com
Email: gokyoto2@yahoo.com
