Way too expensive. Sorry. $68 for 5 items? No thanks. The sushi isn't THAT good. It's great! But if you see my attached pic you'll see the portions are not reflective of their prices. We got 4 different types of sushi and gyoza. $68. Not a fan of the prices when the sushi wasn't varied (for example spicy mayo is used in almost all of the diffeeebt types of sushi). Sorry! read more

We ordered the dinner for 2 . The sushi tasted old, as well as containing fish bones. Our waitress was very nice and the best part of our visit. We have had better from Big Y. We are very disappointed unfortunately. read more

Great food and service. Our Hibachi chef had the personality of a dead fish. Older guy who went though the motions as if it was his 100,000 time. Other chefs were fun and entertaining so look for the young guys. We had one last time that did balloons and he was there again tonight. Lots of fun. Food is good and plentiful in any case. read more

We felt the food was good. We had Sushi. The portions seemed to be generous. I thought it was pricey. My wife and I had sushi for 2, one alcoholic drink each. I also had a diet soda. The bill came to $100.00 with the tip. Good food, decent atmosphere, a little expensive. read more

My husband and I LOVE Japanese food and this is right down the street from our house which got us so excited. It looks classy and authentic from the outside, but upon entering it looks like an Italian restaurant turned make shift Japanese. I was disappointed to find that a Japanese restaurant has no Katsu. So sad. We ordered gyoza (of course), a hibachi swordfish, and a hibachi teriyaki steak. The gyoza was delicious as were the hibachis. I find it strange that they charge hibachi meal prices for hibachi from the kitchen. I feel as though part of what you pay for is hat hibachi experience. Everyone seems bored that works there and my husband and I had to track down the server for a refill. After each meal, my husband and I tell each other "how many stars on yelp" and we both agreed 3. I thought 3.5, but that parking situation is horrendous. I'm surprised no one hit my car! read more

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I am dropping my review down to 4 stars. The place doesn't impress me like it once did. It's great for sushi in a place like Holden if you don't want to drive out of town, and the portions are decent size. Recently tried the scallion pancake and it was not like any that I had ever tried before. It was just greasy layers of wrap with scallions fried together. It was crispy. Every scallion pancake I've had elsewhere and those I've made at home are soft. I wasn't happy with it. Could only eat very little and tossed the rest. The rolls and sashimi/nigiri are generally pretty good. I think it's what they do best! Drinks are always really good too. read more

I used to be very pleased until takeout yesterday! The food was mediocre. I had a problem with the meal and when I called, which I never do, the young girl replied, "I just work here, take it up with Uber!" Won't being ordering again anytime soon! read more

I've found Kyoto historically to be hit and miss. We stopped going there as we found the quality of the meals had gone down a bit. We decided to give it a chance this weekend. Ordered four takeout hibachi meals that came to $89. When we got home, and opened our meals we were pretty surprised. The portions were tiny. My chicken hibachi had 8 pieces of chicken breast that were about 1/2 inch squared at best. A half cup of fried rice and a 1/4 cup of veggies were also surprising. My wife had the more expensive filet mignon. Portions were the same. We wondered if these were lunch or kids portions. At an average of over $20 a meal... we expected a little more. The lettuce in our salads was browning and mushy. Our soup containers were a 1/3 full. When I called the restaurant the manager told me the portions are measured and all the same....which if you've ever done cooking table hibachi, is not quite true. I rarely can finish cooking table portions at other restaurants. He said, come back and we'll give you some extra rice at no charge. Thanks! I passed. read more

Kyoto Bar & Grill - Brown mushy lettuce. - Japanese Near Me - Holden, Massachusetts

Seated without any menus and without instructions how to order via a scanner. After 10 minutes, we asked for menus while another table seated after us was waited on. When we finally were given instructions of how to actually access a menu, we ordered as we listened to rap music over the speakers. The swordfish was cut hibachi style and cooked with the vegetables leaving them like rubber. The rice? More salt than anything else really. Truly terrible. DON'T go here! read more

Very good and great service. A good mixture of sushi and other oriental food including Hibachi. Prices are very reasonable. Loved it! read more

Kyoto Bar & Grill - a view of the dining area - Japanese Near Me - Holden, Massachusetts

The food here is tasty enough, but beware if you get takeout. The takeout service is atrocious. The constantly leave stuff out, especially the sauces and chopsticks. The quality of their food has gone downhill lately. The bar is fun to sit at for drinks and sushi, but this location does not have the hibatchi grill experience of the Worcester location. The major reason I continue to eat here is because it's so nice having good sushi right in Holden. Holden is such a bland little town, so to have something fun so close makes the little annoyances easier to look over. read more

We consistently find the presentation of their takeout sushi lacking, which becomes a turnoff in the way of taste. We want to keep supporting our local businesses, but have now lost count of the number of times this happens at Kyoto. read more

I have been to Kyoto holden location 3 times now. There food is always a delight. Sushi taste great and fresh and their kitchen entrees are delicious..props to the fried rice. Also, Fried coconut ice cream Staff is very friendly and attentive. The only complaint I would have is the parking situation. The parking lot available is very small and difficult to find parking during busy dining hours. Also, the dining space itself is very small and when it's busy I feel kind of squished in with everybody because the tables are in such close proximity. I do not recommend for large parties but a group of 2-4 would be perfect. Price is at a normal range especially for sushi which is usually up there in prices. Just making a note that there is no hibachi at this location. 4 and a half stars, definitely worth a visit. read more

Kyoto Bar & Grill - 4 different types of sushi all very good - Japanese Near Me - Holden, Massachusetts

I wish I could give no stars but you have to 1 star. My husband and I have been in this town for a couple years now and we've always enjoyed a night out to dinner, on Sunday night after I got out of work we went to go here for dinner I ordered the chicken teriyaki meal and I'm not sure it was even chicken. It was crunchy. It was hard it was stringy. It was disgusting. It actually made me physically sick to my stomach at the table. My daughter also took a small bite of it, and the two of us suffered from what seems like food poisoning for the next two days. Unfortunately I noticed that it made me feel sick and that it was disgusting so I didn't eat much of it when I brought this attention of the server. The server said that the Head Chef is out of town for the next month in Vietnam and the new Cook is questionable never once did she offered to take it off the bill or make me something different or get me something else even knowing that I didn't eat hardly anyof it , then she brought over a drink after serving me the first one. It looks completely different different color completely different make and said to me oh well, we ran out of such and such to make the drink. It was a horrible experience. I can't believe I had to pay $90 for this awful food and sickness. Needless to say we will never be going back and will let everybody know in town. How terrible this restaurant read more

I love Kyoto!! I order Lunch as often as I can all of the selections of sushi and maki are all fresh and delicious I love the Volcano, Shrimp tempura, KFC, Rainbow dragon I could go on and on! If you like sushi this is the place you won't be disappointed they are currently doing curbside orders So Call ahead!! Very friendly service! read more

For the extravagant presentation demonstrated by this beckoning Japanese place on the side of main st. In Holden, the flavor just couldn't compete. The crab Rangoon's, the absolute trophy of an Asian restaurant's quality, felt as if the innards were composed of a creamy slime, and tasted more like toothpaste than the coveted crab flavor every restaurant like this strives for. It's golden coating, if you can break through it's impossibly hard shell, tasted like it came out of a throughly exhausted fryer which, borderline rancid oil covering the food like a lover, was maybe the host of frozen French fries. Maybe, in these ways, the Rangoon's more like a real crab. A pain in the ass to bite into, and cringe worthy on the inside. As for the leather square's (I say leather square's because these beef kababs don't deserve the respect to be called a real piece of meat), I wasn't sure if what I was eating was beef or another unsavory mammal. Who knows? I couldn't tell above the dehydrating scream of the sodium bathed sauce which could have its own reality TV show. For names, I'm thinking "Trans meat: the story of a kababs transition into a leather accessory". Nice try. But you can get better food without the misleading presentation. Eaters, stay away! read more

This is my new favorite sushi place! It's clean the food is delicious and fast and the service is great! Defiantly try the spicy calamari and the fried rice and the seaweed salad!! I can't wait to come back and try more of their rolls! read more

Overpriced. Like ridiculously overpriced. Very loud, something with the acoustics is terrible. You can't have a private quiet dinner. Especially if you sit near the door, it's drafty and noidy with the pick up orders. We ordered to go once and the to go plate was not even half full. There is very little children's options. I stopped going here after spending $160 and still being hungry. I think the sushi is good and the drinks are made well. But for full meals the Kyoto in Worcester is way better read more

Overwhelmed server, luke warm food. Complete waste of time. If you're looking for good Japanese food this is not the place for you.

This review appeared in the Worcester Herald. A week ago I had the opportunity to experience Kyoto Bar and Grill in Holden, MA. Kyoto offers traditional Japanese cuisine including sushi, which is what I tried. This is their newest location. They already have two previous locations; one in Worcester and one in Northbridge. For the record I have not been to the previous two locations. My wife and son were out of town so I had a chance to relax and get out of the house. One thing struck me as I pulled in on a Saturday afternoon. The parking lot is small but the restaurant itself is large. If you go there on a weekend night be prepared to fight for parking or have to park around the other side of the building or in an adjacent lot somewhere. I went early on a Saturday afternoon so I had no parking issues and there were very few people there. Since I came alone I decided to sit at the bar. The atmosphere in the restaurant is quite nice, it's not old, and it's not overly Japanese but simple, bright, inviting and very tastefully done. It wasn't full and I wasn't seated at a table so I really didn't get a chance to see if the tables were too closely packed into the room or not so I really cannot make a judgment call on that either way. Put simply the atmosphere was quite nice, as opposed to that overrated place in Cherry Valley. It really doesn't take much effort to make a place look nice and not like a pizza parlor. *cough* The service was good but I expected it to be since I largely had the place to myself. My bartender had just started his job two days before but was quite able in his duties and I never wanted for anything the entire time. One time when he was busy one of the other staff actually came over to ask me if I wanted another beer. Added points for that! If the place was packed the staff on hand would have been overwhelmed. I've never been there for dinner but I've heard the place packs up full and if they under-staff on a night like that it could turn into a nightmare. They need to monitor this carefully. I can't say that they do or do not but I've been to so many places that under-staff their restaurant and it's a killer mistake. I don't care if the food is the best on the planet, if people are waiting too long they will remember that most of all and it kills their experience. Let's get to the food. Their presentation is nothing short of amazing. Perhaps the highest rated sushi restaurant I've ever been to is Oga's in Natick and the presentation of the food at Kyoto blew them completely out of the water, I've never seen anything like it. Six stars out of five, truly. I had three different sushi rolls. 1. The Whitinsville, which is salmon tempura, avocado, cucumber, soy wrap, topped with assorted fish, eel sauce, and scallions. 2. The Spicy Crab, which is crab meat mixed with spicy mayo cucumber, avocado, topped with a shredded crab. 3. The Red Dragon, which is shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, topped with tuna mixed with crab and tobiko. I was extremely pleased with all the sushi. Everything was very fresh, very tasty and the ingredients of each roll were simply fantastic. You can get things here you may never have seen at another sushi restaurant. That gets extra points - originality counts. I didn't try the other dishes available but from what I've read customers seem to really like all the other dishes available. All in all I will definitely be back. I'll bring my family, my friends; any excuse I can find to get back to this place. It's simply that good. I would definitely recommend going for lunch on a weekend. If you're planning on dinner I would absolutely definitely positively call ahead for reservations. Great appearance, great service (remember I had the place almost to myself) but most importantly great food. Being the Belligerent Gourmet I tried to think of anything negative and I simply can't. My Uncle would love this place. Five stars. It's great to have a place like this in the Wachusett region! read more

Double check your orders if you get takeout. I gave two stars because when we eat in the restaurant or at the bar is usually pleasant. For instance the first time I got the Mongolian Beef Salad, it was outstanding, the next time it was like beef jerky on a salad. My biggest problem is the "to go" orders.. They are always less than what you get in person, but lately they have been making so many mistakes and we have had to go back several times.. I hate to see the one good restaurant in town go to crap because of stupid mistakes. read more

We just went here for dinner. Nice atmosphere and the wait staff did a good job. Here's the rundown of the menu items we ordered: Vegetable tempura. Hot and tasty, but very oily. Not served with traditional dipping sauce, but with a seasoned mayo. Maybe this goes over as an American fusion item, but we didn't like it. Uni and tobiko sushi. Very large portion sizes considering the price, so good deal. Also quite well done. We enjoyed it. They probably lose money on the uni, but it is worthy of praise. Udon. This was the most disappointing item. The broth was flavorless, like the chefs have no idea about how to make this particular menu item. Overall, it is a nice place with a good location and interior atmosphere, but the menu is not very Japanese (owners are Vietnamese) and doesn't taste like it. They are quite new, so hopefully they will improve. We will go back and give a future update in a couple of months. read more

Just opened on Feb 4th. We ordered takeout during one of the numerous snowstorms! We had only sushi rolls...lady in red (my favorite with grilled scallop and tempura shrimp...topped with all sorts of yuminess), Kyoto (shrimp tempura with lobster topping), crunchy tuna and plain avocado. All ingredients were fresh. Crunchy tuna really didn't have the texture we expected but it was still very good. Portions were great. Really enjoyed this place, will definitely go back. Menu has tepenyaki too so would like to try. They need to update their website to include menu for this location. read more

No wait when we got there. Different salad bowl would be ideal. Could have used a small plate for the sushi. Other than that food was good. read more

Kyoto Bar & Grill - Tsunami, Red Sox & a Cape Cod - Japanese Near Me - Holden, Massachusetts

MJ is the best! We love coming here! Food is amazing! Always cooked perfect! The scorpion bowl is always a go too and I can't get enough of the ginger salad dressing! Yummy! read more

Their hibachi dinner is a lot of food for the price and it is the best hibachi I've had in a reasonable area around Worcester. They don't have the hibachi tables they cook it out back, but that's not a factor for me but just be aware. Also their KFC roll is amazing, their more traditional sushi is excellent as well read more

We moved from Worcester to Holden last year, and were happy to find a local sushi place. I think this place is awesome and on par with the Worcester Sushi places, but with much better pricing. I love the signature rolls. read more

A nice little spot to gather, watch the Red Sox, and eat reasonably priced Japanese cuisine. Great drinks at the bar - including frozen drinks - and really cool, friendly, and down to earth staff. The sushi is excellent. Vegetarians and vegans will be happy. Lots of salads and rolls to choose from (and the veggie udon can be made vegan upon request.) I have been here quite a few times since moving to the area and I've never been let down. If you like Japanese food and a friendly laid back atmosphere, you will really like this place. Five stars! read more

Extremely consistent quality and freshness of food. Kenny is my go-to bartender. He's quick with service and makes great recommendations. Parking is sometimes tough but there is always more across the street. I don't go too wild with my sushi choices, and I usually order simple tuna rolls. They are always delicious. The only reason I held back a star was due to the service I experienced during weeknights. Despite the restaurant being fairly slow, the bartender clearly didn't want to be working. When I mentioned the chicken tempura wasn't cooked as well as I was accustomed, the bartender acted as if I had insulted her personally and took the dish away in a huff. Terrific restaurant aside from that one experience. My advice is to visit on the weekends. Their weekday staff doesn't earn them any stars. read more

Went here with my mom the other night. The food was awesome. My mom's never had sushi before, but she loved it. We got a cucumber salad, Gyoza, a spider roll, a California roll and a chicken tempura udon soup. All delicious. Very happy to have such a good Japanese place in town. read more

First time visit and look forward to returning! Began with edamame while we read the menu. Enjoyed a hibachi dinner including soup and salad. Delicious! Friendly staff. read more

Both my husband and I really loved the low key atmosphere and good food. I ordered the Winter Ravioli and my husband ordered the Beet Salad with Beef Tips. We also order some Asian wings as appetizers. All came on time and the beer selection was big for a small town pub. Two big bar areas and pub style seating were available too. The crowd was on the older side but it was not a deterrent as the vibe was relaxing. We will definitely go back. read more

I really wanted to like this place, I truly did. I've had dinner there several times since it opened, and at first, it seemed promising. Their service was pleasant and friendly, if a bit slow at times, the location is convenient, and the sashimi was very fresh. After my last visit, however, I just have to face the fact that it is definitely not a place worth my time and money. The rolls are ok. They are on the small side, and nothing you can't find at hundreds of other mediocre sushi joints, and even a couple of fantastic supermarkets. They are usually tasty, and sometimes, when the sushi chef is in the mood, the presentation is very nice. But the rest of the menu is a travesty. I've tried several items that are Japanese restaurant basics. They came up seriously short. Their yaki "soba" is actually udon noodles tossed in a sweet red sauce that I can't identify. I am sure there are people out there who like it, but please don't call it yakisoba when you can't even use the right kind of noodles, let alone the right seasonings. Speaking of udon, the broth was so bland ad tasteless that I left it after a couple of bites. I don't know why they even bothered putting it on the menu, as it seems like they are not even trying with this one. The tempura isn't really tempura either. Breaded and fried, yes. Tempura, no. Last time I made the mistake of ordering the "spicy" tempura calamari. I must have been suffering from heat stroke that day, because I forgot that in Asian restaurants in these parts, "spicy" actually means "sweet". It was covered in the same sickly sweet red stuff they put in the "yakisoba" and came with yet more sweet mayo based sauce. The fried rice was too salty and one dimensional. Only flavor I could taste was the dark soy sauce they use. The gyoza is actually pretty good. The skin is thin, as it should be, and the filling is on point. They do need to work on the presentation, however. There are six per order, and they are not very big, so they plop some chopped iceberg lettuce on one side of the plate. Visual impact has a lot of influence in judging a dish. Maybe use a smaller plate and forego the iceberg lettuce, if you can't come up with a presentation? I realize most people just go for the sushi or the hibachi. And if that's all you want, then Kyoto is ok, But for me, if a Japanese restaurant chooses to offer these above items, I expect better. A lot better. I suggest a long vacation for the owners and the kitchen staff in Japan, (or California, even) to see what Japanese food actually should taste like. read more

I was there yesterday for dinner. My husband and I usually go to the one in Worcester, but this is way better. We sat at the bar and I like the ambiance here. We started off with salmon sushi and the bartender, Kenny recommended a special roll not on the menu, it contained mango, pineapple, salmon, absolutely to die for. I was skeptic because I have never had fruit in my sushi but it was so good. For our main course, I had filet and scallops with spicy fried rice and extra extra white sauce. Sooo amazing. I have been to all 3 of your restaurants and I am happy to say that I love them all. Can't wait to come again. read more

Was finally able to check this place out. Nice sushi spot right down the street from me? Too good to be true but it is true! Great staff, fantastic food, and great Mai Tai's. read more

Great meal. Entrees included Sashimi lover, a couple of Deluxe Rolls, apps and drinks. I've now eaten lunch and dinner at Kyoto, both being a great experience. Great value, quality and consistent. The sushi chef is an artist. Our server Jill was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. The menu is expansive, I can't wait to return. read more

We ordered take-out. We haven't actually been in to eat. But the sushi take out was good! We will be returning for our future sushi nights.

Delicious! Came here for dinner and ordered several rolls and a couple sashimi. Between the service, the food and the atmosphere - I would come here again without hesitation. read more

I was so excited when a Kyoto opened up in my home town of Holden! I am practically a regular at the one in Lincoln Plaza because the service is great and the food is amazing, so I was looking forward to having one closer to home. Unfortunately, this particular location does not live up to the glory of it's Worcester-residing counterpart. I usually get the chicken teriyaki, which comes with soup, salad, and veggies on the side. The chicken was mostly tough, overcooked dark meat-- very different from the more tender breast meat they use at the other location. The veggies were overdone as well. I have gotten this dish twice from the Holden location and it has been the same both times-- disappointing. I also ordered some of the veggie sushi, which was more expensive at the Holden location for some reason, which was sadly not up to par. Six TINY pieces of sushi for over five bucks? The nori didn't even wrap completely around the contents. Sloppy. read more

The sushi was very good, and the staff was friendly. Some reviewers say it's a small room, but that's an exaggeration. I'd say a good 60 people can be seated and then there are a few outside tables. Nice atmosphere overall. Our problem was with the service. Very slow, very scattered. I had to remind the server that we hadn't been served soup. I think she was inexperienced, but it was obvious also that she was poorly trained. This is the management's fault. Managers did help out here and there, but they could have been much more involved. We had a young child with us and her food came out last, despite our asking that she be served as soon as possible. Would go again, but only once more if things don't improve. read more