Pontocho Sushi Ishiya

Some of the worst fish yet… and I’ve gone to cheap places, too. The service was like they wanted you out the door as fast as possible. I got 16 pieces of poorly cut fish in 5 minutes or less. I had to pull pieces of untrimmed fish out of my mouth while eating and the quality was terrible. See the picture of the fatty tuna that was untrimmed attached. My friends octopus was inedible and literally no one else ate it. The only mildly redeeming quality was the two pieces of uni. Our water and beers took forever to refill. It came recommended by our hotel, but I’m pretty sure they are getting kickbacks as nearly everyone else there was ‘recommended’ to here by their concierge. We were some of the first guests that evening and the soap was empty. The starter was dry and unthoughtful. Overall this is the worst meal I had in Japan - in fact the only bad meal I had. If you want an expensive, rushed, thoughtless experience go here. If you want something good, go to Ito kaiseki or literally any other sushi restaurant in Japan.

Very good sushi, but some of the dishes were not my favorite, especially the slimy seaweed salad that was sour. That said, the sushi itself was very tasty and fresh, and we also had great wagyu.

With the price I paid I was expecting much higher quality in food. The whole dinner was not bad, but with the same price I could get the same level of sushi even in Sweden, not to mention all the other good food I had in Japan at much cheaper price. The beef was overcooked, the eel was soggy, and the matcha ice cream was plain. The best dish was the uni with salmon roes sushi, both ingredients very fresh and creamy.

We really enjoyed our experience here. It is definitely different from the typical tourist traps and that might be why some people didn’t enjoy it. Yes the chef is a bit frosty at first but when you are kind and polite (as you should be anyway) he warms up and we had a lovely, lovely time. Also interesting to note, we were the only foreigners there and the rest were a local clientele who were clearly repeat customers and from there reactions to the food (really positive) we could tell we were in a nice place. We enjoyed it a lot

At the end of a small alley. The restaurant is very small but we had a room for our group of 6. We went for the set menu which was excellent. The service was quiet - limited English - but efficient.

This was by far the worst sushi I’ve ever had and probably one of the worst meals of my life. The food was not fresh and tasteless. After several days of eating great sushi at places across the price spectrum I would firmly put this in the category of tourist trap that should be avoided at all costs.

I figured a sushi establishment buried in an alley within an alley would be worth the adventure, haha. The sushi was a bit expensive, but it was excellent. I had 16 different types of seafood, most of which I've never found in the US, individually prepared with soy sauce and genuine wasabi. The chef & staff were all friendly, but spoke limited English. Still, we were able to communicate well enough with my limited Japanese, plus Google Translate to help. I arrived at an off-peak time so there was no one else in the restaurant, I imagine the atmosphere would be better during peak dinnertime. All in all, it was worth the experience. Props to the chef.

Had a great experience here with the omakase set, which was just under 10,000 yen for one person, not including drinks. Highlight of the menu for me was the ootoro nigiri (fatty tuna). Had about six pieces in total, which also included tai (red snapper), aji (horse mackerel), and ikura (fish roe) with uni (sea urchin) on top. Note that they serve some meat dishes among the many appetizers before the main nigiri course (which were delicious, but it may not be your thing if you're looking for a primarily sushi-focused course). Also served in the omakase set that I can recall: some tempura, kaki (oysters -- my partner really liked these), daikon, sashimi, and miso soup, which had a particularly hearty, deep flavour. There's also a good selection of sake and cocktails (had some mikan-sake that was pretty refreshing). Service-wise, chef and kitchen staff were friendly and accommodating. My Japanese speaking ability is pretty poor but the chef seemed pretty conversational, and they also spoke some English, so it wasn't a struggle. One key thing to mention is that the directions to this place on Google Maps can be a bit misleading. You need to enter this place from the backstreet, and go down a narrow alley, at the end of which Ishiya is located. If you're not familiar with the Pontocho area before visiting, give yourself a little extra time to find the spot!