overpriced/mediocre food at best/small portions. first off i would like to give a little background information about myself. i am of mixed decent japanese and korean, i have tried many different japanese and korean restaurants from all over including home cooked dishes. in fact, i even have family in japan who own a very upscale restaurant.
i don't typically write reviews and this is my first on urbanspoon but i felt this needed to be done. the staff at kikyo seemed inviting and i can't really complain about the service, it was suffice but nothing to write about. the restaurant was empty with only two servers, which led me to believe that the restaurant was no good. still, reluctantly i gave this place a chance just because i pass it on my way to work and i like to try new things.
i typically go to japanese restaurant called akai hana off of old henderson road which is about 10 minutes from kikyo. akai hana is always busy with great service and outstanding food, prices there are very similar to kikyo but i feel as though they make up for it with larger portions of food.
to start my meal off i ordered some gyoza or "potstickers" $5.00 for 5 pieces. not a terrible price but they were mediocre, it seemed like they were thrown in the microwave then set on a pan for a couple minutes. next comes my soup and salad, the miso soup was alright but not very hot, salad was made with cheap iceberg lettuce and a sweet dressing. the dressing had a strange consistency and wasn't very tasty. i am beginning to see a trend of mediocrity. my main dish was actually korean "bulgolgi" which is a marinated barbecued beef. it came out on a skillet but wasn't sizzling at all, in fact it wasn't even that warm. half of the skillet was covered with cabbage and then the "bulgolgi" itself was filled with green onions. it was almost as though they were using the onions as a filler to add more size to the entree.
i would typically order dessert but at the end of the meal i was so unsatisfied i just wanted to leave. that is exactly what i did, i tipped $5 on the $21 bill which i thought was more than enough for the service provided and left. one person, one appetizer and one meal. $21 doesn't sound bad and it really isn't but like i said the portions were awful and the food was mediocre at best. it entirely makes sense why they are still in business with so little traffic. high prices, small portions and large profit margins. if you're looking for a solid atmosphere, decent prices and good food go elsewhere because you will not find it at kikyo. i feel bad for leaving the poor review but i really hope the owner sees this and maybe considers some changes.