Sushi Tetsu Pontocho in Kyoto

delicious sushi and lowest price but wait long que.

For all future customers: make sure to write your name on the list at the front door, before you wait in the queue. There is usually a very long queue at peak times. We made the mistake of not writing our names down, and the lady on the door was uninterested in listening to us after waiting for almost 45mins. Thankfully another bilingual Japanese couple explained to her the situation and helped us get in. The front door lady was clearly just a rude simpleton. The sushi is great value, and the atmosphere inside is great. Not a huge selection on offer. However if you’re looking for something cheap and cheerful, this is a great place. 4 stars instead of 5 stars as there is no sign saying you have to write your name down in the list, and the front door lady was just rude and unhelpful.

Dined here in 2019 and till this day I still think about this place in my sleep 😂 absolutely delicious and very affordable. Recommended by a Japanese local and every ounce of energy used to get to this place is worth it. Just remember to register your name and usually there’s a queue. If you are ever in Kyoto this place is a must !!

Low price, friendly atmosphere, amazing food. Me and my father went on a vacation to Japan for the summer and our first place that we had sushi at was jiro. Place was quiet, depressing, and food was rushed. Like night and day. Absolutely love this place

Amazing Sushi, classical Nihon style service, a wonderful experience all around.

The sushi was delicious. The food was well priced and the service was impeccable. We started with some cold sake and tried different kinds of sushi: tuna and eel were probably some of the best. The wait to get a table was long but well with the wait. The restaurant accepts credit cards too.

Casual sushi restaurant with decent sushi for the price. Size is generous. Overall not a destination sushi place but if you’re in Potoncho Alley and looking for decent and budget friendly sushi place with great selection of items Sushitei offers you that.

Great taste. Low price. Nice clerks.You can enjoy really good Sushi here.Be careful under here,You can’t reserve by 2 people on telephone.In front of the restaurant, you should write yer name when crowded, and the seats will be ok, clerks will call yer name. But yer not there, yer reservation will be cancelled.

Great food, service and incredibly cheap... less than 1/2 price of the sushi restaurants in California... highly recommended

This did the job. Sushi was ok. Atmosphere was fun. Sushi chef was really nice. And it was inexpensive. 3 highballs and enough sushi and sashimi to fill me. $40. But yo be clear, the fish itself was just ok.

Good.but careful about appetizer its cost around 320 yen.so try to avoid the appetizer, during bill you will be surprised.the restaurant is good along with the people.

Great place to eat real Japanese fresh delicious sushi !! Must visit when you go to Kyoto!!

Great price, delicious food and even better staff

Very friendly chef and reasonable prices for a variety of sushi! Super worth ☺️

There's usually a wait line to be seated. Boyfriend got greeted by the chefs when we got in and loved it. Try getting a seat at the bar tables so you can watch your sushi being made right in front of you. Be warned that smoking is allowed in there.

Great value and experience. Was seated immediately at the counter after arriving around 5:30PM on a Monday. Seating charge is ¥324 per person and includes a personal appetizer of chef's choice (we were given glass noodles). You select your sushi at ¥200 per dish (2 pieces per dish) and the chef places them on the banana leaf before you as they are prepared. Excellent way to try new things without blowing your wallet (we tried whale meat, ark fish, mantis shrimp, blowfish, crab butter among others).

Good food and food price is fair. English friendly. Sushi is more North American style. They charge service fee per person. Staff are not in the best mood but overall great place if you're hungry.

Pretty decent sushi place, the chef gave us an accommodating experience and the food was great for value

Best sushi I ever had! Especially the beef sushi (ask for it since it is not on the english card). I have to admit this is the first sushi we ate in Japan but we came here because of a recommendation. There may be a waiting line but it is definetely worth it. Unfortunataly it is a little hidden but you may ask some japanese people from the stores where it is located.

So so good love this place. Great food friendly staff and great price

I don't know where it is main shop, but there is one more branch as a すしてつ in Osaka.It have a great title of 100 yen Sushi, Satisfaction with the price is high.*Edomae(?) style is mean Tokyo style food but in fact, almost the sushi we know is Edomae sushi.It is good to open until late at night.

Food fantastic. Often a queue to get in as it's very popular. Opens at 17:00. At 17:20 we were first on the waiting list - worth the wait!

Wonderful experience with japanese cuisine, with sushi ! They have fantastic, professional staff. You can try different kind of sushi, quality of ingredients is really high !

Really good atmosphere, sushi and price! Had a good time there would recommend

If you want good sushi, this is not the restaurant for you. If you just want cheap raw fish, then this place will fit the bill.This restaurant is about hitting a price point. The fish is pre-cut and is the worst I had anywhere in Japan. Actually, as I think about it, this is one of the worst sushi restaurants I've gone to in any country. I should have known when I saw their adds advertising price on the street signs out front, but the good reviews here led me astray. I started by ordering pretty normal items: hamachi, sake, amaebi and uni. Everything was mediocre, but they didn't give me the uni so I asked again. Mistake. Bad uni is the reason many people don't like it - this was bad uni. I left the second piece on the plate, paid my bill, and left.

Worth the visit. Fun sushi night!!

Good food and nice price, but I saw a roach

Good variety of sushi at a reasonable price!Try the grilled fish cheek... melt in your mouth delicious :)

Reasonable price sushi. Nigiri is 200 yen/pair. Good sushi bar experience. Chef understand order in English.

Long wait on a Friday night, but good sushi. The atmosphere inside is energetic and lively (not the typical asain sushi place). Sushi was delivered promptly and I really enjoyed their Tuna (Menudo). Their fatty tuna and unagi are good but not as good as other places. But their fatty salmon was good. For a unique different nigiri, try the whale meat. Surprisingly tasty. Like fish and beef combined. I ended up paying 2100 yen (about $20) for the meal by myself. Not bad for an hour wait.

A little over rated. The Sushi is low quality comparing to others I have tried and not so cheap. I won't come here again

This place is amazing!! So reasonably priced for the quality you get and our sushi chef was super welcoming and friendly. As for google map, it doesn’t take you exactly to the front of the restaurant. Make sure you look at the picture of the store front so you can figure it where it is. This was our only way of finding out.

Third time in Kyoto, probably 7th time in Sushitetsu. Affordable high quality sushi and sashimi in a cozy informal environment.

Went to this bar off a recommendation. Only like 8 spots to sit, but it's a totally fun little place! Great to have a long conversation over some fun drinks. Hit this place up to make some cool memories!

Yummy Food! Friendly and helpful staff. The sign of restaurant is only in Japanese (see photo to find it)

One of the best affordable sushi places in Japan. It was recommended to us by our AirBnB host in Kyoto. We're from California and were on a foodie trip to Japan and this place was perfect. Delicious sushi especially my favorite, the salmon sushi, and kind service to us foreigners who don't speak any Japanese. :)

This was a sushi restaurant that was recommended to us the noght before but although on Google it said they were open til 12 AM they closed at 11 PM so unfortunately we weren't able tp make it in until today And boy, it was really fanatastic! Great view, great warm and beautifully decorated place with traditional Japanese dining areas. We sat at the sushi bar because ots more fun to see the sushi Chefs perform their magic and make it look so so easy to make the sushi. They are always entertaining chatacters.

A gem of a sushi place tucked away in a corner of Pontocho Alley. Fresh and affordable made-to-order sushi.

Good sushi, correct price, restaurant with river view. Approved!

Probably one of the most value for money sushi you would get in Kyoto. Each set of 2 sushi pieces at 200 Yen, quality is good for the price and the chef spoke excellent English. Be sure to write your name if the queue is long. However if you’re looking for top grade sushi, this is not the place.

My favourite sushi experience of the whole trip; we went at lunch and sat at the bar, ordering pieces bit by bit which were made in front of us by our own personal sushi chef! The sushi was delicious, the perfect temperature and made with a lot of care and attention to detail. We passed by later on at night and there was a queue down the street to get in.

The puffer fish nigiri was quite dry. The baked snail was really good though. And the price was very very cheap for sushi. The chefs kept obviously checking out this table of girls and it was super uncomfortable since they’re making sushi right in front of us.

Good food for a good price.Smoking is allowed inside though, so be prepared for that.

Great sushi and fun time. Staff were welcoming and you're able to watch your food being made in front of you. Long line unfortunately so show up early or be prepared to wait. It is worth the wait though!

I came here before in 2017 and back again in 2019. The standard for affordable sushi has not dropped. Yes you'd have to queue for your turn but the sushi makes it all worth it. Delicious!

Yummy satay. This place was always full we got lucky we didn’t have to wait. Food was great, and well priced. Love the lively settings when all the staff should to greet you when you entered or leave the premise.

Great value sushi with friendly chefs. We wait about 40 minutes to enter so please arrive early.

The most affordable sushi I can find around the area. 218 yen (including tax) for every two nigiri sushi. (They only sell sushi in twos) I had a plate full of salmon sushi and fatty salmon. Some sushi have the option to be seared. Although they miscounted and added 2 extra sushi to my bill, which I only realised after I’m back in my hotel. Service is great, although the queue might get very long. Recommended to eat before the peak period. The staff speaks little English.

Affordable sushi for a great taste. We tried several sushi place in Kyoto and we were surprised by finding something this good in an area so crowded and full of tourists like pontocho. The place does not take reservations so you might have to wait up to 20-30 minute but the wait is definetly worth. All nigiri. Are approximately 105 per piece without taxes. You can range from whale meat to raw chicken, fatty tuna and more. All ingredients tasted great and we had the chance to sit in front of the chef while he was preparing food. The place offers also rolls, soup and other dishes if you don't want nigiri alone. Beer and sake available as well. All orders are a la carte and not on a rolll, but very affordable for standard of Japan.

Definitely not freshest sushi I've tried. You get what you pay for here. Don't get the sea urchin (tastes like dirty ocean water). Don't get the tempura (soggy and bland). Other sashimi pieces are okay. Maybe make everything seared to mask the not-so-fresh sashimi.