Sushi Kyo, Mexico City, MX – A delicious, friendly, & surprising omakase

by ScoopsAndSkips

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  1. ScoopsAndSkips

    I hadn’t seen this spot reviewed on r/finedining, so on a whim I decided to give it a try. Some thoughts below:

    *Note: I wasn’t able to get a pic of two courses: the first, a potato croqueta, and the third, a tiny parsley salad with dashi flakes. I comment on them both below.*

    **Food: Overall, 8/10**

    In general, the majority of plates were delicious. There were a few flunks, named the parsley salad with dashi which I truly did not think tasted good at all, and a white fish soup which was somewhat flavorless albeit warming and alright. **The non-sushi/sashimi/hot courses were in general lower quality than the fish courses**, which were all pretty spectacular. **Highlights include the salmon roe and otoro tuna**, both of which gave that wonderful transported-to-some-far-off-beach-memory-somewhere feeling. **There was a nice ebb and flow to the meal, which I really appreciated; the sequence of flavors/textures all flowed extremely well and was delightful**. Still, a few plates were just “okay” in addition to the negatives I listed.

    **Service, Ambience, etc.: 9/10**

    The service and overall experience of this place was really what made the meal for me, and why I would recommend it to anyone in CDMX. Walking in, the transition from busy Roma is jarring, in a good way, and the decor is comforting, not overly-posh (as many high-end spots in CDMX tend to be), and well thought out. The experience is intimate, even if the place was full it only seats a dozen or so diners. **The waitstaff were lovely and unpretentious, and the chef was wonderful. Trilingual, we chatted our way through dinner in whichever language he could best describe the dish in**, which was impressive. He also showed great interest in everyone in the room, asked us all about our experience with sushi, where we were from, etc., **which then provoked conversation between all of us in this exciting, chatty, and happy-to-be-there way that is so deliciously rare.**

    My only negative here was that for a few dishes (see: photos) I wasn’t told what the actual fish/food was, which was a little annoying.

    **Bang for Buck: 10/10 (Incl. 15% tip, Omakase & 2 beers – $3,163MXN // $178 USD // 162 Euro**

    Coming from the US, this was a great deal. Granted, there are much, much cheaper meals in CDMX, but this was overall a 10/10 experience that I would certainly have again.

    Notable: There are 2 omakase options, one which was $2,000 MXN and one which is $2,500 MXN. I opted for the latter, since I was quite hungry, and, well, when in Rom(a/e).

    **Bottom Line: 9/10, Highly recommended; While some courses were lackluster, the experience and price were wonderful and I would happily go back.**

    **Other Notes:**

    The chef knew his shit, to put it frankly. He had ran a restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, for ~30 years, and was clearly experienced. Also, he was extremely friendly; **I stuck around a little later even after the bill to chat and sip (complimentary) tequila, which was of course a bit casual, but still a nice treat.** I also really appreciated his ambition to combine local/Mexican flavors with his food, which is an homage I feel many higher-end non-Mexican restaurants in CDMX choose to not make.

    The staff speak Spanish, English, and Japanese all pretty well. The main waiter was very fluent in English & Spanish, while the non-main waitstaff had a little friction in communication. Overall, you won’t miss out on much if you only speak English, and the staff were very okay with catering to foreigners.

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