MARUMOKITCHINKYOUTOPORUTATEN - Kyoto

In our search for a decent rice bowl restaurant, we stumbled on this eatery as we were making a detour back to our lodging via Kyoto station. Queued for about 20 minutes because of the weekend dinner crowd. They have a manual written reservation system and the staff speak English. We ordered two dishes - a) ‘Luxurious Seafood Bowl’ which basically included slices and chunks of raw salmon, tuna, swordfish and scallops with a little bit of roe. b) Wagyu Beef Bowl - that had slices of wagyu beef. Both ended up to around 1,400-1,500yen per bowl Both sets came with a bowl of Miso, appetiser seaweed with beans and a small bowl of dessert jelly with sesame powder. Dish A: Seafood bowl I was a little disappointed with this. This particular bowl was sprawled with many colors which I believe is what the chef wanted to achieve. However, the dish fell short in a number of areas. For one, aside from the seafood mixed into the rice, they also added chunks of cucumber and spring onions. The amount of cucumber was acceptable, but coupled with the spring onions made the dish difficult to consume without the spring onions confusing taste buds with its conflicting flavour, not to mention the crunch. The tuna and swordfish disintegrated as our spoons dug into it. It was far from fresh and was very soft and mushy. Dish B: Wagyu Beef Bowl The portion of beef was acceptable - enough to fill one’s tummy by the time you’ve finished the bowl. The teriyaki sauce added was also not too overpowering. The beef was tender and melted slightly in the mouth with each chew - Almost indicating the quality of the beef. This dish was more palatable overall, but was ordinary by most measures. — Overall, the staff were very polite and checked on us every 15 minutes. The food however, left me with the impression I could have gotten much better fare at a more reasonable price elsewhere in Kyoto if not for the inconvenience of travel.

As a vegetarian, tried this place as it showed up on one of the vegetarian/ vegan apps & what a wonderful find ! They have a vegetarian menu in English. We ordered the veggie bowl with tofu (felt like Hibachi style), miso soup combo and my God was it yummy. The staff helped up store away the luggage since we were traveling from Tokyo & there were bins at the table for small bags. Super friendly staff & wonderful food - what’s not to like. I would highly recommend this place & go here on the way back as well without any reservations!

Good rice bowl selections, tasty. Tourist friendly. Great customer service. Would highly recommend.

Really tasty and solid food, nothing that will blow your mind though. Good service and good vegetarian options!

Healthy and delicious rice bowls. Portions might be bit small for some people but still definitely worth trying.

Not so bad. They've got some various meals. I choose omelet with tomato sauce which is not typically Japanese but I've also got soup which looks more Japanese :) Prices are moderate consider the place.

Healthy rice bowl kind of restaurant. Good selection of main entrees to go with daily soup and appetizer and sweet. It's surely a safe choice at this underground food plaza. English and other languages menu available for tourists.

This became quickly out go-to place for quick meals with a healthier and lighter feel than most alternatives. Very tasty and reasonable prices!