Kyoto Japanese Grill - Beaumont, Texas

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A month or so ago, I saw a new sign added to the big Kroger sign on Phelan Boulevard which read “Kyoto Japanese Restaurant.” I made a u-turn, nearly taking out three cars, to get into the parking lot in an attempt to find the restaurant. However, it was nowhere to be found. Finally, last week, I glanced over at the shopping center and there was a flashing “Open” sign in the front window of the shop right next to Kroger. I made a u-turn, nearly taking out only two cars this time, and drove up to the flashing “Open” sign.

The décor is more similar to eating establishments found downtown than in a grocery store strip mall. It’s very narrow and has 20 foot ceilings with painted exposed pipes and charming Japanese lanterns and scarves for decoration. It’s definitely more of a café than a restaurant.

My first question of the owners, which was the actual reason for the life threatening u-turns, was whether or not they would be serving sushi. The answer was yes. Beaumont has only two other restaurants which serve sushi, one of which is only open for dinner and neither of which are in the path of my drive home.

For now, until they build the sushi bar, Kyoto is serving a limited menu. The current choices are miso soup, salad, three kinds of fried rice (chicken, shrimp or vegetable) and various meat and seafood dishes (choices include chicken, shrimp, scallops, sirloin steak or ribeye steak) which are served with vegetables and fried rice.

I ordered the chicken and scallop combination and it was quite good. The chicken was tender and the scallops were fresh. They were cooked in a sauce that wasn’t particularly flavorful but it wasn’t bad either. I don’t know if all of the dishes are cooked in the same sauce but I do know there were no sauce choices given on the menu. Since I got my food to-go, I wasn’t able to ask.

I’ll definitely be back to check out the sushi and the other menu items. The owners and the staff were very nice and the atmosphere was pleasant. I hope they do well. You should go there and tell them Laurie sent you. They won’t know who you’re talking about but, what the hell, right?

Kyoto Japanese Grill
3851 Phelan Boulevard
Beaumont, Texas
(409) 838-9888
(409) 838-9882

Hours:
Sunday - Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Friday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.