Gion Gyuzen

Great atmosphere for a night on the town! We ordered the Japanese beef for saki-​shabu and it was incredibly tender and flavorful. I took away one star because the veggie selection was a bit weak. However the sauces provided helped make up for that. Very fast service, good price on drinks (wine and cocktails less than 500 yen). Staff was very friendly and tried hard with their English which was very welcoming. It’s obviously a tourist place but it’s still good!

One of my favorite soups is sukiyaki flavor. The sweet delicious broth is always so satisfying whenever I am craving anything soupy. Something about working for my own food is always so fun and comforting. I know exactly what I am sorta cooking.
I just wish this place gives more beef. We were on a tour, so we had to share with another couple. Not sure if it would be different if we came by ourselves, but the portion they gave us was only for one person. They gave us more vegetables than the meat itself, which beats the purpose of sukiyaki. The soup was very light and sweet and the beef compliments it very well. The vegetables were fresh but was a little too much.
The staffs were barely around. It was hard to get their attention since the seatings were boxed in and were covered by walls. Our water cups were barely filled.
If I get a chance to come back to try this again without the annoying tour groups, I would. The food was decent but it barely left any of us full. We ended up going next door to get junk food.

As a foreigner, you sometimes can’t be too picky with food; especially when 89% of the restaurants aren’t English-​friendly. So I will bump this review up from a 3 star review. Overall, this place is not too shabby. It was a bit hard to spot since it’s on the fourth floor, but it is on Higashi-​oji Street and within walking distance from the Yasaka Shrine. For ¥2000 ($ 20), you can get 90 minutes of all you can eat shabu shabu and bbq, shabu shabu and sukiyaki, or just shabu shabu. There are different meat options, but my boyfriend and I opted for the cheapest American beef. On a cool day, having something warm and comforting like shabu shabu really hits the spot. Also, the sukiyaki is not bad if you like the taste of teriyaki and yoshinoya. It’s sort of like a DIY yoshinoya beef kind of deal (adding the konnyaku noodles and shredded onions in here is a great idea). Dipping the beef into the raw egg is something we weren’t use to, but it mellowed down the sweet sukiyaki sauce nicely. The service was impeccable and they have a waitress who can explain the menu to you in English. Definitely try this place out if you are at a lost in choosing a restaurant and if you just came out of Maruyama Park or Yasaka Shrine!

We came here on a rainy day and looking for a place to satisfy our hunger. I read that people suggested getting just the basic american beef option but since I’m american I went with the Japanese beef option. After all, why did I come all the way from America to eat American beef? This was also recommended to us by the host who assured us that yes, American beef there really did come from America lol.
The night we came, there was a little bit of a wait for a traditional Japanese table (~30 minutes) so we decided to sit at the bar. We got the sukiyaki shabu shabu combination which included a small pot of boiling water (shabu shabu) and a iron skillet with sauce (sukiyaki). They brought out some veggies, ponzu sauce, peanut sauce, and 2 raw eggs. I had never had sukiyaki before and learned that you grill the meat in the sauce, then dip it in raw egg. I really liked it but have to admit I’m more of a Shabu girl. I like to eat my meat fast which means I like it to cook fast and it cooked faster in the shabu pot :) My boyfriend preferred the sukiyaki however.
Japanese beef — wow, this was definitely worth the extra money. You can really taste the quality of the meat. I wouldn’t say that it’s melt in your mouth but it definitely tasted super fresh and had a good mix of fat to meat which made it delicious for both the sukiyaki and shabu.
I was also delighted to see that we had a little button we could press each time we wanted to fill up on more meat or veggies. They had a nice selection of vegetables that I’ve never had at other shabu places, like an assortment of wild mushrooms. The waiters always come very promptly after you press the button.
Keep in mind that there is a 2 hour time limit, last order being 1.5 hours after you’re seated.

We ate here Friday evening and got the shabu shabu & yakitori combo.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ Service — the wait was reasonable and the staff were responsive and quick. They refilled the meat immediately when called via a handy button next to your seat.
⁵⁄₁₀ Meat — We got the Japanese beef, which was about 4000 yen. The quality was not as good as expected. For 4000 yen, I expect better marbling and more tenderness. I don’t believe they age their beef, which makes a less tasty compared to beef of similar quality.
³⁄₁₀ Condiments — Their sauce selection was standard: ponzu, sesame, and yakitori sauce. Their ponzu and sesame sauces were subpar in taste and quality — the yakitori sauce was okay.

Pretty good for the price. For 1980jpy +tax, which puts it just over 2000jpy, their most basic all you can eat course (2 hours) gets you one type of beef and a large selection of veggies. There are more expensive courses with more fancy, higher grade beef, etc.
I came with a party of 8 people on a weeknight. Pretty much no wait, though I heard it can get busy on weekends. We went with the sukishabu course, which means half sukiyaki pot (sauce base) and half shabushabu pot (dipping sauce).
Service is very quick (for meat/​veggie refills), and drink prices are decent (1 carafe of Japanese sake is 450jpy)
I would recommend Gion Gyuzen for whoever wants to experience shabushabu and sukiyaki at a reasonable price in a nice environment. :) They have both English and Chinese menus, and the staff speak some English, too.

Their regular Japanese beef tasted good. They have all you can eat seafood, beef, pork, wagyu beef (not Kobe wagyu), etc. they have shabu-​suki or shabu-​yaki combos. The bathrooms are nice, and the staff are attentive, but I questioned their interior design… It felt like a former club turned Japanese restaurant with some hawaiian deco or something…

Gyuzen is a fun and relatively inexpensive place to go with friends. You can order all you can eat beef and veg for just ¥2000, and tag all you can drink on for an extra ¥1500 (if there are 4 or more people in your party). I recommend doing the shabu shabu and sukiyaki combination meal.
The interior of gyuzen is also fancy so you feel like you’re dining at a classy place, for a quarter of the price! Definitely check this place out if you’re in Kyoto. But if it’s a weekend, make sure to reserve ahead of time!