I love Koyama. Every time I enter this establishment, I never want to leave. The service is always impeccable, as is the food. Some say beauty is in the eye of the beholder; I say beauty is in the eye of the person who designed this menu. It is gorgeous. Below, a labyrinth of stairways that go to nowhere, the toilet situation only adds buckets of personality to this exquisite venue. Thank you to this restaurant. read more

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Yummy tonkotsu ramen and great service! The restaurant is in a central location. The salmon rolls were great too.

It's a very cozy and well decorated Japanese restaurant just a few minutes walk from the National Museum of Scotland. We chose this restaurant since it seemed to have good reviews. We came by right when they opened at noon. We got seated promptly. They have a big menu with variety of selections.We ordered a kid meal for my son. It came with 6-8 pieces of chicken karaage, small portion of chips (fries) and choice of apple/orange juice. For the price under 6 GBP, it was a very good deal. We got Softshell crab futo maki, spicy tuna, spicy salmon rolls and tonkotsu ramen to share between 2 of us. For ramen, the broth was creamy and tasty, the meat was tender, but the egg was basically a hard boiled egg. It seemed like every ramen restaurant in the UK that we've been to using this type of egg, not the traditional ajitama. We were very disappointed at the sushi rolls. The rice wasn't well seasoned with vinegar, or maybe they just used plain rice. Both tuna and salmon wasn't fresh at all...I wouldn't recommend the sushi here. However, I was very happy with the service here. My waitress was very friendly and attentive. read more

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Really liked the ambience of the place. It wasn't super busy when we went. I ordered the chicken ramen and I really liked it. The portion was fitting. I would definitely go back if I'm in the area again. read more

Koyama - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I was sure because the menu was simple and not overly excited but.... the service was amazing and everyone was so sweet and nice. The food was surprisingly very delicious. We got a bit of everything. We always over order but it was so good nothing was left on the table. This is how good the place is... even the stir fried veggies were gobbled up quickly. I was surprised how happy I was leaving this place, because I walked in tired and hungry and it could have gone either way. But nope it went so well! This is a must eat in Edinburgh. read more

Longest and tastiest Dragon roll I've ever had. Basic interior but comfy and relaxed. Service was quite slow - especially odd as it wasn't busy. Really fresh salmon for the nigiri -good value. Only took 1 star away because the rice for the nigiri and maki fell apart as we tried to pick it up. A big surprise was the Pumpkin Croquette - it was virtually identical to my favourite itm from Yo - the pumpkin Korroke!! Maybe they both buy them from the same supplier - if so, can I have the address please so I can stock my freezer?? read more

Koyama - The longest and tastiest Dragon Roll - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I went to Koyama today and ordered hot tea, mackerel nigiri, crab egg nigiri, spicy salmon and a vegetable roll. Before discount this was 19 GBP. While not unbearable, it was certainly unimpressive. The nigiri absolutely was small, and dry. The rolls were of decent size but rather clumsily made, and did not stand out. The best was the vegetable roll. Oh, and they are stingy with the ginger. And yes, everything was rather pricey; this was mitigated by the fact that they offer a 10% discount to students (but you have to pay in cash). So far, the best sushi I've had has been No. 1 Sushi Bar in Tollcross. read more

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I am a bit of a sushi snob...so looking at the previous reviews, I am pretty glad that I didn't try the nigiri sushi here. I wouldn't say this is the most authentic Japanese food, but it was all really yummy, so who cares? (^^) We came in a huuuge group - I think there were 25 of us - so the staff made us a tasty set menu that was incredibly filling. The chicken was covered in some kind of gooey sauce which didn't taste Japanese...but was really moorish. The karaage, miso and maki roles were all good (although it was strange to have spicy sauce served with sushi!!) We were with some staff from the Embassy of Japan, and the Japan Local Government Centre in London. They were so happy to have Japanese food in Edinburgh, that they all left smiling and happy! Lastly there is a karaoke room downstairs. They don't have a large selection of songs, but they let us plug in a sing-star... and allowed us to sing until we all lost our voices. Yay! I would give this place 3 stars for the food...but the staff were really sweet and accommodating... so they get an extra star. Ooooh! I just thought of a strange thing! Next to the ladies loo is a staircase that leads to nowhere! wtf? I came out of the loo and started walking up these trick stairs...only to hit my head on the celling! Beware tipsy folks!! read more

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I came to Koyama one evening when we had to have a quick meal and then head to the airport to send off a friend. All three of us ended up getting a bento, mine was katsu curry with gyoza. The food was pretty good, came out quickly and was hot! I love Japanese curry a lot and the curry at Koyama met my standards. The katsu was pretty big and nice and crispy. I loved the gyoza. Overall not a bad place to get a reasonably priced, tasty dinner. read more

Koyama - Katsu curry bento - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

My experience here last night pretty much mirrors that of the reviewer from August 2011. As a local I'd really rather not pay more during one month of the year just so tourists can have extra cash rung out of them but as Koyama deploy their Festival menu during August that is what happens (don't expect any soup other than miso however as the overheads on that don't justify a price increase / it's too hard to make in August you decide). Food-wise certainly no complaints but the staff all succumbed to blindness when it came to having us pay the bill, despite having brought it down to us. We weren't the only table to experience this so I'd hazard a guess that it occurs regularly. A disappointment overall that overshadows the good work being done in the kitchen. read more

Koyama - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I was so sure I had read that Koyama had closed down, I was really pleased to find out, when we turned up on Saturday, that that wasn't the case at all. It's changed too, since my last few visits, and worthy of an update. Still, some of it rings true - the special rolls are huge, and the miso soup is still some of the best I have had here, but it looks like the restaurant has stepped it's game up in it's presentation. Fresh on the table (for 8) were wasabi peas, crackers and still-warm fried vegetable (sushi) rolls, and miso soup delivered when we were still trying to pick. Not sure if what you get will depend on the size of table - sometimes a group helps! Sushi was beautifully presented, much more ornate than I remembered from previous trips. I had the Salmon Hokkaido roll, a spicy salmon roll which was full of flavour. Tiger and Cod was a bit more disappointing, a panko coated cod roll topped with mango sounded like it should be insanely tasty, but the mango was flavourless as was the cod, so a little more disappointing. Miso aubergine was a little soggy but enjoyable and overall, a good meal. Will I continue to visit? Yes, most definitely. read more

After a late start to the day, and a fabulous croissant from Valvona and Crolla with a generous dollop of Claire Leslie's strazzberry jam for brunch, I'm ready for lunch. By the time I made my way across the Meadows, there was a growl in my belly. I've had Japanese food 3 times in the past week; first dinner at Yes Sushi on Hanover Street on Friday, then Number One Sushi on Home street on Sunday evening, and finally Izzi on Lothian road for lunch yesterday. Today I thought I'd try Koyama on Forrest road. I've been past it on my way into town many times, but have always been in too much of a rush to go in. My first impression on entering was this place is much larger, with a set up similar to sushi restaurants in Canada and the US. Some booths as well as small tables, red paper lanterns, and Hokusai prints on the walls. Although I'd consider myself adventurous in what I eat, I must admit I have my 'usuals' when I eat Japanese. Unagi (eel) nigiri and hand roll, sea bass sashimi and some sort of noodle soup. The problem was, today the menu outside was very different to the menu I was presented with. Quite a few things had disappeared, including the hearty noodle soups and the unagi hand roll. In fact, the only mention of eel was in a maki roll and in an unagi don style rice dish. I was told this was the 'Festival menu', and no, the chef could not make any of the missing items from the regular menu. Not a good start, as that just had me thinking the sushi was not freshly made. I ordered sea bass and salmon sashimi, and decided to try the eel maki. For my main dish I had the mixed seafood yaki udon. The salmon sashimi was sliced a bit thick for my taste, less delicate pieces of fish and more generous mouthfuls. The sea bass sashimi was fine, topped with firm roe and sliced thinly. The eel maki had a bit too much rice and not enough eel, though there was a nice crunch of cucumber. Disappointingly, there was barely any eel to speak of. My udon came with panko-fried prawns and pieces of various other seafood, which tasted suspiciously like scampi! The prawns had a nice crisp crust though, which was the high point of the dish. The noodles were slightly overcooked and limp, and the sauce lacked robust flavour. To top things off, I was then informed by the waitress that despite the sign advertising a 10% student discount, this only applied if I paid in cash! I spoke to the manager and she allowed me the discount, but I think it's a little misleading as there was no mention of cash payments only on the sign in their window! I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here as it is Festival season, and normal rules don't apply, evidently. It was a disappointing experience and a mediocre meal, but I may go back and try their wares when it's back to the normal menu. read more

It was an amazing experience to have Japanese food here in Edinburgh. The food in Koyama is much much more than what I expected, and I would recommend is as the best place for Japanese food in Edinburgh. With it's fresh food and nice Japanese background mucus, you will definitely enjoy your food very much. All the stuffs are very nice, friendly, and help, so there won't be any problems if it is your first time having Japanese food! It is surly my favorite place now! read more

I've been here a second time and it was good.. Or perhaps we chose more wisely! We got the eel roll again, which is our favourite here.. Perfect balance of sweet and salty! We also tried a beef kimchi hot plate with mushrooms and rice. We like our Korean food so this was pretty good.. Not too salty or to sweet. Most disappointing was the salmon hokkaido roll, which we didn't realise came seared/half-cooked. The whole point is Raw fish and this cooked salmon was tasteless. The service was ok- their thing was off in asking if we needed anything because more often than not we had to try to get their attention - so they could be more attentive - at one point we needed something and all 3 waitresses were focused on one table! On the plus side, there a nice variety of rolls here and the sushi chef was very speedy in getting the orders out! Hence, the 4 stars. read more

I was intrigued by what sushi and sashimi would be like in Edinburgh. I was very pleasantly surprised. Loved the scallop sushi (I'm more of a nigiri sushi person than those crazy rolls which typically don't have the rawness I crave) and my chef's choice sashimi entree. An added treat - the presentation - loved how the sashimi was served over ice! read more

Koyama - Chef's Choice Sashimi at Koyama - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

All in all a decent experience. I ordered the Salmon Teriyaki, along with the salmon maki sushi. Friend ordered the Salmon and Avocado dome (we went with a theme...no points for guessing what). it was good, not great, but good. The only turn off was the price, which in my experience was average for Japanese (which almost always is more expensive than it should be) read more

Meh. That really does describe this place very well: meh. Unfortunately, the food just simply isn't very note-worthy. This place is in a student-packed area and caters to them, almost exclusively one would think. It's a shame that the owner doesn't take any real pride in his restaurant as this really could be a top establishment. The service is very, very friendly as Jenny L. noted, and with the roomy front-of-house there really is not excuse not to put out great food. But alas, they don't. It's like that date in the car where you're expecting to get lucky and all you get is second base, and second base turns out to be really not that exciting because - well, do I need to take this any further? It's just down-right disappointing and it shouldn't have to be! Damnit owner, step up your game, I'm rooting for you here. read more

The times posted online are not their actual store hours. The hours posted outside the door are worn away. Their kitchen closes at 3:30. The servers were nice enough to let us and a few other people order and get our food before the kitchen closed, and we were welcome to stay as long as we liked. They even came by again right before he kitchen closed to make sure we didn't want to order more food before they closed. We had two rolls. Unfortunately I remember the names... One roll had tempura king prawn and it was very good!! My only complaint was the pieces were SO big. They definitely should have been sliced in half for a more enjoyable meal. The second roll we got was tempura fried. The fish was NASTY. It tasted like an aquarium! When I pulled it out, it was black and gross. The cooks had already left so I didn't bother complaining to the waitress, because what good is that going to do for anyone? We also got a king prawn noodle bowl. It was really good, except that it was 20% noodles and 80% bean sprouts. We realized this after we ate all the noodles and the bowl was still well over half full. It was just bean sprouts! What a waste. It would have been good if not for that. I kind of like more than two bites of noodles! Service was great, hence the only reason I gave them three stars. If not for the service and the one good sushi roll, I would have given them 1 star for that nasty roll of sushi!! read more

Saving grace is the food. Everything else was shocking. Small portions, slow service and expensive. I won't be going back. read more

Koyama - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

nice taste, cost-effective. the soy sauce is very good. I will bring my friends there next time. read more

Koyama - nice sushi - Japanese Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We bobbed in to grab a pre-show bite during the Edinburgh festival. The restaurant was buzzing and the menu looked good so we sat down for some noodles and sushi. Looking back I imagine this place is no way near as busy when the Fringe isn't on. The service was a little awkward and quite slow. I ordered mixed tempura and teppanyaki ramen which took a while to arrive and were tasty, but not overwhelming. Koyama is a nice place with a warm atmosphere and a good selection of sushi, noodle dishes, curries and drinks but a lax delivery in taste and service which makes it a pretty run of the mill place for a meal. read more

Very good sushi. One of Edinburgh's finest. We summed it up: "we really like this place. We will go back. It is right near the university, but not overrun by students. The menu is eclectic and everything we tried was well made and tasty. The simply decor and the atmospheric music playing at a low enough level not to harass, was an added bonus. And at the end, they gave us mints and opened the door for us." read more

For an authentic, welcoming and cozy experience, look no further than this wonderful place! The Ramen is especially recommendable!

As a Japanese food lover, I do recommend this place. Although it doesn't serve much raw food like sashimi, it has quite a wide variety of choices like rice, noodles, hot pot. Great food with a reasonable price a good place to hang out with friends. And they also have karaoke too. read more

It's not fresh seafood. Also tomato in the sukiyaki and ginger everywhere. Disaster don't waste your time.

An amazing Asian restaurant - I've been here quite a few times with family and friends, and I've always been satisfied. The service is friendly and helpful, they were very accommodating for my friend with a gluten intolerance. I don't believe it is purely Japanese cuisine, as I think my mother ordered something she was told was Korean. I'm a particular fan of the bento box - it's kind of a "build your own" deal, choosing the meat/tofu and the sauce, and any extras. I also love the vegetable tempura, very light delicious batter, and the plum wine. Plenty of vegetarian options too! Lovely decor, cosy lighting. read more

The place is quite basic but very tasty sushi and friendly staff!