Kyoto may be best known for the bargain-basement sushi happy hour, which runs 6pm to 6:45pm Monday through Saturday. The line begins forming out the door starting at 5:45pm, and once the masses are let in the place takes on a pleasant buzz. Any other time, however, this second-floor space in office-building country has a strange, hushed atmosphere. A deferent, eminently Japanese formality accompanies the process of being seated, even though the restaurant is casual in many other ways (paper napkins, catalog furniture, glossy photo-illustrated menus). Still, there’s a certain charm to the place—warm, low, lighting; exposed brick; and a set of screens dividing the conventional part of the restaurant from another room of low Japanese tables with floor seating. Its location above the Elephant Room, too—one of Austin’s best jazz clubs—makes it a popular pre-show spot.

Kyoto is also quietly serving some of the better sushi in Austin. Make no mistake, it’s not world-class or anything, but it certainly beats the other cheapo options. Equally impressive are freshness and consistency; it’s virtually impossible to get a piece of fish here that is anything less than good. But there are also superstars, beginning with the ama ebi (sweet shrimp), whose texture approaches perfection; the kitchen will deep-fry the delectable shrimp head, where the most flavor of all is hidden, and serve it to you on a separate plate.

Notable among other nigiri sushi are the beautifully cooked unagi (eel), which has a less overbearing sauce than most; a deliciously buttery sake toro (fatty salmon); soft and comfortable tuna; a sprightly, well-textured red snapper; and salmon roe just as it should be, a pile of fresh and resilient little balloons that pop streams of savory fishiness into your mouth at the slightest application of pressure. Only toro has been a disappointment, soft but not the freshest around. That’s okay—we appreciate having the moral dilemma of eating bluefin solved for us. Don’t underestimate the non-sushi dishes, either—even the miso soup is top notch—but with fish this good, it’s hard to resist the temptation to have it all raw.