Kyoto is a popular tourist destination where you can experience the full charm of Japan, with its historic shrines and temples, and retro streetscapes lined with old Japanese houses. Filled with an elegant atmosphere, Kyoto is also popular among foreign visitors.
Kyoto, which has flourished as the capital of Japan for a long time, is still one of Japan's representative cities. Kyoto is also known as a "city of youth" with many universities, and the city itself is crowded and lively. With many restaurants, Kyoto is famous as one of the best gourmet cities in Japan.
The number of Michelin-listed restaurants in Kyoto ranks third in the world. Among them, "Obanzai," Kyoto's traditional home cooking, is particularly famous. There are also many restaurants serving "Kyoto cuisine," which uses traditional cooking techniques that bring out the taste of ingredients using Japanese dashi (soup stock), provided with the spirit of "Omotenashi" (hospitality).
This time, we will introduce various types of restaurants, including not only Michelin-listed restaurants where you can eat authentic Kyoto cuisine but also places where you can enjoy meals in a unique Kyoto atmosphere.
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Recommended Michelin-listed Restaurants for Authentic Kyoto Cuisine
Kikunoi Honten
source：Tabelog
"Kikunoi Honten," which has earned a 3-star Michelin rating, is popular among foreigners for its polite service that reflects Japanese culture and authentic kaiseki cuisine.
Kaiseki cuisine is a healthy style of cooking that focuses on the basic Japanese meal structure of "ichiju-sansai" (one soup and three side dishes in addition to rice as the main dish), emphasizing the natural flavors of seasonal ingredients. Known as a Japanese course meal, the attentive "omotenashi" service is also one of the representative elements of kaiseki cuisine.
When I first experienced kaiseki cuisine at "Kikunoi Honten" in April, I was impressed by the dishes that used plenty of seasonal ingredients from early spring, such as bamboo shoots, firefly squid, and kogomi (fiddlehead fern), known as the king of mountain vegetables. The grilled bamboo shoot, cut in half lengthwise and grilled with its skin, was visually impressive and luxurious. The simple seasoning of eating fresh bamboo shoots with just a small amount of dashi was exquisite, creating an unforgettable taste.
You can fully enjoy ingredients that can only be tasted in that season or are at their best during that time, such as conger eel in summer, matsutake mushrooms in autumn, and winter yellowtail in winter. A visit here is sure to be the most memorable part of your trip to Japan.
Address: 459 Shimokawara-cho, Yasakatorii-mae, Shimokawara-dori, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City
Hours: Lunch - Enter between 12:00 PM and 12:30 PM / Dinner - Enter between 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Closed: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, New Year holidays
Phone: 075-561-0015
Official website
Hyotei
source： Official website
"Hyotei," with over 400 years of history since its establishment, is a long-established restaurant where you can enjoy authentic kaiseki cuisine in a tea room used for the tea ceremony (Japanese culture of preparing matcha). Along with Kikunoi Honten mentioned earlier, it has received a 3-star Michelin rating for 15 consecutive years.
At "Hyotei," fruits like persimmons and pomelos are often used in the "sakizuke" (appetizer) of kaiseki cuisine. Creative sauces are used to complement seasonal vegetables, and the freshness of the fruit perfectly matches the saltiness of the sauce.
My favorite is the sashimi eaten with homemade tomato soy sauce. The tomato soy sauce is lighter compared to regular soy sauce, enhancing the umami of the sashimi itself and creating an exquisite taste.
In addition, Hyotei's signature "Asagayu" (morning porridge), which can only be eaten for a short period in summer, is a rare menu item. You eat hot porridge with a bonito dashi sauce. It's popular to eat it with "Hyotei tamago," a soft-boiled egg with dashi soy sauce that has remained unchanged since the restaurant's founding.
The menu is available in both Japanese and English, so foreign visitors can enjoy it with peace of mind.
Address: 35 Nanzenji Kusakawa-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: [Main building] 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM (L.O. 1:00 PM) / 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM (L.O. 7:00 PM)
[Annex] 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM (L.O. 10:00 AM) / 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM (L.O. 2:30 PM)
Closed: Wednesdays and other irregular holidays
Phone: 075-771-4116
Official website
Official Instagram
Tokuha Motonari
source：Tabelog
The Japanese restaurant "Tokuha Motonari" opened in December 2023. Shortly after opening, it gained its first Michelin star in the "Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024," making it a hot topic.
My recommendation is the "Grilled Nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) dried overnight." It's grilled over charcoal in the irori (hearth) visible from the counter seats, taking time to cook. The nodoguro is so juicy that oil oozes out when you put your chopsticks in. The high-quality oil from this luxury fish has a rich flavor, and you'll find yourself finishing it before you know it.
Other dishes include fresh sashimi like tuna and cod shinjo (fish paste mixed with mountain yam and egg white), each prepared to highlight the individual ingredients.
Another attractive point is that you can enjoy carefully selected Japanese sake, wine, and champagne along with the finest cuisine.
Reservations are often full more than a month in advance, so please book early if you plan to visit.
Address: 287-5 Shinryokuguchi-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: Lunch from 12:00 PM, Dinner from 6:00 PM
Closed: Sundays
Phone: 075-708-7425
Official website
Nijo Minami
Source：Kateigaho
"Nijo Minami," a Japanese restaurant that gained its first Michelin star in the "Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024," is characterized by dishes that fully utilize seasonal ingredients such as rapeseed flowers and firefly squid in spring, conger eel and Kyoto-grown Kamo eggplant in summer, matsutake mushrooms in autumn, and fugu (pufferfish) and lotus root in winter.
My favorite is the rice dish served before dessert. It changes with the seasons, but from early spring to early summer, I love the rice cooked with seasonal cherry salmon and thin beans harvested in the Kansai region, including Kyoto. The base flavor uses dashi, which is fundamental to Japanese cuisine. The umami of the high-quality cherry salmon oil and the elegant sweetness of the thin beans create an exquisite harmony. The pale pink of the cherry salmon and the light green of the thin beans are visually refreshing, allowing you to feel the spring season.
Address: 92-12 Enoki-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: Monday to Friday 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM (last entry)
Closed: Sundays and other irregular holidays
Phone: 075-221-5025
Tenjaku
source：Tabelog
At "Tenjaku," which was inherited from the owner's grandparents' Japanese restaurant, you can enjoy kaiseki cuisine that unusually includes tempura as one of the menu items, which is rare for kaiseki cuisine that typically has many simmered and grilled dishes. The restaurant gained its first Michelin star in the "Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024."
One of the characteristics of Tenjaku's kaiseki cuisine is the use of seasonal vegetables and fish from various parts of Japan. I particularly like the "Owan" (a traditional Japanese soup also called suimono), which combines fish like sea bream and clams with seasonal ingredients like bamboo shoots and rapeseed flowers in hot dashi. You can enjoy a gentle taste that permeates your body, with the sweetness and umami of seasonal ingredients melting into the dashi.
The tempura, which is fried right in front of you just before eating with ingredients carefully selected by the owner himself, such as butterbur sprouts, lotus root, and young sweetfish, is a superb dish. The signature tofu tempura, inherited from the grandparents' restaurant, is enjoyed with tempura sauce unlike other tempura eaten with salt, allowing you to taste the richness of the beans in the tofu itself.
Also, they pair sake and shochu that go well with dashi-flavored dishes and tempura, making it a must-visit for alcohol lovers. You can enjoy delicious local sake not only from Kyoto but from various parts of Japan.
Address: 570 Botan-hoko-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: Dinner from 6:00 PM (one seating only)
Closed: Wednesdays and other irregular holidays
Phone: Not disclosed
Official Instagram
Reservation method
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Two Authentic Restaurants in Kyoto, the "Gourmet City"
While Kyoto, the center of Japanese culture, is home to many famous Japanese restaurants, it's also characterized by many high-caliber restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide that serve cuisines other than Japanese.
For example, there are restaurants that serve Italian and Chinese cuisines using seasonal ingredients that color Kyoto.
Here, we'll introduce Michelin-listed restaurants in Kyoto that serve cuisines other than Japanese, such as authentic French and a rare genre-less restaurant.
anpeiji
source：Tabelog
At "anpeiji," you can enjoy authentic French cuisine, which is rare in Kyoto where Japanese restaurants are abundant. The array of dishes using colorful ingredients is like modern art, ensuring enjoyment not only in taste but also visually.
Among the many unique dishes, the one that caught my eye the most was the "Vilain Bear Monaka." Inside a bear-shaped monaka (a thin crisp wafer made from rice flour), there's a red wine stew of bear meat. I felt it was almost too cute to eat. The taste itself is exquisite, allowing you to enjoy the rich flavor unique to bear meat and the aroma of wine. The idea of using monaka, which originated from Japanese confectionery, in French cuisine is unique and has gained popularity.
Also, the "Kobako-gani" (female snow crab), a luxurious dish where crab meat is stuffed into the crab shell, not only allows you to enjoy the rich taste of crab but is also beautifully garnished with carrots, red-core daikon radish, and colorful herbs. Many of anpeiji's dishes use herbs, making it a must-visit for herb lovers.
Address: 56 Nakajima Hinouecho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto
Hours: Lunch 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (last entry) / Dinner 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM (last entry)
Closed: Thursdays
Phone: 075-621-2288
Official website
Official Instagram
MASHIRO
source：PR TIMES
"MASHIRO" is a genre-less restaurant run by a chef who worked at a famous French restaurant in Kyoto. You can experience a fusion of Japanese cuisine using seasonal ingredients based on techniques cultivated in French restaurants.
The course meal starts with risotto. It's a dish that combines Kyoto-grown rice with ice fish (young ayu fish caught only in winter) and karasumi (salted and dried fish roe). This dish, which fuses risotto, an Italian-origin dish, with Japanese dashi, is truly representative of the genre-less concept and is one of my favorites.
Another attractive point is the wide variety of non-alcoholic drink pairings available. From fruity juices like Nanko plum and yuzu to aromatic herbs like jasmine and lavender, you can enjoy a supreme lineup of drinks that are satisfying on their own. With such a rich non-alcoholic selection, even those who don't drink alcohol can enjoy the experience.
Address: OHG Kyoto Rokkaku Building 2F, 234 Donomaecho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: Lunch from 12:00 PM / Dinner from 6:00 PM (Both lunch and dinner start simultaneously)
Closed: Irregular holidays on Tuesdays, regular holidays on Wednesdays
Phone: 050-3164-5815
Official website
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Restaurants Perfect for Dinner to Enjoy Kyoto's Summer Tradition "Noryo-yuka"
In Kyoto, there's a culture of dining over the river on "Noryo-yuka" (cooling floors), which are set up only during the summer season. This culture is said to have started in the early 1600s.
Along the Kamo River near Kyoto's bustling areas, outdoor seating extends from the stores to the riverside. On the Noryo-yuka, where you can cool off with the sound of the river and the wind, you can enjoy not only Japanese cuisine but also various genres including French and cafe food.
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Restaurant LE UN
source： Official website
"Restaurant LE UN" is a French restaurant located in "Funatsuru," a registered tangible cultural property that fuses tradition and modernity. From May to September, the riverside seating is open, and you can enjoy a special course that's only available during the riverside seating period.
"Restaurant LE UN," which focuses on ingredients nurtured in Kyoto and neighboring Shiga, is characterized by the use of fresh Kyoto vegetables harvested that morning and famous Shiga wagyu beef like Omi beef.
You can also feel their commitment to making everything by hand, including sauces and soups. In particular, the "Grilled domestic beef loin" using domestic beef and seasonal Kyoto vegetables like Manganji peppers comes with a homemade red wine sauce. The exquisite taste with the rich aroma and appropriate bitterness of red wine is a technique that only a top-class chef can achieve.
LE UN, where you can enjoy luxurious and high-end course meals, is often used for special occasions like proposals and wedding anniversaries.
Address: 180 Minoyanomachi, Matsuhara-ue, Kiyamachi-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Lunch 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM / Dinner 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM
[May to September] Monday to Thursday: Until 10:00 PM
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Holidays, and day before holidays: Until 11:00 PM
Closed: Tuesdays *Open during the riverside seating period
Phone: 075-351-8541
Official website
Kyo Ryori Takeshima ICHIGO
source： Official website
At "Kyo Ryori Takeshima ICHIGO," you can enjoy Kyoto cuisine on the Noryo-yuka during the summer season from around May to September.
If you're dining on the Noryo-yuka, the recommended Kyoto cuisine course is the "Okamochi Bento." It's a luxurious menu with Kyoto cuisine packed tightly in an elegant wooden box. It's modeled after bento (meals packed in portable containers) commonly eaten in Japan.
The dishes are characterized by subtle seasoning designed to enhance the natural flavors of seasonal ingredients, such as yuba topped with refreshing yuzu jelly, and conger eel eaten with plum paste.
At night, the night view of Kyoto is reflected in the Kamo River, creating a fantastic space where you can enjoy an exquisite meal. It's a luxurious experience that's popular among foreign tourists due to its close proximity to Kyoto's bustling areas like Pontocho and Gion.
Address: Airu Takeshima Building 1F, 496 Kamikiorikicho, Kiyamachi Oike-agaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours: 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM (L.O. 1:00 PM) / 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM (L.O. 9:00 PM)
Closed: Irregular holidays
Phone: 050-5869-8077
Official website
Pontocho Robin
source：Tabelog
At "Pontocho Robin," a Kyoto cuisine restaurant along the Kamo River in Kyoto, you can enjoy dining on the Noryo-yuka during the summer season from May to October.
The specialty of "Pontocho Robin" is hot pot dishes using fresh fish. In addition to year-round hot pots using nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) and natural longtooth grouper, seasonal hot pots appear throughout the year. In summer, you can enjoy conger eel shabu-shabu, and from autumn to winter, you can taste luxurious hot pots like golden eye snapper shabu-shabu and duck hot pot.
Another highly recommended point is the finishing dish after the hot pot. You can enjoy either rice porridge or udon noodles with the broth from the hot pot ingredients. The dashi made from bonito and kelp, blended to match the ingredients, is infused with the sweetness of fish oil and the umami of vegetables, soaking into the rice or udon. While the hot pot itself is exquisite, some people visit specifically for the finishing rice porridge.
Another attractive point is that you can enjoy drinks unique to Kyoto, such as gyokuro and matcha, in addition to Japanese sake and cocktails that pair well with Kyoto cuisine.
Address: 137-4 Wakamatsu-cho, Pontocho-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Hours:
[Regular] Monday to Friday 5:00 PM - 9:45 PM
Saturday 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Sundays and holidays 4:30 PM - 9:45 PM
[Noryo-yuka period]
Lunch (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays in September) 11:30 AM - 2:45 PM
Dinner Weekdays 5:00 PM - 9:45 PM
Weekends and holidays 4:30 PM - 6:45 PM / 7:00 PM - 9:15 PM
Closed: Irregular holidays
Phone: 050-3628-2022
Official website
Official Instagram
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