15 Great Restaurants in Kyoto

Mizai is a world-renowned yet tiny restaurant that seats just 14 guests per night at its counter. This 3-Michelin-starred establishment is exacting elevated standards of culinary excellence to serve truly authentic Kyoto kaiseki cuisine. The tasting menu uses carefully selected seasonal ingredients, and diners enjoy a serene garden view from their seats at the bar.

Reservations are vital and payment is in cash only. Diners arriving after the 6 pm reservation time will not be served, so be sure to arrive on time. For gourmands who want to taste exquisite Japanese cuisine, this is the real deal. 

Mishima-Tei is a traditional sukiyaki spot serving mouth-watering marbled beef grilled to perfection. The restaurant also serves a mean shabu-shabu, and with either dish you’ll be served generous sides of vegetables and noodles. The restaurant is so popular for its beef that it has its own butcher on the ground floor that is frequented by Kyoto’s most discerning home chefs. 

The interior has a historic atmosphere with its wood-frame structure and polished wooden floors, not to mention the kimono-wearing waitresses shuffling around with platters of sukiyaki components. Some of the private tatami rooms overlook a pretty courtyard garden. 

Housed in a historic teahouse on a cobblestone street in Gion, Yagenbori serves traditional Kyoto cuisine and kaiseki courses at reasonable prices. The atmosphere is less formal than in many places in Gion, and the amiable staff members like to chat with guests. It’s often possible to get a seat without a reservation.

While the dishes are not extravagant, they use high-quality ingredients and are prepared with great care and presented on handmade ceramic tableware. Here you’ll find such Japanese delicacies as hoba miso served with kinoko mushrooms and shabu-shabu hot pot with seasonal vegetables.

Fresh tofu is a Kyoto favourite, and few do it as well as Yudofu Sagano. The restaurant is located within walking distance of the sightseeing spots in Arashiyama and is a must-visit for tofu lovers and vegetarians.
The restaurant serves set lunch and dinner menus of tofu in its many styles along with delicate vegetable dishes.

Sagano is best known for its silky tofu simmered in broth, but the deep-fried tofu with black sesame and tofu-based desserts are standouts too. Refined service is provided by kimono-clad staff at a sunken counter, in private tatami rooms or outside in the bamboo garden. 

At Shigetsu, you can experience an authentic Zen Buddhist meal prepared by a specially trained tenzo monk. The restaurant is located inside the tranquil surrounds of Tenryuji temple, and diners eat in the traditional posture, seated on tatami mats. The multi-course meal incorporates the 6 basic flavors in delicate harmony: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, light and hot.

Simple yet sumptuous is the name of the game. Chilled sesame tofu with soy sauce, miso glazed aubergine and Japanese mackerel with sweet red bean are among the dishes served. Set menus are available in 3 different variations, priced accordingly. 

Oshokuji Doroko Asuka is loved for its casual atmosphere amidst Kyoto’s highly sophisticated restaurant scene. The menu is teishoku style, a type of set meal composed of a main dish with sides of rice, miso soup and Japanese pickles. For mains, the restaurant specialises in tempura, grilled fish and udon and soba noodle soups. 

This cosy restaurant has a homey atmosphere and serves generous portions. The menu has English translations and prices are fair. For a casual meal and a menu with plenty of options, Asuka is hard to beat.

Located just outside the eastern gate of Daitokuji temple, this small restaurant specialises in shojin-ryori, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Expect deeply flavourful, simple dishes that honour their ingredients and welcoming, generous hospitality. This is an opportunity to experience Zen philosophy expressed through the art of food. 

Unlike many other shojin places which are typically only open for lunch service, Daitokuji Ikkyu is also open for dinner. If you make a reservation in advance, the restaurant will arrange to have English-speaking staff serving your meal. 

Kitcho Arashiyama is a celebrated restaurant run by a third-generation chef. The menus are populated with diverse and delicate flavours, prepared with the finest possible ingredients and presented with an extraordinary level of care and artfulness. Awarded 3 Michelin stars, the kaiseki dining at Kitcho has been described as a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience'. As such, reservations are essential.

The restaurant is housed in a 100-year-old building, with 7 private dining rooms each facing a serene Japanese garden. Kitcho is the rare kaiseki restaurant that offers a chef’s menu for children, so you’re welcome to share this stunning experience with the whole family.

Hyotei offers the experience of Kyoto kaiseki in a 400-year-old establishment at the entrance to Nanzen-ji Temple. Originally a tea house, Hyotei developed into a restaurant more than 150 years ago and operates with an austere commitment to the principles of the tea ceremony: harmony, respect and serenity. The restaurant offers kaiseki, formal bento lunches and a lavish traditional breakfast, all impeccably prepared and presented.

The breakfast comes highly recommended, as typically these elaborate traditional breakfasts are only offered at Japanese ryokan inns. With seasonal variations, it generally consists of rice porridge, grilled fish, shiro miso soup and the house-specialty soft-boiled egg.

Situated in the pristine gardens within the Daitokuji Temple compound, Izusen is a famous spot that serves shojin teppatsu-ryori, an elaborate version of Zen Buddhist vegan cuisine. Each course is presented in serving bowls of diminishing sizes that fit into each other like Russian nesting dolls. 

The house dishes offer a wide arrange of colours, flavours and textures and are exquisite in their presentation. Meals are enjoyed in tatami rooms or, weather permitting, on low tables in the garden. Izusen is extremely popular during the spring and autumn months, so reservations are recommended. Bear in mind that the restaurant is open for lunch only.

In a city so completely immersed in its traditional cuisine, Bussaracan’s Thai flavours are a thrilling change of pace. Expect Thai classics like green curry, pad thai and creamy tom yum soup. The dishes here are adequately spiced and bursting with flavour.

Housed in a renovated old Kyoto-style townhouse, the refined décor is Japanese in style while the food is authentically Thai. When the weather is right, book a table on the terrace, which offers a lovely view of the Kamogawa River.

Seizan Sodo is a vegetarian restaurant celebrated for its yudofu, silken tofu simmered in a kelp broth and finished with soy sauce and finely chopped spring onions. The tofu used here comes from Morika, a famous tofu shop in Arashiyama which has specialised in making it since the 1860s. 

Situated within the Tenryu-ji Temple compound, this restaurant has been around for a long time and maintains a highly traditional atmosphere. Entering the dining room, visitors leave their shoes at the door and dine seated on the tatami floor. Take care to bring cash, as the restaurant does not accept cards. 

If you have the budget for a top-tier, Michelin-star meal, head to Mankamero. It's the only Kyoto restaurant that serves formal yusoku ryori, the cuisine of the Imperial Court. The specially trained chef wears a ceremonial kimono while preparing the dishes and all food items are painstakingly presented.

One of the most dramatic dishes, the 'dismembered fish', presents each part of the fish being elaborately arranged on pedestal dishes. The full yusoku ryori sets cost upwards of ¥30,000 per person; there are, however, less expensive lunch bento sets available. 

The Heihachi Tea House, located inside the Yamabana Heihachi-Jaya Inn, serves traditional cuisine from the Heian Period. It’s famous for its duck hot pot served during the winter months, and in summer offers a mugitoro bento lunch of barley rice and mountain potato salad. The restaurant offers an excellent kaiseki dinner with all the trimmings any time of the year. 

This 400-year-old inn is famous for its kamaburo clay steam bath, and most patrons opt to indulge in this most relaxing activity before slipping into a cotton kimono and retiring to the dining room. 

Honke Owariya claims to be the oldest soba noodle shop in Kyoto. Throughout its 500-year history, Owariya served its soba noodles and wagashi confectionery to emperors, shoguns and revered monks in Kyoto. Despite this grand history, the excellent buckwheat soba noodles served at the restaurant are still reasonably priced. 

Owariya’s cooking methods bring an elegant simplicity and depth of flavour to their dishes. The restaurant’s signature dish, Hourai-soba, consists of soba noodles served with a salty-sweet dipping sauce and 8 brightly coloured condiments that diners add to their liking. You’ll finish your meal with a cup of light soba broth, served as tea.