Ryokan Tempura Yoshikawa is a popular long-established tempura restaurant located near the Kyoto Imperial Palace, in the heart of downtown. Established as a ryokan post-war, this restaurant also offers accommodation facilities. The building itself exudes historical charm and tranquility, with its traditional machiya-style architecture. Guests can enjoy tempura in private rooms served in kaiseki style, or opt for the more affordable option of enjoying freshly fried Kyoto-style tempura at the counter. I personally prefer sitting at the counter, where you can watch the tempura being fried right in front of you. The tempura counter, renovated from a tea room in 1964, offers a special course priced at 12,000 yen, with an 11,000 yen option also available. The course includes seasonal appetizers, a variety of tempura dishes including seafood and vegetables, a main dish of tempura over rice or tempura tea (I chose tempura tea), and seasonal fruits. Yoshikawa's tempura is fried using "white soybean oil," resulting in a light and crispy texture. The tempura is simple yet delicious, allowing the seasonal ingredients to shine. After enjoying the fruits, we relaxed in the ryokan's lobby around a traditional sunken hearth. The attentive service provided by the staff, including the hostess and young hostess, was exceptional. They even escorted us outside when we left. Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience that truly embodies the cultural essence of Japan.

The tempura course where you can enjoy freshly fried tempura at the counter is perfect for a casual lunch. The plump prawn, unexpected fig, optional pregnant sweetfish, and red miso soup with a strong flavor are all satisfying. If the chef could improve a bit on customer service, it would be even better.

The tempura was delicious with crispy ingredients and good oil, but the kakiage in the tencha was disappointing as it felt a bit soggy. I was hoping for a crispy and fluffy texture. The portion size was quite large, so I would have preferred a smaller portion to try the menu items like sweetfish and sea urchin.

I enjoyed watching the tempura being freshly fried in front of me at the counter seat. The counter was small, a bit dim, but had a charming atmosphere. The tempura was delicious, and I didn't take many photos because I ate it quickly. For dessert, I moved to another location in the ryokan to enjoy it. Thank you for the meal!

Two years ago, I came to Kyoto in early summer. In the midst of the pandemic, there were hardly any foreign tourists, and I had tempura for dinner at Yoshikawa. The unforgettable tempura made me vow to come back, and this year, I came to Kyoto in midsummer and had tempura for lunch at Yoshikawa, feeling satisfied. Half of the counter was occupied by overseas customers. I hope to stay at Yoshikawa someday.

I decided to go for a tempura course and skipped the sashimi since I was in the mood for tempura. The meal started with an eel dumpling, which had a nice aroma of bamboo leaves and a great combination of eel and bamboo flavors. It was delicious. They provided tempura dipping sauce, sudachi citrus, salt, and sansho pepper for dipping. It was nice that you could freely take additional daikon radish and sudachi citrus. Each piece of tempura didn't come with specific instructions on how to eat it, so you could enjoy it however you liked. The meal started with two prawn tempura, which were plump and tasty. The legs were crispy and delicious too. I paired it with sake, which was a good choice. Next came pickled ginger, Kamo eggplant, baby corn, and more, all representing the flavors of Kyoto. The conger eel melted in my mouth and was perfectly deboned. Okra, shiitake mushroom, sweet potato, conger eel, and zucchini followed. A refreshing dish of eggplant and fig was served as a palate cleanser. The meal continued with scallop and prawn tempura. I also ordered additional dishes of red sea bream tempura and squid and sea urchin tempura. The red sea bream had crispy scales and delicate flesh. The sea urchin on the squid tempura was rich and enhanced the sweetness of the semi-raw squid. It was a fantastic combination. The meal ended with a tempura bowl of shrimp, enoki mushroom, and mitsuba. The tempura batter was a bit heavy for my liking, but the crispy and fragrant mountain pepper was delicious. Dessert was served in the lobby, allowing for a peaceful end to the meal. If you're not worried about calorie intake, I think the best way to enjoy this restaurant is to keep adding on dishes.

I used to think that tempura dishes were better in the Kanto region than in Kansai, so I didn't really choose tempura when in Kyoto. However, this time I had the opportunity to host a party at this restaurant, and it completely shattered my previous preconceptions in a good way. The excellence of this restaurant is truly outstanding. We had a private room this time, so there was a slight delay in receiving the freshly made tempura, but the quality was so high that we didn't even notice. The careful selection of ingredients, the perfect cooking, the hospitality - everything was top-notch. I felt the pride and dedication of a long-established Kyoto restaurant. I will definitely come back. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

At En-do and Kyosei, before the tempura, various dishes come out. A veteran-looking person placed a beer on the coaster, moved it slightly, poured the beer into the coaster, then dragged the coaster before enjoying the beer. The accompanying person thought the strawberry daifuku at the end was delicious, but that was the overall impression.

I have visited several famous tempura restaurants so far, but I felt that this one was the most delicious. I was truly surprised by how well they bring out the quality of the ingredients and how delicious they taste when eaten as tempura. The surprise of realizing that this ingredient was so delicious is truly amazing, and I highly recommend it.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything, it's always amazing. Even having a tempura kaiseki meal for lunch doesn't make me feel heavy. You can tell that they put a lot of effort into preparing the ingredients. The broth changes with each dish and the tempura tea was crispy and delicious. Thank you for a wonderful time.

Next to Kyoto City Hall is a tempura restaurant run by Mr. Yoshikawa. You can enjoy freshly fried tempura in a cool dining area. The service is good and the clientele is classy. Each dish is served with care. I didn't see any matcha salt. For the final dish, you can choose between tempura rice bowl or tempura tea. In summer and winter, tempura tea is recommended, while in spring and autumn, tempura rice bowl is the way to go.

There was a souvenir menu, but I was told that I needed to order in advance. The chef seemed unfriendly as if asking why I didn't know, and fried and served it in front of me. I was left with the impression of why they were acting so superior. However, the lady who served the food was very friendly.

Thank you for viewing. I visited the award-winning tempura restaurant "Ryokan Tempura Yoshikawa" for lunch. It is located about a 6-minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station. Originally opened as a ryokan in 1952, they started serving counter tempura by renovating a part of the mansion into a tea room in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Counter tempura was rare in Kyoto at that time. They also offer accommodation, and it is famous for hosting many renowned celebrities like Paul McCartney, Cameron Diaz, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The service was good and the tempura was delicious. The reservation process was easy, and additional orders were possible. On this day, I enjoyed fresh seasonal vegetables like snap peas, baby corn, green beans, lotus root, bamboo shoots, and thick asparagus tempura. I would love to visit again. The dishes I had on this day were as follows: "2 shrimp tempura," "fried tomato," "Kamo eggplant," "belt fish," "snap peas," "baby corn," "pumpkin," "shiitake mushroom," "scallop," "green beans," "shrimp tempura," additional "lotus root," "bamboo shoots," "thick asparagus tempura," "pickled cabbage and shredded mountain pepper," "miso soup," "tempura bowl."

He mentioned a few years ago that he wanted to come here because you can eat delicious tempura, and his wish came true! We played at Nishiki Market and then made a reservation for 11:30! It's a very famous tempura restaurant in a renowned ryokan, with celebrities like Paul McCartney and Leonardo DiCaprio having stayed there. We were a bit nervous even entering the restaurant. Inside, it was quite small, with just the chef and the hostess running the place. There were three older couples already enjoying their meal. We were served miso soup, lemon, and salt. There was also sansho pepper salt on the table. We brought champagne with us, with a corkage fee of 3000 yen. We started with two shrimp, which were sweet and flavorful. Then came the butterbur sprouts, tender and slightly bitter. The bamboo shoots were authentic and delicious. The eggplant was amazing as always. The bracken fern was soft and easy to chew. The pumpkin was sweet and tasty. The shiitake mushrooms were tender with a rich flavor. The baby corn was the best we've ever had. The scallop was rare in the middle but crispy on the outside. Finally, the shrimp was a perfect ending. We also ordered additional taranome and avocado, both of which were delicious. I had the tempura rice bowl, and he had the tempura tea. We both enjoyed the meal so much that we didn't even offer each other a taste. We promised to try the tempura tea next time. We are thrilled to have found a restaurant we definitely want to visit again.