First visit 202302 (No.4257) 1. Purpose of visit - Selected this Japanese restaurant as an alternative to a Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant that was temporarily closed. 2. Restaurant information - Genre on Tabelog: Japanese cuisine, creative cuisine - Opened on October 8, 2021 - A restaurant offering creative Japanese cuisine - Business hours: 16:00-23:00 - Irregular holidays - Seating: 9 counter seats (4 private rooms at the back) 3. Crowdedness and atmosphere on the day of visit - Visited around 18:00 on a weekday, with 4 customers before and 2 after - A cozy atmosphere of a small Japanese restaurant 4. Customer service - Service in accordance with the manual 5. Order items - Draft beer: 650 yen - Ichiro's Malt (Highball): 900 yen - Macallan 12 years (on the rocks): 1,300 yen - Assorted sashimi: 1,500 yen (recommended) - Tomato and celery parfait salad with caviar: 1,200 yen (recommended) - Hamaguri clam and thick tofu soup - Grilled Guji (tilefish) - Sesame tofu and fried chicken - Shrimp dashi ajillo: 2,000 yen - Guji fish and Japanese herb pasta: 1,600 yen - Total payment: 15,550 yen 6. Summary This restaurant, run by a chef with experience training at a famous Kyoto kaiseki restaurant and a French cuisine restaurant, offers a fusion of Japanese and Western cuisine that pairs well with both sake and wine. Thank you for the delicious meal!

About a year ago, I passed by this place and noticed the open flowers outside, which caught my attention. It was listed in the Michelin Guide 2023 as a Bib Gourmand, which made me even more curious, so I made a reservation during my trip to Kyoto. The restaurant opened in October 2021 and is located about a 5-minute walk northeast from Karasuma Oike Station, along a street lined with various dining establishments. The exterior is illuminated by autumn leaves, creating a charming atmosphere. Inside, there are bright wooden counters against white walls. The seating consists of an L-shaped counter and a private table in the back. The menu is displayed on an A4 sheet with seasonal ingredients listed. The chef mentioned that they focus on à la carte ordering because they want guests to enjoy their favorite dishes without being served items they may not like in a course menu. This way, guests can adjust the amount of food they consume, which is especially convenient for travelers who enjoy exploring different foods. I decided on my order after receiving recommendations from the chef, who was very skilled at guiding customers. Here are the dishes I ordered: - Coppe Crab Shell Dish: Fresh and plentiful crab meat, perfect when dipped in crab vinegar. - Appetizer Platter: Assorted appetizers including watercress and whitebait, blowfish fins, pickled vegetables, persimmon and sweet potato with cream cheese, and various tempura items. - Assorted Sashimi Plate: Tuna, squid, sea urchin, and tilefish, all incredibly delicious. - Beef Tendon Daikon: Delicious broth with tender beef tendon and perfectly cooked eggplant. - Tilefish Steamed in a Pot: A flavorful dish with a deep umami taste that slowly spreads in your mouth. - Grilled Sea Bream: The highlight of the day, perfectly cooked with a crispy skin and tender flesh. - Kyoto Duck and Mushroom Hot Pot: A comforting dish with duck meat and scallions that pair perfectly with the broth. - Sake Selection: Various types of sake were recommended, including the fresh and refreshing Mutsu Hassen Nouveau direct-drawn sake, which became my favorite. Each dish was to my liking, and the warm atmosphere created by the chef and his wife made the dining experience even more enjoyable. I hope to visit this place again in the future! Thank you for the wonderful meal.

I visited a young restaurant that has been in business for about a year, called "Ootani". I became interested in this restaurant because of the reviews on Google. Almost all reviews were perfect scores. Of course, it depends on who wrote them... But it seems to be quite good, no doubt about it. They have also won a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2022. The location is about a 6-minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station, in a quiet area. It's a small restaurant run by a couple. The husband's specialty is creative Japanese cuisine, not strictly traditional Japanese cuisine, more like a new style of Japanese cuisine. With the Reiwa era, Kyoto cuisine has also changed a lot. It seems that the era of being told "Don't tarnish the culture of Kyoto cuisine" is over. The menu includes regular items and daily recommendations. Since it's a Japanese restaurant, you mainly order dishes individually. I tried various dishes this time. Sashimi platter with squid, flounder, and sea urchin, assorted appetizers, crab ankake with daikon and grilled eggplant, salt bouillabaisse with oysters and seafood, crab and tofu soy milk gratin, Kitakari potato salad, grilled red snapper, wagyu beef and burdock hot pot, etc. I enjoyed various dishes. The quality of the food was generally good, but some dishes felt like they needed a bit more... The saltiness of the grilled red snapper and the fish in the bouillabaisse were a bit concerning for me. The service was average, but the owner himself would occasionally come to check on us. He greeted us at the beginning, explained the recommended dishes, checked on us at the end, and saw us off. Whenever I come to Kyoto, I always think... Newly opened restaurants in their growth phase are very diligent and have good value for money. Later on, when they become popular, prices skyrocket. If you can't keep up with those conditions, you'll be left out and won't get a seat. It shifts from customer-driven to restaurant-driven. In many ways, it's truly a survival game in Kyoto. So, recently, I've been visiting promising restaurants with potential for the future. Discovering hidden gems! That's the feeling. Restaurants that have become popular and climbed to the top require a lot of money... So, like promising rookies in professional baseball -> gaining popularity -> increasing in value -> becoming expensive -> moving to a team with financial power as a free agent or trying in the US. Doesn't it somehow resemble that system...!? So, this place is like a promising rookie player with growth potential. Now is the chance... Give it a try! Thank you for the meal.

Oden. The shrimp is steamed, daikon radish, beef tendon, and thick fried tofu. The beef tendon still has a delicious umami flavor, although it's a bit chewy. The thick fried tofu is tasty with a flavorful broth. Blowfish sashimi. It has the expected taste and is delicious. Karasumi (bottarga). It's moist and goes well with alcohol. Sauteed baby octopus with mitsuba sauce. I thought it would be buttery, but it has a Japanese-style taste with mitsuba and is delicious. The sake selection is great with a focus on quality. The service is good, and the staff are attentive and accommodating. A great restaurant.

I went to the restaurant with my husband and one other woman. We reserved the 4500 yen course. We started with spinach and shiitake mushrooms. The daikon radish and shrimp were warm. The soup had tender duck meatballs with grilled leeks. The sashimi was Yaitogatsuo, which was fatty and delicious. The flounder and striped jack were also excellent. The sesame tofu and fried flounder in broth were delightful. We also had blowfish tempura, grilled Spanish mackerel, roast beef, and squid. And as a bonus, steamed sea bream head. The sea bream porridge was a bit salty. The meal ended with purple sweet potato and persimmon ice cream. The presentation was beautiful. The chef focused on the quality of the fish rather than intricate decorations, and we were very satisfied with the meal at this price range.

This day was in a corner of Gosho Minami. I learned that a new restaurant opened in the place where "Oshokoji Okada" had moved, offering a course for 3,300 yen/4,500 yen during the day and a la carte options in the evening. The weather was still hot like summer in early October when I visited. The owner, Mr. Ootani, who has experience in both traditional Japanese cuisine and French cuisine, along with his girlfriend, provided a solid dining experience. While there were some moments of inexperience in service, their skill in enhancing the flavors of the ingredients through dashi, saltiness, and seasoning was evident. The focus was more on bringing out the richness of the flavors through these elements rather than on the ingredients themselves. I was impressed by the quality of the dishes, which didn't feel like they were only 4,500 yen for an 8-course meal. From the initial appetizers to the final ochazuke, each dish was rich and flavorful. The second dish, a soup featuring kombu from the long-established "Matsushima-ya," was hearty and deep, with swordfish, raw matsutake mushrooms, and sesame tofu harmonizing beautifully. The seventh dish, a rice dish served in a clay pot with three accompaniments, was followed by a dashi-infused ochazuke. While there wasn't a standout dish, the overall course exceeded my expectations. The details of all 8 dishes are described in the images. The male owner, Mr. Ootani, was reserved in his manner of speaking but answered questions kindly, while the female server, his girlfriend, had a rich background having trained at establishments like "Yamagencha" in Gion, "Kyoryori Fujimoto," and "Pontocho Fujita." She had also gained experience at Kyoto Central Wholesale Market's fish store and the French restaurant "Gion Yoin." Their combined expertise shone through in the high-quality course menu. Despite some initial hiccups like the missing tea bowls during the rice serving and a somewhat slow payment process, I believe these issues will be resolved over time. The fact that they can offer such a high-quality dining experience at this price point is a testament to their skill. In a Kyoto dining scene where reservation-only high-end Japanese restaurants are in the spotlight, I hope this casual, affordable, and compact gem gains popularity as a powerhouse in its own right.

I visited the restaurant again and had a great meal with seasonal dishes. The bamboo shoots, sashimi, grilled fish, simmered dishes, and homemade karasumi pasta were all delicious. They have also added more alcohol options like gin and Ichiro's Malt, and are willing to increase the selection based on customer requests. They offer a variety of Japanese sake as well, so there is always something new to try. I am looking forward to enjoying some cold sake in the summer.

Oh, this place is definitely one of the best in the world of traditional Japanese cuisine. The prices are also very reasonable! This time, I had fugu tempura, hot pot, sashimi, and a variety of other dishes. The karasumi (bottarga) was also delicious! They have a wide selection of drinks, including ones not listed on the menu, so you can enjoy a variety of options while savoring the delicious food. I will definitely be coming back!

Delicious food, 200% satisfied, will come back again.