Splurge in Kyoto

Kikunoi Honten ★ 4.9

higashiyama · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0825, Japan

The defining three-Michelin-star kaiseki room in Kyoto. Third-generation Yoshihiro Murata runs Kikunoi Honten, a 1912 ryotei below Kodaiji. Priced at ¥¥¥¥.

Hyotei ★ 4.9

northern-higashiyama · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8437, Japan

An Edo-era teahouse at the gate of Nanzen-ji in Kyoto, restyled as a ryotei in 1837. Located in Northern Higashiyama. Led by chef Yoshihiro Takahashi.

Kitcho Arashiyama Honten ★ 4.9

arashiyama · Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8385, Japan

Three-Michelin-star kaiseki on the Hozugawa river bend in Arashiyama, Kyoto, run by chef Kunio Tokuoka in a sukiya-style garden tatami room.

Mizai ★ 4.9

higashiyama · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0071, Japan

Hitoshi Ishihara opened Mizai in a corner of Maruyama Park, Kyoto, after years at Kitcho Arashiyama. One nightly seating, all guests served in sync.

Gion Sasaki ★ 4.8

gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0811, Japan

Hiroshi Sasaki runs a teacher-and-apprentice kitchen on Komatsu-cho. Counter seats deliver a 12-course kaiseki with a freer hand than the old ryotei.

LURRA ★ 4.7

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8005, Japan

A 10-seat modern Japanese counter from chef Jacob Kear (ex-Noma) and Stuart Brioza. Open-fire technique meets Kyoto produce in a 12-course menu.

Tip: Reservations open online on the 1st of each month for two months out.

Kichisen ★ 4.7

demachiyanagi · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0805, Japan

Chef Yoshimi Tanigawa's kaiseki room beside Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. Two Michelin stars in the current guide, formerly three. Monthly seasonal menus.

Kikunoi Roan ★ 4.7

pontocho · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8012, Japan

Murata's casual-counter spinoff on Kiyamachi, opened for Kikunoi's 60th anniversary. Two stars, easier reservations than Honten, river views in season.

Gion Nishikawa ★ 4.7

gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0825, Japan

Masayoshi Nishikawa earned a star a year after opening at 33 in Kyoto. A quiet sukiya counter on a Yasaka Shrine alley with two stars for over a decade.

Sushi Wakon ★ 4.7

higashiyama · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0932, Japan

Edomae sushi inside the Four Seasons Kyoto, in Higashiyama. Eight counter seats and a ten-course omakase from the team that opened the original Sushi Wakon.

Monk ★ 4.6

northern-higashiyama · Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8412, Japan

A wood-fired pizzeria and tasting counter on the Philosopher's Path, run by chef Yoshihiro Imai with a daily-changing 12-course Italian-Japanese menu.

Tip: One seating, 12 seats; reserve 60 days ahead on the website.

Tempura Tenyu ★ 4.6

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8071, Japan

A nine-seat tempura counter in central Kyoto run by Tawaraya, the ryokan operating since the early 1700s. Located in Karasuma Kawaramachi. Priced at ¥¥¥¥.

Sushi Iwa ★ 4.5

gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0074, Japan

An eight-seat Edomae sushi counter just off Hanamikoji in Gion, Kyoto, run by chef Iwa with Tsukiji-trained habits. 20-piece omakase, no menu.

Tip: Lunch is half the dinner price and easier to book; weekday seats open up two weeks ahead.

Muromachi Wakuden ★ 4.5

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8106, Japan

The Muromachi outpost of the Wakuden group, set in a Karasuma machiya with open charcoal braziers in the dining room. One star and a classical hand.

Tempura Endo Yasaka ★ 4.5

gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0811, Japan

Tempura in a converted teahouse near Yasaka Pagoda, Kyoto, an ochaya from the early 1900s. Sweetcorn tempura opens each course in early summer.

Kyo Tominokoji Yoshikawa ★ 4.5

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8093, Japan

A 1952 ryokan and tempura counter in Kyoto set around a sublime Japanese garden, downtown. One Michelin star, garden lunches across all four seasons.

Hassun ★ 4.4

gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0074, Japan

Named for the central kaiseki course, Hassun runs a quiet ryotei in Gion, Kyoto, a block south of Hanamikoji. One Michelin star, intimate counter only.

Kyoyamato ★ 4.3

gion · Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0826, Japan

A Meiji-era kaiseki house on the Kodaiji grounds, established in Kyoto by the third-generation Yamato proprietor in 1949 and rooted in an 1877 Osaka original.