Upscale in Kyoto

Tempura Yoshikawa Counter ★ 4.8

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

The walk-in counter of the Yoshikawa tempura ryokan in Kyoto, an alternative to the full kaiseki room. Eight seats, garden window, lighter price tag.

Tip: Lunch counter under 7,000 yen, dinner course 14,000-22,000. Counter seats eight.

Yoramu Sake Bar ★ 4.6

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0831, Japan

Israeli-born Yoram Ofer's koshu sake bar in a Nakagyo machiya in Kyoto. The most-cited aged-sake list in the country, served at a six-seat counter.

Shigetsu ★ 4.5

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

Bib Gourmand-listed shojin-ryori inside Tenryu-ji's precinct in Arashiyama. Three-course set lunches eaten facing the temple's Sogen garden.

Tip: Reservation required for parties of two or more, at least three days ahead. The ¥500 garden entry is separate.

Bar Rocking Chair ★ 4.5

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8042, Japan

A speakeasy cocktail bar in a Nakagyo machiya in Kyoto, opened by ex-Saint Germain bartender Yamada-san. Counter seats nine; reservations strongly advised.

Komorebino Natural Wine Bar ★ 4.5

gion · 123 Tominagacho, Higashiyama-ku, Hanami Kaikan 1F, Kyoto 605-0078

Komorebino in Gion's Hanami Kaikan pours 200 carefully chosen natural wines from Japan, France and Italy with a list rotating to 24 seasonal Japanese terms.

Tip: Counter seating with the sommelier is the only way to taste the off-list Japanese bottles; reserve a week ahead.

Tousuiro Kiyamachi ★ 4.4

pontocho · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8014, Japan

Tofu-kaiseki on a Kamogawa riverside terrace, hidden down a narrow Kiyamachi alley in a preserved Taisho-era townhouse just steps from Pontocho.

Tip: Book a tatami room on the riverside for kawayuka decking from mid-May to September.

Nanzenji Sando Kikusui ★ 4.4

sakyo · 31 Nanzenji Fukuchicho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8435, Japan

Nanzenji Sando Kikusui in Sakyo in Kyoto is a sukiya inn near Nanzenji with a Jihei Ogawa garden, yudofu kaiseki featuring Hattori tofu, seasonal courses.

Tip: Closes Thursdays. Aim for the 12:30 sitting before the temple-touring crowd lands.

Unagi Hirokawa ★ 4.4

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

A Michelin-listed unagi specialist on the main Arashiyama lane since 1967, rebuilt 2009. Steamed-then-grilled Kanto-style, with a generations-deep tare.

Tip: Lunch goes by ticket from 11:00; arrive by 10:45 in foliage season.

Izusen Daiji-in ★ 4.4

kita-daitokuji · Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8231, Japan

Daitoku-ji shojin-ryori served in nested vermillion lacquer bowls modelled on a Buddhist begging bowl. Garden-view tatami inside the Daiji-in sub-temple.

Tip: Lunch only. Cash preferred. Combine with a Daitokuji walking tour.

Kyoto Beer Lab Tap Room ★ 4.4

karasuma-kawaramachi · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8138, Japan

The on-brewery tap room of Kyoto Beer Lab on the Takase-gawa in Shimogyo. Eight house taps, pizzas from a wood oven, riverside terrace seating in summer.

Sake Bar Yoramu ★ 4.4

nakagyo · Matsuyacho 35-1, Nijo-dori, Higashinotoin Higashi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0831, Japan

Yoramu in Nakagyo in Kyoto is Yoram Ofer's eight-seat aged-sake counter, koshu flights from across Japan, small Israeli-Japanese plates, a hidden alley find.

Tip: Reserve by phone; the koshu flight changes weekly. Closed Sunday through Tuesday.

Nanzenji Junsei ★ 4.3

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

A long-running garden-side yudofu room beside Nanzen-ji, set on a 1,200-tsubo strolling-garden plot in Kyoto that changes with every season.

Tip: Book the garden-side tatami pavilion; walk-ins are turned away in foliage season.

Kane-yo ★ 4.3

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8064, Japan

Charcoal-grilled freshwater eel on Kyogoku Shotengai since the Taisho era. Lacquered chests, tatami rooms upstairs, the smoke spilling onto Sanjo.

Tip: Hour-long queues at peak. Walk in 30 minutes before doors open to land a counter seat.

Pontocho Izumoya ★ 4.3

pontocho · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8016, Japan

A Pontocho unagi room above the Kamogawa in Kyoto, founded 1916. Edomae-style grill-then-steam, with a kawayuka deck May to September. Priced at ¥¥¥.

Tip: Riverside deck seats need booking; mid-week 17:30 is the easiest landing slot.

Kyo Yakiniku Hiro Sanjo ★ 4.3

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

The Sanjo flagship of Kyoto's largest yakiniku family, run from a Kyoto Sanjo shopping-street site since 1997. Japanese black wagyu cuts grilled tableside.

Tip: Walk-ins possible at the counter, reservations needed for tables on weekends.

Bee's Knees Kyoto ★ 4.3

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0961, Japan

A Prohibition-styled speakeasy bar in Nakagyo Kyoto, hidden behind a yellow 'Book Store' door. Cocktails built on local spirits and organic ingredients.

Bungalow Bar ★ 4.3

karasuma-kawaramachi · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8480, Japan

A 10-tap craft-beer bar in a Shijo-Horikawa machiya in Kyoto. Japanese taps only, a French and European bistro plate menu, open from afternoon through late.

Robin Pontocho ★ 4.2

pontocho · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8016, Japan

A modern kappo on Pontocho serving 10-course kaiseki anchored by Maizuru seafood and Tamba wagyu. Counter seats face the river through sliding shoji.

Tip: Riverside kawayuka deck active May to September; weekday lunch is cheaper at ¥4,400.

Before9 ★ 4.2

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0093, Japan

A two-story bar in a Karasuma-Oike machiya in Kyoto serving craft beer and artisanal sake side by side. A small Japanese-spirit cocktail menu on tap rotation.

Ritz-Carlton Bar ★ 4.1

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0902, Japan

The bar at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto on the Kamogawa, glass-walled toward the river. Kyoto Sour cocktail uses local plum wine; bar bento at evening service.

Stilllife at Ace Hotel Kyoto ★ 4.0

karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8166, Japan

Ace Hotel Kyoto's lobby bar inside the Shin-Puh-Kan complex. Yuzu Negroni and Japanese-spirit cocktails plus a small Japanese-wine list, open to non-guests.