Kyoto Restaurants(591)
SEAT RESERVATIONMoko
Chef-owner Alexis Moko blends neo-French cuisine with touches of Japanese regional elements in the heart of Kyoto.
COURSE MENUROKU KYOTO TENJIN Chef’s Table
This intimate dining experience led by executive chef Akira Taniguchi features 13 counter seats surrounding an open kitchen, which acts as a stage for the chef’s culinary performance. Taste heirloom Kyoto vegetables, prepared with French techniques.
COURSE MENUGanko Sanjo Honten
While its convenient riverside location, affordable prices and impeccable cuisine draw hundreds of customers a day, many also come to marvel at the traditional Japanese interiors of this Sanjo establishment.
COURSE MENUGanko Kameoka Rakurakusou
Indulge in a succulent sukiyaki or kaiseki course meal beneath the rafters of one of Japan’s Tangible Cultural Properties.
COURSE MENUYakiniku Toraji Kyoto
The yakiniku in this traditional Kyoto kyomachi-ya checks both the quality and quantity boxes. In true Toraji Group style, every cut of beef here is gorgeously marbled and cut thick for maximum enjoyment of both flavor and texture.
SEAT RESERVATIONSushi Tempura Gion Iwai
Sushi Tempura Gion Iwai offers a combination rarely found in Kyoto; crunchy tempura with traditional Edomae-style sushi. The head chef uses decades of experience to plan menus that delight the palate with varying textures and flavors.
SEAT RESERVATIONKyo-Suiran
Embark on a culinary journey that intertwines cultural heritage, creative cuisine, and the beauty of nature in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Traditional Kyoto cuisine and French gastronomy combine for an unforgettable dining experience.
SEAT RESERVATIONBar Agiyao
Sip French white wines and savor seafood at Bar Agiyao in Kyoto, a small izakaya with a big heart for Kyoto's food culture. Anticipate sophisticated ambience, 18 wine varieties, and a menu blending French and Spanish cuisine.
SEAT RESERVATIONRokujo Kawarain San
Storytelling, tradition, and artistry underpin meals at Rokujo Kawarain San, a top-tier kaiseki venue with reasonable prices and seasonal menus.
SEAT RESERVATIONJikishinbou Saiki
At this kappo restaurant near Yasaka Shrine and the iconic Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, elegance and traditional Japanese aesthetics meet to create dishes guaranteed to awaken all five senses.
COURSE MENUTendan Saiin
For a taste of Kyoto-style yakiniku, Tendan has been serving perfectly grilled cuts of meat in Kyoto’s characteristic dashi-like sauce for almost 60 years. The Saiin branch’s location makes it popular with sightseers en route to northern Kyoto.
COURSE MENUSapporo Kani-ya Kyoto Branch
The Kyoto outlet of this venerable Hokkaido crab restaurant chain serves Japan’s finest crabs, including the vaunted hon-tarabagani, or red king crab — the most expensive and finest of Japan’s crabs.
COURSE MENUTakoyakushi Furukawa
A hidden, Michelin-featured kappo restaurant inside a diner, an evening at Takoyakushi Furukawa unfolds with a tasting of the key ingredient that drives its menu: dashi soup stock.
COURSE MENUMinokichi Takeshigero Hotel Granvia Kyoto
The Hotel Granvia Kyoto plays host to one of Kyoto’s most historic kyo-kaiseki restaurants, with over 300 years of history serving freshwater fish and other traditional dishes.
COURSE MENUKappo Ichika
Tapping into the free-spirited yet delicately crafted flow of kappo cuisine, Kappo Ichika in Shibuya serves seasonally inspired dishes, including wagyu sirloin on wafer monaka, near Shibuya.
COURSE MENUTemarizushi to Nihoncha Souden
A union of sushi and tea. This Kyoto restaurant’s specialty is temarizushi — beautiful sushi balls molded with tradition in mind — paired with its collection of precisely brewed and monthly rotational tea concoctions.
COURSE MENUSumibi Kazuya
Offering a wide range that varies from fresh seafood to charcoal-grilled specialties and local cuisine, Sumibi Kazuya in Kawaramachi exemplifies the appeal of Kyoto’s culinary scene and long history of developing some of the best washoku dishes.
SEAT RESERVATIONGion Sushi Tadayasu
The best kinds of sushi restaurants are born out of passion — this one has that and more, with sushi dishes to prove its high quality and dedication.
SEAT RESERVATIONMikuri
Perfect for wine lovers, Mikuri adds a western twist to omakase courses by harmoniously combining carefully crafted course dinners with wine.
COURSE MENUMinokichi Karasuma Shijo
An institution with over 300 years of history behind it, Minokichi’s Karasuma Shijo branch holds the same reputation for luxurious Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine as the original, with decadent dishes like softshell turtle hotpot and grilled Kobe beef.
COURSE MENUTendan Gion Honten
One of the last bastions of Kyoto-style yakiniku, Tendan’s original Gion outlet near Gion-shijo Station has been serving perfectly grilled cuts of meat in Kyoto’s characteristic dashi-like sauce for almost 60 years.
SEAT RESERVATIONSushizen
A few blocks away from Kyoto’s Nijo Castle, this Bib Gourmand eatery is a lesson in chirashizushi — or “scattered” sushi.
SEAT RESERVATIONTaiho
Father-and-sun duo in this Kyoto locale serves Michelin-approved "Kyoto Chinese” — a fiery twist where family-down recipes meet spice and punchy Sichuan flavors.
SEAT RESERVATIONGion Ichiho
Already getting traction for their picture-perfect, petite sushi rolls served in a bento box, Gion Ichiho presents a new type of sushi that echoes the beauty of its geisha district.
SEAT RESERVATIONOgata
Kimono-shop-turned-restaurant serving an enticing blend of old and new, with two Michelin stars.
SEAT RESERVATIONMizai
One of the best Japanese restaurants in the world, in the serene setting of Kyoto’s cherry blossom park.
SEAT RESERVATIONGion Owatari
Indulge in authentic Kyoto cuisine with immaculate service.
SEAT RESERVATIONGion Sasaki
Michelin three-star flair adds an entertaining edge to this outstanding traditional restaurant, where there’s never a dull moment.
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Reserve Restaurants in Kyoto
Unprecedented in quality, every Kyoto restaurant incorporates the best of local produce and seasonal offerings into fresh, immersive Japanese food menus. Culinary creativity runs through the city like its waters. In fact, you can dine in the open air over Kyoto’s rivers in summer or lose yourself for a night dining in the converted wooden machiya buildings of downtown Pontocho. Somewhere tucked away in the grid of Kyoto’s backstreets, family-run restaurants greet strangers and regulars alike, offering unique dining experiences. Side street shop fronts steam with ramen broth and specialty tofu dishes. High-caliber kaiseki dining experiences await in Kyoto’s many Michelin-starred restaurants, serving experiential feasts celebrating ingredients of the season. Even Kyoto's most well-known geisha district, Gion, is home to restaurants with some of the best fares in town.
Holding tradition and craftsmanship at the city’s core, restaurants in Kyoto always offer an unforgettable atmosphere and high-quality Japanese cuisine to match, whether that's seasonal produce or beautifully marbled wagyu beef. Marvel at the exquisite textures and stunning aesthetics evident in even the finest culinary details. Kyoto restaurants arrange their food on their plates just so; beautifully and crafted with skill like edible art. Discover some of the best food in Kyoto when exploring this cultural hub, bursting with its own regional food. Feast upon local cuisine known as Kyo-ryori, made from the freshest seasonal produce, or taste vegetarian Buddhist cuisine when you sit down to an authentic shojin ryori meal.
Fine Kyoto cuisine can be found at its beautiful restaurants, and there are wonderful culinary surprises in every bite. Exploring Kyoto’s backstreets and buzzing markets mean that you might stumble upon the city’s best restaurants.
Don’t miss a thing; see more of the city’s best restaurants during a Kyoto food tour, or settle in for a memorable dining experience in Kyoto by booking ahead of time on byFood.