Kyosaimi Nomura Nishiki

※ This page is for the Nishiki branch of Kyosaimi Nomura. Please note that the Karasuma main branch is walk-in only, and does not take reservations. Kindly confirm the restaurant location before making a reservation. ——— One of the most enduring forms of traditional Kyoto cuisine is obanzai, which is an assortment of small plates, made using largely local Kyoto ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques. And there is one name that instantly springs to mind when obanzai is mentioned: Kyosaimi Nomura. Kyosaimi Nomura doesn’t call itself “Kyoto-style”; to do so would be to imply that it imitates a certain style. Instead, it brings what it calls the authentic “taste of Kyoto” to the table, regarding itself as the very standard of authenticity. To this day, it continues to use the famously pure Fushimi groundwater from Kyoto’s local springs in its cuisine. Combined with kelp from northern Rishiri Island in Hokkaido and dried katsuo (skipjack tuna), the resulting dashi is the bedrock on which all modern Japanese cuisine is founded. Just as ingredients all over Japan historically converged on Kyoto as the capital, so too does Kyosaimi Nomura source its ingredients from producers all over the country. Rishiri kelp aside, produce like taro stems and potatoes come from Shikoku. And of course, in keeping with tradition, local Kyoto farmers and ranchers are spotlighted, such as with the Kujo green onions from Nishimura Farm, or Manganji peppers from Fukuchiyama.