Mizai

※ Please note that this restaurant is exceedingly difficult to secure reservations for, with the average successful booking being 9 to 10 months in advance. Please adjust expectations accordingly. The name of this Kyoto kaiseki restaurant, located in the east of Maruyama Park, references a Zen saying which implies that perfection can never be wholly achieved, but forever chased. This perfectly encapsulates Mizai’s constant quest for improvement in their hospitality and cooking. Although perfection may forever elude them, their three Michelin stars must surely be the next best thing. The meal itself follows the format of tea ceremony-inspired kaiseki, with traditional dishes following an established flow through soups, grilled meats, and other delicious small plates. It’s rumored that over 300 ingredients go into the preparations for any given day here. The owner studied at the similarly three-starred Kitcho Arashiyama from the age of 15, quickly proving his skills and climbing up the ladder there. His own restaurant’s debut was highly anticipated, and it’s still booked up well in advance. You’ll need to wait a year, or pray for a miracle from the gods of rice and dashi, to be able to taste the quality at this superior kaiseki restaurant for yourself.