Noguchi Tsunagu

If there’s one thing that the former two-Michelin-starred Kyotenjin Noguchi is better known for than its supremely refined cuisine, it’s the difficulty of getting a table. Gourmands from all over the world wait with bated breath on the morning that the restaurant’s reservation slots open, and many of them will leave disappointed and empty-handed. This is why Noguchi Tsunagu, its sister shop, was opened in the first place: to make the restaurant’s world-renowned cuisine accessible to a greater range of people hoping for a taste of Kyoto. “Tsunagu” means “to connect” in Japanese, and it was for this reason that the restaurant was named, in hopes of forging a close connection with the original restaurant. Set in the historic Higashiyama district of Kyoto, where the wildly popular sightseeing destinations of Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera Temple are set, Noguchi Tsunagu has seen no shortage of hopefuls looking for a taste of the famed kaiseki meals that first propelled Kyotenjin Noguchi to culinary stardom. Since 2019, the restaurant’s daring mixture of traditional and contemporary menu items like Japanese black beef kuroge wagyu beef soup alongside carbonara with ingredients from the Goto Islands have enthralled the Japanese culinary scene — so much so that it took only two years to earn itself a star in the Michelin Guide Kyoto 2021. Michelin Guide: 2021 - 1 Michelin Star