ORTO

This old teahouse-style building in central Kyoto has been painted a stylish grey outside, bringing a historic form right into the 21st century. The menu performs a similar operation with an innovative fusion of Kyoto-style vegetable dishes with Italian and French sensibilities. The meaning of the name is “vegetable garden,” and it’s the vegetables that really steal the show here. In fact, it's one of the few top restaurants in town which offers a 100% vegan set-course menu. The chefs hold back with the salt and oil to let ingredients breathe naturally. This highlights the best aspects of a wide range of Kyoto vegetables in some ultra-healthy dishes: shiitake mushroom bread, maitake mushroom pasta, butternut squash risotto. The exact dishes change with the seasons but rest assured they always maintain high standards for inventiveness and nourishment. Low counter seats are available on the first floor, with a mezzanine floor above for more private dining suitable for dates and celebration. After dining on some of the freshest produce which Kyoto has to offer, prepared in healthy and delicious fashions, you’re guaranteed to leave ORTO feeling totally revitalized and refreshed.