Tagawa

Many great chefs market themself with an eccentric and extravagant streak, but modesty and simplicity can just produce just as compelling results. Such is the case with the food at Tagawa, a kaiseki restaurant just south of Kyoto’s Imperial Palace. Here the chef eschews ostentatiousness in favor of simple, unadorned excellence. This theme is apparent as soon as you walk through the front door into an interior which exudes Kyoto class, with tatami floors, sunken counter seats, and a sliding screen door opening up to a small garden courtyard. This is a space that invites total relaxation — a place to come with family and friends to enjoy a quiet, peaceful, authentic meal. The chef, Yoshiaki Tagawa, trained at restaurants in Yokohama, Kyoto, and Tokyo before eventually establishing his own here. Though he’s well-traveled, he still has a great pride in the place of his birth, Mie, and he sources most of his ingredients from that region. Don’t miss out on the Aosa Soba: a signature dish made of seaweed steeped in soy sauce, served with soba and seasonal toppings.