Kikunoi Main Restaurant

World-famous kaiseki restaurant Kikunoi in Southern Higashiyama is THE mecca for gourmands looking for some of the best fine dining in the city.

Many people with more than a passing interest in Japanese fine dining will have heard of Kikunoi Main Restaurant, otherwise known as Kikunoi. Helmed by chef Yoshiro Murata, the third generation kaiseki chef of this restaurant, a meal here is nothing less than a sublime experience and a certain highlight of your visit to Kyoto.

While many Japanese restaurants do take pride in their ingredients and place a great deal of emphasis on the attention to detail, this is magnified at an institution like Kikunoi. Eating at Kikunoi is experiencing classic kaiseki at its finest. Dinner, lasting several hours, is a parade of small, exquisite dishes that represent nothing less than a distillation of the passing seasons.

If it’s spring, you can be sure it’s one of the best bamboo shoots you’ll taste; if you’re here in autumn, you may well have the finest matsutake mushrooms and wagyu beef of your life. Familiar and traditional classics like tilefish with sticky rice and ginger broth, or an assortment of sashimi, are taken to greater heights in the hands of Kikunoi’s skilled chefs. All other renditions may, unfortunately, taste paltry in comparison.

Naturally, all this comes at a price. The average lunch here hovers around the vicinity of JP¥25,000, while dinner can go up to a whopping JP¥65,000+ if you’re really splashing out. Reservations are essential and can only be made through Tableall or your hotel concierge. It may not be a casual destination for everyone, but it will be a kaiseki experience to remember.

For more Kyoto kaiseki choices, see our Best Kaiseki in Kyoto page.

Name in English:
Kikunoi Main Restaurant

Name in Japanese:
菊乃井 本店

English address:
459 Shimokawara-cho, Shimokawara-dori-Yasakatoriimae-sagaru, Higashiyama-ku

Japanese address:
東山区下河原通八坂鳥居前下ル下河原町459

Opening hours:
noon-12:30pm, 5pm-7:30pm (entering)
Closed 1st and 3rd Tuesday

Price:

Non-smoking area: Yes

Nearest Transport:
8min walk from Higashiyama Yasui Bus Stop, Kyoto City Bus 206 from Kyoto Station

Reservations:
Recommended

Telephone: 561-0015

Website: Official site (English)

Near To Here:
Kikunoi Main Restaurant is located in Kyoto’s Southern Higashiyama district. See our complete list of things to do in Southern Higashiyama, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.

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