Daitokuji Ikkyu

For great shojin ryori, look no further than Daitokuji Ikkyu. This Zen temple vegetarian restaurant is the oldest existing one of its kind in Kyoto — it’s over 500 years old!

Compared to other cities in Japan, Kyoto has a relatively greater number of vegetarian-friendly restaurants to choose from. Plus, there are some excellent shojin ryori (Buddhist temple vegetarian cuisine) places in town, which serve exquisitely prepared multi-course vegetarian meals. Who said that fine dining was only for omnivores here? One of our favourite restaurants in town is Daitokuji Ikkyu, located just outside the eponymous Daitokuji Temple.

At Daitokuji Ikkyu, you’ll eat your way through the seasons, especially the possibilities inherent in plant and soy. You might have fresh gluten simmered in soy sauce, pickled turnip rolls with wasabi, a canola blossom salad tossed in a creamy mustard-spiked tofu dressing, vegetarian chawanmushi, or sesame tofu made with arrowroot and sesame. Their pickles deserve special mention! With the endless variety in tastes and texture, vegetarian eating has never been so vibrant and interesting.

Though most shojin ryori restaurants are lunch-only affairs, Daitokuji Ikkyu is one of the few that does a dinner service. This is great if you are, for example, vegan but looking for a special multi-course meal in the evening to finish your day, rather than at lunch. The dinner service is correspondingly more pricey, with courses beginning at JP¥8000. (There’s a cheaper lunch set available at around JP¥4000 per person.)

There are a few important things to take note here. One is that reservations are required. Another is that they will accept customers entering for dinner only up till 6:00pm — you won’t be able to make a reservation for a start time of after 6:00pm. This does mean you’ll have a fairly early dinner. But, for a fine shojin ryori meal like this, it’s worth the hassle of making a reservation and travelling up this way.

For more Kyoto shojin ryori choices, see our Best Shojin Ryori (Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine) page.

Name in English:
Daitokuji Ikkyu

Name in Japanese:
大徳寺一久

English address:
20 Murasakino-shimomonzen-cho, Kita-ku

Japanese address:
北区紫野下門前町20

Opening hours:
noon-6pm (entering)

Price:

Non-smoking area: Yes

Nearest Transport:
2min walk from Daitokuji-mae Bus Stop, Kyoto City Bus 101 or 204 or 205 or 206 from Kitaoji Station, Karasuma subway line

Reservations:
Necessary

Telephone: 493-0019

Website: Official site (Japanese)

Near To Here:
Daitokuji Ikkyu is located in Central Kyoto. See our complete list of things to do in Central Kyoto, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.

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