Kyoto City - Hotel - Vacation STAY 88891v

Next to Shimogamo Shrine, surrounded by the Tadasu-no-Mori forest, lies Kyokaiseki Kichisen. The chef, a devotee of Japanese cuisine and the performing arts, built a ryotei on this spot. Respectful of Kyoto traditions, menu items are accompanied by charming details. Lids of soup dishes are emblazoned with dew, expressing freshness. Tuna sashimi is arrayed like a sea of clouds, creating a fairytale-like scene. Serving dishes of Kyoyaki ceramics, garnished with fresh-cut flowers, beguile the eyes. A unique interpretation of Kyoto kaiseki, accompanied by the spirit of graceful service.

The menu evokes the changing seasons and traditional culture of Japan. The proprietor is an accomplished gourmet whose deep knowledge comes from experience as a fishmonger and attentive reading of literature. Hassun platters, garnished with flowers as if to paint a picture of nature, showcase the ideas and origins found in the foods of traditional festivals. Behind each meticulously crafted dish breathes the living aesthetic and customs of Japanese cuisine.

The wooden tablet at the entrance expresses the house credo: ‘Garnish rice cooked in the okudo stove with char-grilled snacks and wild grasses and flowers’. To learn more, you’ll have to visit the restaurant yourself. In an age of information exchange, Nakahigashi offers an opportunity to clear one’s mind and experience cuisine of herbs and grasses. In short, be grateful to others and for the bounty of nature, remembering that the truly important things cannot be seen with the eyes. An experience of noticing things awaits.

Shinya Matsumoto expresses delicacy and rustic beauty through his cooking. A perfect example is his grilled offerings, cooked upright as if around a sunken hearth. Matsumoto polishes his artisanal skills with a keen eye fixed on the culinary techniques of antiquity. Foods are grilled upright over charcoal in a pot, concentrating their flavour as they roast. The meat and fish’s natural fats fall onto the charcoal, wreathing each item in smoke that adds to their aroma. The chef’s perspective and techniques draw out delicious flavours.

The rice is seasoned with rice vinegar and salt; the chef doesn’t use sugar, preferring to draw out sweetness from the fish instead. To ensure compatibility with the sushi rice, he pays attention to the temperature of the toppings. Though it depends on the preparation, he likes to start the hand-formed sushi with light-flavoured squid, so you can taste the sushi rice. Blueback fish are seasoned with buds of the pepper tree, white-fleshed fish with a paste of chilli peppers and yuzu zest. Mackerel sushi and steamed sushi are served from autumn to winter, in true Kyoto style.

Ken Sakamoto exults in expressing Italian cuisine through the bounty of Japanese produce. Putting kombu kelp, bonito stock and fermented ingredients like malted rice miso and sake lees to effective use is how he preaches the gospel of Japanese cuisine. Cured hams and cheeses arrive from producers who share the chef’s passion. Nonstandard vegetables are used in fermented form; pruned citrus fruits garnish lend a sour piquancy as garnish. Food that brings people together in every sense.

French ballads warble through a retro interior, recalling the good old days. Regional cuisines such as quenelles from Lyon and cassoulet from Languedoc spill across the menu. Old-school recipes, like white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce in spring and salmis of roast mallard, bring comfort to the soul. Respect for sauces testifies to the commitment to the essence of French cooking.