Mamaya — Local services in Kyoto

3 days ago, I declared I had a new favourite restaurant in Kyoto. Now, Mamaya is poised to take the crown. The food here is absolutely delicious and everything is prepared with skill. As someone who cooks, I can feel the love put into the food, into the flavours and I really appreciate that.

I felt that the food served here was traditional, similar to what might be served in a good Kyoto household, elevated to high standards, and yet, different from what you might find in other restaurants. Starting with the obanzai, the burdock dish was absolutely delicious, balancing out the very earthy flavours with seasoning very well.

We also had the chicken tempura with plum sauce which was so unique, various tempuras such as mozuku seaweed, yuba with egg (it was so good that I had 2), sake lees marinated fish and so much more.

The best part is that, we honestly got carried away because the food was that good. We were ordering with abandon, ordering as much as we could eat. We had 2 bottles of sake each and maybe 14 dishes.

When the time came to pay the piper, we were preparing ourselves for a 15,000 yen bill. We barely paid 9,500. Absolutely exceptional pricing.

The 4.9 stars is extremely well earned, and there is a reason they have it. Let me address the majority of non-5 star reviews by saying that reservations are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. If you do not have a reservation, you will not get to eat. Making a reservation is EXTREMELY EASY. On this listing, I managed to go to their Instagram page, and on their Instagram, you can find their Whatsapp.

I texted them past midnight the night before we wanted to visit. I was shocked that a reply came with a list of available timings within 15 minuntes. Before 12.30, the reservation was set. On the day itself, we did see several people try to rock up. The staff were extremely polite and very kindly explaining that they were completely full, unfortunately. While there might have been seats available at the time, they did get filled by reservation holders very quickly.

So please don't hesitate. Make a booking and come try the meal of your life. We have moved to Osaka for a few days before concluding the trip, and this restaurant is so good that we're taking the 40 min train back just to have dinner here again before returning to Osaka...

This was my favorite meal in Japan. It is probably a top five meal of my life. Everything was perfect.

The owner and chef was so polite and nice, she runs everything so smoothly, so efficiently, so professionally.

It was truly a sight to see. There are only about 12 seats in the place, but she cooks literally all of the food for each diner, by herself. She has her parents helping with serving (who are also the sweetest), but her ability to keep everything running smoothly and in a timely manner is kinda amazing.

And the food is among the best iterations of the dishes I've ever had. The Bonito sushi was absolutely the best sashimi I've ever had, and the breaded squid (calamari basically) falls into that category as well. It was light and crispy, perfectly salted and seasoned.

There is a fried eggplant dish that I couldn't stop eating. I don't even like eggplant, or I thought I didn't. I guess I've just been eating crappy versions of it.

The chicken dishes were both glorious as well, the tempura batter was excellent and the one with the cheese inside was a great mix of flavors.

They could easily charge double for everything they offer, and it still might be underpriced.

I just can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this meal and my evening here. At the end of dessert, after paying and standing up to leave, I casually mentioned that this was my best birthday dinner to date in 42 years.

As if she hadn't done enough already, she motioned us to sit back down persistently, so we did, not sure of what was happening. She poured us a couple shots of Plum Wine that her mother makes, and gave them to us as a gift. Then she gave us some plums that the wine was made from as well.

For some reason that I can't quite grasp, this really made my night. I will forever remember this birthday and this experience and their family. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to dine with you, and for making my...

I read so many reviews that claimed this was the best meal someone had in Kyoto, or while visiting Japan, or in their entire lives (probably someone from America, then), I couldn’t not try to get a reservation.

This is right on the river, in a very scenic, old part of Kyoto, thru a tiny, tiny alley. You definitely need a reservation - the place is small and books up for the night. It’s also run by a family of three - parents and daughter.

We didn’t see a single table of Japanese people, but that didn’t mean that the food is somehow inauthentic or subpar. In fact, the two ladies of the family share kitchen duties and you can tell that they care deeply about ingredient choice, as well as quality of execution, and ultimately, how much their customers enjoy the food.

The patriarch of the family is the server in charge, and he is incredibly friendly, attentive, and perceptive. The menu is really nicely organized and both in Japanese and English, with very helpful and specific descriptions. There are daily sashimi specials, ranging from the conventional yellowtail to the adventurous pufferfish or jellyfish. The prices are reasonable and the portions are like tapas so you can try many different things without breaking the bank or overdoing it.

We really enjoyed everything we ordered immensely and don’t think you can go wrong - but some of the highlights were the butter/soy grilled squid (so tender), agedashi mochi (so light), tempura veggies (just perfect and such a nice assortment), and the chicken rolled with shiso & cheese and tempura fried. The rice is perfect but has to be ordered.

From check-in to the end of the meal, you can never forget the incredible spirit of hospitality of this family and their passion for food and service. I definitely do think this is among one of the best dining experiences I have had in Kyoto, and would...