悠々 — Restaurant in Kyoto

we had a delightful lunch omakase here and liked it even more than the 2-michelin star restaurant we visited the night before, and would definitely return to Yuyu to try their dinner course!

location: short walk from the station, easy to locate signage, and intimate relaxed setting. the vibe is not super formal, which we liked and felt more comfortable with for lunch. we were the only group for the first lunch time slot (11:30), but a few more groups steadily showed up afterwards (i’d still always recommend making a reservation in advance)

service: both the chef and (assuming based on other comments) his wife were sweet and attentive. they used google translate and a specific website to explain each dish & ingredient for us in english, and also to make small conversations here and there. we really appreciated their effort to connect with us beyond the food explanations, as it made the meal more heartwarming and memorable.

food: everything we had was scrumptious (to preface, we regularly consume japanese foods in cali & seatte)! broths were refreshing but still packed with flavor, sashimi quality was excellent, proteins cooked to perfection - beautiful crispy & slightly smoked/charred skin with delectable juicy meat inside. the sauce/condiment pairing for each dish was perfect as well. my partner and i have generally different palates, but we loved every single course we had and really enjoyed the creative preparation of the foods here. it was also great to be offered the choice of main entree, with a good number of options to choose from based on individual budget and dietary preferences.

overall the meal was worth it for us both since we enjoyed the quality ingredients, the culinary innovation that sets the food apart and deserving of its michelin star, as well as the...

An outstanding omakase worth making a trip for. Tetsuya and his assistant had perfect pace on the courses and we noticed his attentiveness to what and how we enjoyed each course to determine the next meal. He exchanged little words with his assistant which was amazing to watch - as they both worked in sync. I’d highly recommended the sake pairing as it made for a unique experience. The service was impeccable and although both did not speak English we had great conversations about the food through translation...

We had a good time but were a bit confused about the system as we were not offered a menu or a choice of the omakase course and had to guess what is coming and what it is exactly.

The fish was excellent and all the seasonal ingredients were fresh and fragrant! But we missed out on some dishes that we read such as the sashimi sandwich and the sabazushi, and since we weren't able to tell what is coming we were let down that it wasn't included...