Gion Kirara — Restaurant in Kyoto

We were so tired exploring Kyoto, but on Wednesday, a lot of restaurants were closed in Gion. We stumbled upon @gionkirara and wanted to try a traditional Kaiseki Dinner.

Not really sure if what we had was Kaiseki, but we had a complete set meal, and they brought it out one dish after the other.

The first course is a box of assorted appetizers. The menu is seasonal so the contents of the box are different. We went in September, so the food might be between summer and autumn. Even though the portion of each appetizer was small, every dish had a different flavor. It was fun exploring each nook and cranny of the box.

We were also served miso soup and some picked appetizers.

For the mains, we got the beef and eel. Both were really good. The beef was tender. The eel was soft and flavorful.

For dessert, we were served fruit jelly.

The restaurant is a bit small, tends to be full easily, but most restaurants in Japan are like that.

They just have a rule that each person must order one set meal. I think it is fair.

There is only one waitress/ hostess, so she might not easily notice whether the next course should already be served, especially when the restaurant is full. We happened to be the first ones there, so she was very attentive to our needs. By the time the restaurant was filled, it became harder to get a glass of water.

Nonetheless, experiencing a Kaiseki meal in the heart of Gion was a wonderful experience.

#kyoto #kyotofood #gion #kaiseki #meal #dinner #japan...

I am satisfied that I was able to eat there without a reservation. I am a foreigner living in Japan so I am not happy that there are different menus and dishes for tourists and for Japanese. I realized this after ordering my set meal.

The restaurant maybe has a separate menu to make it easier for tourists and non-Japanese but it felt strange to see Japanese people with a different menu and food options.

Google translate works well with translating photos of a Japanese menu. I do it all the time.Tourists can do it too haha.

I hope the restaurant makes a better effort to offer the same menu options for everyone. They should invest in fully translating their menu rather than segregating their food experience.

The quality was ok. Not bad but not great. It was fresh though. The price was worth it in terms of not having to wait. I only recommend this restaurant if there is no line and you...

The food here was very good. The maitre-D or Madame was not very welcoming and the chefs behind the bar were giggling at us all struggling to decide what to eat as the menu was very confusing. However she cracked a smile when I expressed at the end of the meal in very limited Japanese that the food was good. I recommend taking the Chefs choice or Your choice menu as the a la carte menu charges a cover charge of 1000 per person which is typical of Japan (normally 2-300 yen) but we felt limited on what we could add on top. We were the only Westerners in here and it was quite a cold atmosphere but the good food made up for it. It is in the heart of Gion though and we did see a...