Gion Mametora — Restaurant in Kyoto

Food was inedible. They are "famous" for their mini round sushi ball platter which is their specialty item. For dinner in Feb 2023, we had to choose a set course of Yen 12,800 each for 2 persons (not allowed to choose different courses). The menu was constructed of several courses from sashimi to grilled items to soups etc all around the final mini round sushi ball platter as the finale. All courses were unimpressive & tasteless & obviously created to justify the high course price. What is worst was that the mini round sushi balls were made from poor quality fish & rice & all pieces were basically tasteless!!! It was a total disappointment & a waste of money to have paid almost Yen 30,000 for dinner for 2 in the Gion district of Kyoto. Will never go there again. Can't understand what their fame is all about. For that price I would rather go to a proper high end sushi restaurant that specialises in proper sushi instead of this fake course menu. One advice to diners in Japan...don't book restaurants that offer "omakase" or "course set" menus...choose instead single specialty...

At first I interested with the idea of theit signature mametora sushi which is assorted sushi that cut and made into bite size for Maiko to eat easily and also serving to eat directly without soy sauce. We went there for lunch and choose the larger set. The appitizers come in vary and well prepares, beautiful and proper food presentation. Next come the soup, fried Ayu fish and then sushi, and warabi mochi as dessert. Calm and cosy restaurant with full of Japanese touch. Good service and impressive enough to try.

Easy access as the restaurant locate in Gion opposite to Forever Museum of Contemporary Art. To make a reservation here, I fpund no english site but you may let your hotel assists you for making reservation. However, I called the restaurant myself at lunch time on the same day before visiting there, so even there is no available seat in any online site but it maybe available anyway because the restaurant quiet big enough and can prepared more seats. English menu available and staff can communicate a...

Tucked away along the quiet cobblestone lanes of Gion, I found a place where time seems to pause — Mame-tora. The moment I stepped inside the old Kyoto townhouse, I was wrapped in the warmth of wood, silence, and subtle elegance.

I came for the famed 'mame-sushi' — tiny, jewel-like bites crafted with such care, each one a fleeting expression of season and place. As I opened the wooden box, it felt like lifting the lid on a poem. Shrimp, eel, tamago, and delicate vegetables sat like art on rice, too beautiful to eat — and yet, each bite melted into memories I didn’t know I had.

The small dishes that followed — seasonal broths, grilled delicacies, pickled wonders — weren’t just food. They were quiet conversations between the chef and the season.

In the heart of Kyoto, where tradition hums softly in the air, Mame-tora offers more than a meal. It’s a moment — gentle, fleeting,...