Ikana — Restaurant in Kyoto

The AI overview as of today Sept 8, 2025 is 100% accurate. The food was fantastic, service super friendly (with helpful tips of where to go). Although the 4.9 stars on Google indicated that it should be excellent, our experience surpassed that! A married couple own and operate the place. Omekase dinner is by reservation only reserve at least 24 hour in advance!). Lunch is for drop in- which we did. With only 4 items to choose on the menu, you would be wrong to think there is not much choice. One of the dishes is a tray of small delights, I would call Obanzai, but Incould be wrong. It had sashimi (salmon, red snapper, and yellow tail), tempura (veggies and fish), cooked seasonal veggies, and sushi rolls. The server pleasantly described all the dishes. The other options were udon (choose between wagu beef, chicken or shrimp tempura). Dessert was vanilla ice cream with the option to add sansho pepper and/or Okinawa brown sugar on top. Finally, the man ran down the street to return my wife’s hat which we left behind. What...

This restaurant is a hidden and real gem run by a very kind couple who speaks fluent English. The owners are so warm and very accommodating on top of that the food was delicious. I wasn’t so sure what to order when I saw their menu because of my shellfish allergy. But the owners accommodated my requests and made me a delicious meal. My 5 year old was already restless after a long day but the owner was so nice and gave my son an activity to keep him busy while we waited for our meal. Every dish was delish and made us feel very at home.

One of the highlights of our trip—a very memorable one. We had good food and priceless conversation. We will definitely pass by again when we go...

Randomly found this restaurant while biking around Kyoto and we're really happy we did. It's a bit tricky to find but like another reviewer said, find the sign with the Ikana on it.

We popped in just before they closed for lunch and the couple who owns the place were so nice and accommodating. The food was all prepared fresh and the husband/chef creates Japanese dishes that also has some influences from his time as a chef in the US (even working with Morimoto). It was a pleasure getting to know them and they took the time to ask about us as well. Plus the food was fantastic.

Thank you for the wonderful meal! We will definitely visit again to try dinner the next time...