Kyoto Italian Kappa — Restaurant in Kyoto

My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful meal at Kappa. Traveling gluten-free can be challenging—especially in Japan—but we were extremely satisfied with our set meal here. Because of my wife’s allergy, we’re always cautious, so we truly appreciated the staff’s attentiveness to our questions about the sake.

At first, you might wonder why you’d choose an Italian-inspired restaurant while in Japan. But each course was thoughtfully prepared, and we couldn’t have been happier with the experience.

This isn’t a place for oversized, Western-style portions. Rather, it’s a restaurant where you can feel the chef’s creativity and personal touch in every dish. It is on the pricier side compared to other meals, but we found it well worth it for a top-quality, gluten-free experience.

If we return to Kyoto, we will absolutely come back to this...

An entirely gluten free Italian place? Amazing.

Tucked away in Kyoto on a second floor, we found an intimate space with a lone chef (it was a quieter dinner night). Despite this, food came out quick and delicious.

We had a delicious a la carte meal with:

Non-alcoholic cassis drink Shirley Temple

Onion Soup French Onion Soup (with cheese gratin) Lamb Tongue Salad

Kameoka Wagyu Beef Steak Kameoka Wagyu Beef Bolognese Pasta topped with Lamb Chop

We couldn’t have dessert because we were simply too full with the delicious food. The pasta portion was fairly big, and we had to take some home—be prepared for a large meal!

The steak? Soft and tender and delicious. The lamb chops? Seasoned beautifully. Great plating.

An excellent dinner to retreat from...

A small eatery upstairs, somewhat off the beaten path but was thrilled to find it. The cuisine is more Japanese flair on Italian dishes yet everything was fresh and delicious. Starter was a salad with 30 different vegetables (owner was kind enough to give us a card with each one listed😀) with a light but flavor-ful dressing. I had the spaghetti bolognese which I adored while my companion tried the lamb chops which were a tad fatty for her taste yet tender. We ended tiramisu for myself and a vanilla gelato which left us both considering more desserts. Service was a relaxed pace with the owner and chef checking in on us - a nice touch. All in all I'd definitely return to try more dishes, especially...