minaka — Restaurant in Kyoto

My girlfriend and I are staying at a hotel nearby and accidentally discovered restaurant Minaka yesterday evening while exploring the neighborhood before our dinner reservation at Yakitori Tsujiya. We stopped and made a dinner reservation for the next day, and are so glad we did!

The chef/owner is a lovely hostess, greeting everyone with a smile. We chose seats at the counter and were handed an English menu. The restaurant is small, with room for about a dozen guests, and the chef/owner runs it by herself—she is incredibly hard-working!

The menu consists of small plates split into a regular menu (480 yen per plate) and a special menu (580 yen per plate), plus clay pot rice and a few other items. We tried five or six dishes and enjoyed them all, but especially recommend the mozuku (seaweed mixed with vinegar), the fried chicken with green onion, sesame, and ponzu, and the fried mackerel with green onion and ginger paste.

The hostess is so very sweet, we laughed at needing our eyeglasses to read anything, and she came to the front door as we left to wave goodbye. Thank you so much for a memorable dining...

おばんざいは初めてでした。 素晴らしい経験をありがとう🙏☺️。

We had an amazing dining experience at Minaka. This quaint Obanzai diner is the best way to experience unique local delicacies using seasonal ingredients.

Everything has a homey taste to it because each individual dish is handmade and hand-served fresh by the hostess, who runs the entire restaurant by herself. Because of this, please come with the utmost patience and respect, and expect to spend at least 1-2hrs to complete your meal. Also be aware it is a very small shop, so you may have to wait, or come early as they open. In exchange you will be rewarded with an unforgettable and intimate dining experience like no other. Particularly, the Karaage was the best I have ever eaten.

There is a basic English menu with numbers that foreigners can easily order with. Prices as well are very modest considering the great quality of the food and service. If you are in Kyoto, I think the dedication of this lovely lady is well worth your patronage.

Much love from...

An amazing restaurant to grab some local obanzai and oden cuisine. It's run by a lady who handles the entire restaurant, yet service is still good given it's just her doing all the cooking and table service. She is so warm and friendly and you can see her serving the pre-prepared food as well as doing the cooking and drinks pouring in the open kitchen.

If you like homely seasonally prepared food that isn't commonly found around Japan, you'll be in for a treat. The only problem is deciding what dishes to order from the menu. The restaurant isn't large, but there's some tables or if you prefer there's 4 bar seats where you can watch the action.

It's better to book in advance, although they had tables available when I visited on...