Heianraku — Restaurant in Takayama

HI when ever something is so perfect at the outset , i always doubt it beacuse perfection as such doesn’t exist in this world we live in , so when i saw so many excellent reviews about this place regarding the quality of food and service and kind hospitality and friendliness of the owners , although a bit skeptical we also wanted to experience the place as we were visiting takayama in the month of january , as this was one of the highly rated places that served vegetarian food , so as is the rule for this place we had to make request for reservations in advance through their website form ,which we did we were two adults and two children , so we requested for a reservation of 4 ,and their response was prompt and they mentioned to us that they only had set menu of 3500 yen per person and that even children were considered as adults and would be charged the same , which was ok , but when i requested them that we would only need three set meals for 4 of us as our two small children would share one set menu , as it would be too much for them to complete a full set menu each , they outright rejected our reservation which was shocking because ,i don’t think anywhere across the world they would have done so especially when small children were there , so basically they wanted us to pay for 4 set menus at 3500 yen person for a vegetarian meal , which would come to 14000 yen in total for 2 adults and 2 children which is not only expensive in a small town like takayama but not needed or reasonable for two small children as def they wouldn’t be able to complete the meal , and what we asked was a very reasonable and fair proposition of charging us for 3 set menus for 4 of us as there were two small children , so this directly shows the mentality of the owners of the place and it just speaks of their greed and primary motive that Money is the most important thing for them , and based on their behaviour i have concluded that their food might be really good based on so many other reviewers and their hospitality also might have been reely good based on so many good reviews but i honestly from the core of my heart bielieve that the kindness is just an act and that the owners are not genuine or real with their so called emotions and at the end of the day what reely matters to them is MONEY , everything else is secondary so people please be warned the place might be good ,their food might be good but the act of friendliness and kindness the owners put on is after all an act , so people looking for real kindness and honesty look else where , because although i personally don’t hold a grudge against the owners for not letting us dine there , it is absolutely their choice of deciding whom they want to let in and whom they want to let out , but the purpose of this review is to convey the truth to people seeking to dine in takayama that the primary goal of the owners is MONEY and the kindness is just an...

It was a difficult decision to rate this as 3 stars. Main reason is because this restaurant is for tourists.

The wife and husband who run this restaurant are very nice and kind people. For dinner you must pick a set menu and you get to choose a main dish such as meatballs with rice. Food was tasty and I couldn't really fault it. It was good value for money.

There are many touristy restaurants in Takayama but this one goes too far. The extremely high rating is kind of a clue. In fact it's quite extraordinary they have such a high rating and I believe it's mainly because the owners are such nice people. The fact that they require a password and a secret bell button to enter is another clue they are swarmed by tourists attracted by a very high rating.

You are very unlikely to see any Japanese people dine in this restaurant, the whole dining experience is overly explained, the menu is the most detailed english menu you will ever see. The owners react to you as if you were a guest on a Japanese TV show, they ask you where you are from and ask you to write your name on a world atlas. They will also ask you where you are from and if your hotel is further away they will offer to drive you to your hotel. It's just all felt very cheesy and overdone.

If you're looking for an authentic Japanese dining experience then perhaps this is not a...

We just googled a place to eat and was intrigued by the great reviews and decided to check the place out. Reservation is a must via email and dinner started around 17ish and we got ours at 1800. We were provided a password to enter the restaurant (which I think is corky) after ringing the door bell we were greeted by a warm and lively welcome from Naoko-san (that set the mood right already) and we were ushered to our seats. The place was so cozy that gave us a vibe as if we were dinning in with our family. We were given by the menus and we choose the set meal for 2 and yuzu sake. The first course is the set of starters that is locally made and 6 dumplings (we asked for mix of chicken and pork) and it was delicious! Then 3 main dishes of sweet and sour pork( its a must for meat lovers), Hida Miso Ramen (flavourful and tasty) last was curry flavored fried rice (yummy) 2 amazing desserts and jasmine tea to wash it all down. Hiroshi-san made us feel welcome everytime dishes were given to us. We felt his passion and love for food in every dish he made. It was a surprisingly amazing experience. The service was personalized and thoughtful. Food was fantastic. We highly recommend to visit them on your next trip to Takayama. Tip: dont forget to sign...