Kyōya

We were looking for a nice lunch spot to try Hida beef after a long morning of walking around touring the sights. I saw this restaurant mentioned in a review for a nearby shrine and was intrigued by the reviewer’s enthusiastic recommendation.

The restaurant is cozy and the service was super friendly. We came right after the lunch rush and lucked out on getting a table with the DIY coal grill. The restaurant has English menus and the wait staff all spoke excellent English. Our’s even visited our home city in the states and made a funny topical joke about it.

The menu is diverse and you can order both ala carte, as well as set menus if you’re feeling indecisive. We went with the Hoba Miso set and ordered ala carte items of the prime Hiba beef, shitake mushrooms, prawns, and cold soba. For drinks we tried their dry hot sake and their homemade plum wine (Umeshu). The latter was awesome and way better than your standard Choya. Super smooth with a nice subtle floral aftertaste. I make my own at home and I’m astounded by how much more delicate and flavorful theirs is in comparison. Definitely a must try!

The food was great. All the ingredients were fresh and high quality. I noticed their soba noodles had variance in their width, suggesting they were hand cut.

The beef was excellent. Tender with a nice beef flavor and the accompanying dipping sauce really tied it all together. Quick note: Hida beef is pretty fatty. For best results you want to grill it to at least medium, so the fat is properly rendered and diffused in the meat. It’s the same with high quality Kobe beef. Some of the one-star reviews mentioned the beef was chewy and I’m certain it was because they undercooked it.

The bill for the two of us was under ¥9000 yen. Amazing value for the price!