En

Very delicious and beautifully presented, you can enjoy Japanese kaiseki full course here. The fish course Y3500 was superb. It is a very small restaurant, on the 2nd floor of an old Japanese 2 story house, located just outside the Kita Kamakura JR station. The atmosphere is very home-like, but t...he food is first rate. For more, refer to "hiddenjapanguide".

Visited January 2018

En is very conveniently located only seconds away from the main exit of Kita-Kamakura station. It holds two Michelin stars, so my expectations were fairly high. I had the pleasure of being the only customer, so the staff were particularly attentive and friendly. However, I got the impression they w...ould always be pleasant, accessible and welcoming regardless of how busy things were - after all, the restaurant only seats around 16 people at maximum capacity. The kaiseki food was creative and of very good quality. I was a little disappointed not to be able to order the top course (this needs to be booked in advance, apparently), but the chef kindly provided an extra side dish to compensate. The menu is all in Japanese and I communicated with the staff in Japanese, but they had some English greetings and were curious about English translations for Japanese ingredient names. I got the impression someone who spoke no Japanese at all would be made very welcome, although may have difficulty figuring out exactly what was going on. That said, it's all set menu courses (three choices of price options; top one needs advance booking). So as long as you can point at the right price choice you want, everything else is just about sit back and enjoy the food. The opening to the restaurant is fairly hidden from the street - an ochre coloured building with a wooden staircase heading up (see photo). You'd need to be able to climb those ~10 steps to enjoy the dining here. Also, no credit cards accepted - be sure to have cash. There's a pleasant view out to trees and a small lake. There are many temples and other sights to explore nearby. The staff at En gave recommendations about what to see, as well as a map of Kamakura with walking trails marked. I will definitely return, to try the top menu choice and enjoy the friendly service in pleasant surroundings.

Visited October 2012