Kyoboshi

Lovely, small and welcoming place, not easy to find but that only add to the charme of the restaurant. Simple, excellent and extremely well prepared tempura of the highest level. It makes you rethink completely what ‘tempura’ means. Lovely little bites which are work of arts, both for your eyes and ...your palate! And you get a front seat to the master who makes all of that possible, Chef & Owner Sakakibara Toshinori. Toshinori-san, it will be our absolute pleasure to be soon your guests again. Thank you!

Visited April 2025

Perfectly curated tempura omakase three generations in the making. Divine food with divine owners. This experience is unique as they are the ones directly involved in the operation of the restaurant. Food was spectacular! A definite must try experience.

Visited September 2024

Masterful! Tempura at its purest and best. Every single serving done to perfection and served with pride. An dining experience that highlights a single style of cooking - nothing more and nothing less. Wonderful! (Difficult to find...but worth it!)

Visited September 2019

Must make reservation which we did through our hotel concierge. We were a party of 5 and though there were still available seats (maybe 3-4), 2 walk-in guests were turned. I suspect he only cooked for one party, or at least people in the same seating, at a time as the small restaurant was only servi...ced by our chef and his wife. Our dinner cost ¥13,200 (all-in) for about 18 courses; sake separately priced and the food was delicious - the batter light and food fresh. Chef was innovative too; it wasn’t just about simply coating the food in batter - for eg we had fish wrapped in shiso leaf, crab legs in avocado, fish wrapped in seaweed...yummy. The dips of lemon juice and home-made (such fine) salt was supplemented by grated daikon. Lovely and yet simple condiments. One of us did not take shellfish and was given a wide selection of fish instead. A must-go.

Visited November 2019

It does not get better than this. I made reservation with help of Tokyo friend and concierge. I have had many Michelin and 5 Star dinners, and I wondered how a tempura dinner would compare without all the other components, and I am happy to say it was incredible and amazing. I was full after the mea...l. I savored every moment. I did not know Kyoto is known for tempura. My friend instructed me to eat very soon after chef serves me, so I did. I wanted to be respectful. I think I ate so fast that he sped ip our pace. Every single piece was delectable. Everything had a balanced and simple yet full flavor. It was an amazing meal. I am so glad we had a chance to eat here. The dry sake pairs wonderfully with the meal, and I recommend it.

Visited October 2019