Antonio

Relaxing vibe and great food, with Spanish meats and wine with local fresh produce. The imported ham was top shelf. We were well looked after and can only recommend to others.

Visited July 2024

After being in Japan for the past ten days, specifically in Kyoto for six days, we have had quite a few Japanese meals. We had Ramen, Udon, Beef with rice Guydon bowls, Shabu-Shabu (hot pot), noodle soup; and we wanted to try something new today, and so we decided to go to Antonio’s Spanish restaur...ant, just about 10-15 minutes from our hotel. When we called to make a reservation, the staff member, who we later learned was Mia, was very helpful and told us to make an advance booking for the Spanish dish paella with chicken and shrimp since it takes a long time to cook. We pre-ordered the paella and then took a taxi to the restaurant. When we arrived at the cafe, Mia seated us, and we found the restaurant decor to be very lovely and cozy. Very well decorated, with Spanish matador pictures, paintings, utensils, and things from Spain that reminded us of our time in Madrid. We had pre-ordered the paella, but after getting seated, we also ordered the Sangria for drinks, shrimp with garlic sauce tapas, potato croquet tapas, grilled sausage, and along with that, Mia got us some complimentary warm bread with garlic butter. The warm bread and garlic butter were just out of this world. It was crunchy and toasted, and the garlic butter was just yummy. All the other top dishes were equally good. The moment we placed them in our mouths, the combination of flavors, taste, heat, and the temperature hotness of the dish exploded in our mouths, and all of us at the table exclaimed, “ Oh Yum!!!!” And this was for every dish. After the Tapas, the paella arrived, and all of us shared the chicken & shrimp with rice hot from the oven, and again, it was something that frankly was better than the paella we had in Spain. Later on, I thanked the chef, whose name was Antonio, the restaurant named after him, and he was so gracious that he offered a shot of cold tequila as a parting gift. Mia took family pictures for our photo album and ordered a Taxi for us. They were so helpful, smiling, and made us feel welcome and comfortable that all the family members agreed that it felt like we just visited our friends and were returning from a dinner date at our friend's place. If you’re in the Kyoto area and want to try some great hospitality and food from Chef Antonio’s kitchen, please visit Antonio’s restaurant. You will not be disappointed. We will definitely visit this great restaurant on our next visit to Kyoto. Five stars all the way, and I could give more for the hospitality and for making us feel so welcome.

Visited June 2024

Antonio-san, thank you. I had a great time at your restaurant with my friends. You are very funny man but also great chef. I love you. I want to eat your spare libs and oishi chicken paella again. Your dishes are the best. Please teach me how to cook like you. I will come back soon with all my work ...colleagues. They want to taste best Spanish food as well.

Visited May 2024

Finding Antonio’s restaurant was the highlight of my family’s trip to Kyoto. Honestly, it might be, not just the best Spanish food I’ve ever had, but the best food period. Going in, my family wasn’t actually that hungry but from the very first plate of bread and garlic butter we just kept wanting mo...re and more. I would recommend the seafood paella to anyone but it’s best to call ahead and make a reservation as the chef is a perfectionist and makes sure to cook every dish himself from scratch. After the meal we spoke to the chef and he told us about a recent attempted break in at the restaurant. I can only assume that whoever tried to break in was trying to steal the recipes because the food at Antonio’s is very special indeed. An absolute must if you are in Kyoto!

Visited May 2024

While visiting our friends in Kyoto, we were brought along to Antonio’s Spanish restaurant. I haven’t had Spanish food for many years since my trip to Barcelona. As a result, I wasn’t sure what to expect but from the very first tapas dish, I was hooked. What a genius, the chef is. Every dish he make...s is touched with greatness. Particular highlights for me were the mushroom ajillo, steak, ribs and of course the amazing paellas. We had a meat paella with melt in your mouth beef and an amazing assortment of fresh vegetables and also the vegetarian paella as one of our friends is strange and doesn’t eat meat. All of the dishes were amazing and made me wish that I could go to the restaurant every week. We got to talk to the chef briefly and he seems like a lovely guy too. He made a point of coming out to talk to every diner even though he was extremely busy. Mia also recommended some amazing drinks we had never tried before like orujo and poitin which is a taste sensation. All in all, a fantastic experience. I hope to go back someday.

Visited May 2024