KYOTO KITCHO Arashiyamahonten

I went to Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama today and it was just outstanding. The seasonal food was perfect and often left us speechless. The flavours and textures were outstanding and well balanced. We were looked after by Mari who was graceful and answered all our questions in English. The view from our pr...ivate room was a gorgeous little garden and the sake we ordered perfectly matched the dishes. This was so much more than a delicious meal, it was a wonderful experience. I would definitely recommend it and will certainly go back again.

Visited July 2019

We had dinner there this evening. This is an elegant restaurant in a beautiful setting. The service is outstanding. The ingredients used were good and in some cases very good. The food is traditional Japanese Kaiseki. The problem is that a Michelin 3 star restaurant with prices of this exorbitant m...agnitude should deliver a once in a lifetime experience. This restaurant fails in that regard. Having eaten at comparable places around the US ( French Laundry,Alinea, Le Bernadin, etc) and Paris (L’Epicure), I can unhesitatingly state that this restaurant is NOT at that level. And tellingly, this conclusion was predicted by natives of Kyoto. I strongly suggest that you find another restaurant that might deliver what the price promises.

Visited May 2019

This is a three hour cultural immersion. Part theater, part art exhibition, part history lesson, it is an epicurean experience not to be missed. Let me say upfront that the price tag is astronomical and so this experience will be way out of reach for the budget, average or even premium economy tra...veller. We were a party of three and the price tag was over $2,200 US dollars. Now before you look away in disgust consider the opening salvo to this review. What are we paying today for tickets to Broadway or West End shows? I know Hamilton tickets were going for one thousand dollars a pop...it's getting common to pay $500 for most top shows & second seller concert tickets often go for the same. Considering that having a fine meal and then going to a hot-ticket show, plus transportation can easily add up to 2 grand night, you can understand why you'd have no buyers remorse spending this kind of money on this meal in the exotic location of Kyoto & for something that is sure to become the most memorable part of your Japan trip. When you make your reservation you are asked to chose between three options of price fixe menus. 45,000, 52,000, or 60,000 Yen per person, before tax & gratuity. We went the whole hog. The setting is in a classic traditional Ryokan; so sitting on floor, low lacquer table, beautifully simplistic. You may be the only party in the room & you may even be the only party in the whole house, for all I know. We used a phone to create some background music, which I felt was missing. The room was a little too quiet and having a good playlist going really made us feel more at home, which is what the staff wants. There are several servers, one of whom is the owner, wife of the chef. They talk to you over tea about allergies and things you may not like, but forewarned, there will definitely be some things - out of the literally 50 bites of things you are trying - that you won't like. Although everything is the highest quality and you learn a little about the sourcing and tradition of many dishes, it is all traditional Japanese food, which includes many dishes Westerners will be unfamiliar and even uncomfortable with. It is a fish heavy meal (like their diet), although there were vegetables served with every course, plus there was a chicken and two beef courses (one Kobe and the other a more local Wagyu). Each course was brought out displayed so artistically and beautifully it felt a shame to ruin by eating. So a tray would arrive one of the sushi courses and it was arranged like and under-the-sea diorama. The next, also sushi, had a cherry blossom theme and by this I don't just mean cherry blossoms were on the tray, I mean the food was made to look like the flowers....pieces of lump lobster, with a dot of pink roe atop, arranged in a clump of three, sitting beside green spiced leaf veg, artfully interspersed with delicate twigs of fried kelp, to create the perfect allusion of the a bough & blossoms. Art. One of our favorite courses came when our main server, came in carrying a large, covered steaming silver tureen, which grand's un-lidding, proved to be a smoking bamboo shoot heart. A special table was set up, where the master of the ginzu knife, set about carving it up for us. It was delectable - somewhere between artichoke heart and heart of palm. We were presented our portion with amazing and varied sauces for dipping. On and on it went, course after course, saki sip after saki sip. And although you leave full, you are not sick the way you would be when you eat the same amount of food off one plate in a half hour, as you did here, eating a little at a time over 2 1/2 hours. You will remember this meal for a long time.

Visited April 2019

Everything about this restaurant is mind blowing. The food is impeccable presented, and tastes even better than it looks. The setting - along the river near the bamboo forest - is enchanting, and the staff are exceptionally attentive without being pushy. Be warned, it’s pricy! But well worth it.

Visited April 2019

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the nicest case of 2019. making a reservation at this so called placed Kitcho. Not attending. BUT Getting charged a no show fee + service and consumption tax for 4 menus. (53,000 Yen) You can be the greatest chef of all time, the best service, having the best ingredie...nts still having FLEXIBILITY in this current high competitive food market is key. How will your ingredients been thrown away, if you are full for a whole week? Charging a certain penalty fee is understandable but the whole amount + taxes. How can you charge an invoice for a product you haven’t even sold. Wishing the Chef Arashiyama the greatest success. But remember the best times always come to an end.

Visited April 2019