Kikunoi

Michelin ☆☆☆

Third-generation owner-chef Yoshihiro Murata is one of Japan’s most famous restaurateurs and he holds an incredible 7 Michelin stars. What Joel Robuchon is to French Haute Cuisine, Murata is to the world of Kyoto style kaiseki.

His cooking reflects the four seasons with exquisite dishes, prepared to the restaurant’s long-held cooking traditions. Imagine for example, a starter named kakureume, made of pickled Japanese plum with the salt removed and topped with strained sea bream milt, which evokes the plum blossoms of early spring. A few weeks later, the seasonal dish for April might be sakuramasu no ibushiyaki, literally ‘smoked cherry salmon’, a play on this species of Salmon and April’s cherry blossoms.

The attention to detail extends beyond the food itself and the service is attentive yet unobtrusive and diners can enjoy their meals while gazing at the beautiful traditional garden outside.