〒604-8093 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Matsushitachō, 135 料理旅館天ぷら吉川

Food is alright, not great. I've had better tempura in Kyoto for same price. Service and atmosphere is good.

We stayed at the inn here (an amazing experience in itself) and came for the tempura dinner one night, which was outstanding. Our tasting menu included: - Prawn / prawn head - Green beans - Corn - Eggplant - Scallops - Green pepper - Mushroom - White fish - Lotus roots - Sweet potato - Yellowtail - Prawn - Seaweed noodles - Miso soup - Tendon (mix of fried shrimp and veggies over rice) Our favorites were the prawns, corn, scallops, mushrooms, and tendon. I was slightly scared going in, but for the most part it wasn't overly adventurous -- the prawn heads definitely pushed our comfort zone a bit, but it really just tasted like crispy fried shrimp. The restaurant/inn itself can make you a little edgy, as it's not exactly a laid back place, but at least for me, that was all part of the experience. Overall, a really great dinner at a really interesting Kyoto staple.

This review is based on my lunch experience at the Tempura Counter, one of the dining option at this Ryokan. Only 11 seats available with no reservation accepted. Arriving when lunch service begins at 11:00 am would guarantee you a seat. There are only 2 choice for either Toki (¥3000) or Mizungai (¥4000). The best part of the meal was watching the chef preparing every single piece of tempura. The batter was so light and the oil so fresh, the end products was just so light and not oily at all even it was deep fried. Aside from the prawns, all the vegetables and fish are seasonal. All of them prepared to perfection and featuring the skills of the chef. Service was attentive and efficient. My waitress would just appear and top up my tea, or ask if we need more rice. Highly recommend for a leisure and intimate lunch experience!

This was a lovely experience for a date night. We made a reservation online a couple weeks in advance for dinner at the bar. Service was excellent with servers who spoke very good English and were quite polite and helpful when it came to dietary restrictions. We enjoyed watching the chef cook, and we also had fun meeting other people at the bar. Food was excellent with a light, crispy breading that enhanced the protein and vegetables and did not overwhelm them. I particularly liked the shrimp, scallop, and the chazuke. When we finished the tempura dishes, we were shown to the next room, where there was a sunken area to sit by a fireplace. We were served dessert, which consisted of tea, sorbet, and fruit. It was a relaxing and cozy way to end the meal.

Outstanding! Delicious! Great Deal! We went here during lunch since I heard the dinner service can get pricey and crowded. We got the 3000 and 4000 yen courses. They both were sublime. We sat at the counter and had the opportunity to watch the chef cook all of our food. We noticed that the oil was crystal clear. His cooking area was spotless. And the ingredients he used was super fresh. The batter was very light and didn't overpower all of the seafood and vegetables. There was a dipping sauce, and two salts (regular and spicy). We got prawns, anago, white fish, corn, green pepper, pumpkin, tomato, mushrooms, okra, and a few others. It was cooked to perfection. The lunch deal is amazing. I would definitely go back again.

I'd describe this place as magic. Beautiful, peaceful, timeless and the food is fantastic, made to order, fresh and delicious. A must-try experience.

Love this ryokan!! Super comfortable rooms, attentive staff and very centrally located. We had dinner here and the food was amazing. High recommend this place!

I should say first off that we came for the tempura kaiseki dinner, and as a larger group were seated in one of the private dining areas, not at the counter. Overall I thought that my meal here was good but not great. Based on other reviews I expected the tempura to be excellent, but unfortunately it ended up being a mixed bag. A few of the pieces were very good, but most were barely lukewarm and had started to lose the crispness of their batter. I think the issue here is the format of how the tempura courses were served for our group: 4-5 pieces on a plate multiplied by 5 people means some of the pieces probably sat for a while before being served. The rest of the kaiseki courses ranged from good to very good. Not a bad meal, but considering the price and the restaurant's focus on tempura it could definitely have been better. Would I go back for another kaiseki dinner? No. But I'd give it another try for lunch at the counter, where I get to watch the chef and know that my tempura will be hot out of the fryer.