Kentan Horibe

An excellent restaurant offering traditional Japanese cuisine selected by the chef. The place exudes magic, featuring an authentic Japanese bar with a minimalist design and a calm, relaxing atmosphere. The chef prepares and plates most of the dishes right in front of you, explaining each one and its significance. Notably, the kindness and service of the staff stand out (although only one of the waiters spoke English fluently, everyone made an effort to interact), helping to create a warm and welcoming environment during your meal. Thank you for making our experience in Japan unforgettable! ⭐️

It's one of my favor michelin star rated restaurants so far (went to 30ish or so). Everything is prepared with extra care, and the menu seems to be seasonal. The only part that lost a little bit of points with me what that the 2nd dessert felt short compared to the first one. The first one was a homemade sorbet with champagne and many other ingredients. And for that you should stop there... but adding extra chestnut dessert that reminded of the very beginning of the course felt unnecessary and anticlimactic. Still, I'm just being picky here for the sake of the review. For some reason, you can not make videos in the restaurant, and they are slightly strict with photos. The owner does not speak much English, but some assistant chef does. It did not bother me. Very quiet place and felt elegant in every single aspect. Definitely coming back for 30,000 yen per person (including drinks)

Such a magical experience! We loved everything from beginning to the end. The place looks amazing and is very intimate. Best meal we've had in Japan, with such amazing flavors and different recipes. We got the full tasting menu for dinner. Chefs are so friendly as well, Marcus is fluent in English so that helps as well. Great sake selection as well. We had a magical night, thanks again !!!

My second visit in June 2024. This time for a dinner. They serve you so much of excellent food. We were so full after the dinner. And so much of prized ingredients. I can recommend this place to anyone without any hesitation. A superb Japanese restaurant in downtown Kyoto. The food is excellent, the owner is very attentive and all the staff are great. We had lunch course and it was so delicious and beautiful. Each dish appears to be small but the the end of meal we are all so full. The turnip surinagashi was my favorite. It is a small place, you definitely need to make reservation. The interior of the shop is tasty done with a cute tsoboniwa. I highly recommend this place.

What an amazing experience, but not one for the faint hearted western palate. We had an excellent interesting meal but I can’t say we weren’t at times a bit apprehensive about some of the dishes. The service was excellent, our waiter spoke excellent English and helped us to get into the head of the chef. If you want an authentic kaskei and aren’t afraid of a little bit of keeping an open mind then would thoroughly recommend.

Truly excellent place to experience true Japanese/Kyoto food. Was able to make a last minute reservation on tablecheck and although they state no English support, one of the newer chef craftsman Marcus speaks English well. Marcus made our experience much more insightful as he was able to explain to us the culture and meaning behind the dishes. The master chef was also welcoming and tried to interact with us despite the language barrier. The food was honestly one of the best I've experienced, and everything was presented beautifully. Watching the team make and prepare everything in front of you was fascinating. Some things to note: they change menus every month and you will have to be open to eating food you may not have had before, this is a kaiseki with a 12 course meal for dinner so come with an empty stomach as you will be very full after, expect to stay for 3 hours dinner service, this is an upscale place so be clean and polite with good manners and business casual attire.

I brought three very special people here for a very special occasion, and the chef made it a meaningful night for us. While the food was great, it wasn’t the food that made the evening but rather the chef’s kindness and warm personality. One of our guests had recently had a back reaction to fish and had requested that she not be served any. As a kaiseki meal, this presented a big challenge for the chef and his team, but they all rose to the occasion and made beautifully modified dishes for her, improvising as they went. On top of this, Chef Marcus engaged in interesting conversation with us the entire evening, and we shared many stories and laughs together. To me, he epitomized omotenashi and took it even further. I hope he can receive this message as I will always be grateful for how he took such good care of us during this special night.

Amazing dinner and service. Great value as well. Really enjoyed our meal which did a great job highlighting local seasonal ingredients. We were fortunate that one of the chefs serving us spoke excellent English so we got very thorough explanations of each dish and ingredients. Highly recommended