Kodaiji Wakuden

One of the best experiences I’ve had at a restaurant, whether Michelin-starred or not. The service & ambiance (traditional ryotei) was off the charts. The chef and hostess were super friendly and provided neat insights into how the menu is crafted and sourced. The food itself was top-notch — with a focus on simplicity rather than making dishes overly complex. My favorites were the fried lily bulb, yam, and plum. Second was the sweet red bean soup dessert.

Excellent experience overall. The private room and the mix between traditional cooking and modernity is outstanding. The service is flawless. Food was amazing, however if I am being picky, I think it was not at the level of a 2-star Michelin restaurant, in my experience. For this price point, it was a slight disappointment. That being said, the experience and the atmosphere is something unique that you won’t find in any other place.

The golden standard of kaiseki cuisine, food and hospitality were the best among all restaurants I visited. Will definitely come again to try the crabs.

The seasonal menus are amazing here. The building is historic and takes you back to another time. Make sure to reserve in advance and visit with time to spare. It is best to walk around the area afterward to walk off the meal.

It is still top-notch! One of the better kaiseki tasted. Superb service with machiya-style ambience. A couple of the dishes, like the Bottarga rice cake and Tamba beef, a dedicated chef, would binchotan grilled them right in your private dining room so you could enjoy the cooking process before being served. Ensure you book Kodaiji Wakuden, as the establishment has a few restaurants in Kyoto.

one of the best experiences at the restaurant! highly recommended if you like Japanese. Top ingredients skill &service! it ain’t cheap but makes you think it is one of the best value for back experience and you really can’t ask for anything else! gotta try this place 100% if you are foodie.

Amazing Kaiseki in Kyoto with next level service. Food bridges gap to classic Kaiseki and modern touches. Sake selections top tier. Cannot recommend enough

Spectacular meal overall. Although, I liked 室町 (Muromachi) even better in terms of meal quality. 高台寺 had an highly exclusive atmosphere.

This was our first Michelin star of many restaurants booked for our trip and it was a huge let down. We were seated in a small room with just the two of us and we had to remove our shoes (not a problem at all since we understand the culture). The chef took a while to come out and there was a language barrier during the entire experience. The food was underwhelming and during the middle of it, we tried telling the chef we wanted to end our experience and leave but he didn't understand and kept bringing the food out one by one! Each dish took a while to come out as well. I needed to use the restroom and I was guided by a staff member and also had to change into another pair of shoes to use the restroom. 2.5 hours later we were done and we had to wait in front of our room for someone to guide us to the front where our shoes were. I slowly started walking towards the front since it took a while and a staff member quickly rushed to me and said we had to wait. She actually asked me, "is this your first time dining at a restaurant like this?" Then we finally got our shoes and 3 staff members escorted us to our taxi and then we left. It was such an awkward experience and the food was underwhelming. Also, there was no music playing and the entire restaurant was just complete silence. It felt spooky!

This place was highly recommended by a friend when I asked her for a must-try restaurant in Kyoto. And it was simply an amazing experience. Getting there was a challenge as the map we were using on my phone directed us to the vicinity but not to the exact location of the restaurant. We circled around numerous times in the area and ended up being little late despite the fact that we gave ourselves a ton of extra time to get there. They were very understanding about our tardiness, though, and took us in to our private dining room right away. The time we sat in the quiet room overlooking the beautiful mountain backdrop before our meal began was very serene. And everything about the meal itself was just amazing. Presentation was excellent. Food tasted fresh and delicious. And best of all, their service was simply exceptional. The price tag was whopping ~$200 / person for a lunch, but at the end of the meal, we both agreed that it was worth every penny.

Kodaiji Wakuden was quite possibly one of the best dining experiences we've had in our lives! Reading through all the Michelin rated restaurants in Kyoto, it was really difficult to choose just one place to dine at. I knew ahead of time that the menu description from the guide book would be different when we arrived. But I was particularly attracted to their Taiza crab menu. Kodaiji Wakuden is currently rated 2 michelin stars in the Kyoto Michelin Guide Book. If you wish to dine here, you must make reservations well in advance. The service is beyond excellent and our host Seiko was very hospitable and spoke English. I believe she is the one whom we spoke to over the phone when we made our reservations. We had accidentally arrived about an hour before our dinner reservation (5:30pm instead of 6:30pm), but were immediately seated by the kind staff. The dinner lasted almost 4 hours with much needed resting breaks during our dining. (Check out their restrooms!) We had counter seating and really enjoyed the char-grilling part of our dinner! We got to watch our chef grill various items (sea breams, tofu, bamboo shoots, black abalone, etc.) on an open grill in front of us! All of our dishes were delicious! They definitely made sure we were full and satisfied! After dinner we were given complimentary tickets to Kodaiji Temple to see the evening illuminations! We just barely made it to the temple before they closed at 9:30pm. It was quite a treat to see this and it was a nice walk after our huge dinner! We will definitely be back to Kodaiji Wakuden in the winter time to try their Taiza crabs!!! :)