Kyogoku Kaneyo

I first ate here back in 2015 on a concierge’s tip, and it’s still one of my favorite Kyoto meals. Unagi over rice with that huge golden omelette on top — rich, filling, and surprisingly well priced for eel. Upstairs you slip off your shoes and sit on tatami (lean against the wall if you’re not used to it); downstairs is chairs and tables. Both have real charm, and you can watch the eels being grilled through the window outside, which is half the fun. A small note: eels are over-harvested and can’t be farmed, so this is a delicacy to savor in moderation.

My husband and I were really looking forward to this meal when we arrived in Kyoto and honestly we left..disappointed. We made a reservation on Tablelog for 3pm but when we arrived we were surprised to see that they were closing up already. They looked slightly annoyed that we came so late eventhough we had a reservation but luckily we got a seat. The set eels that we reserved ran out and only one was left which is unfortunate cause we got charged on Tablelog for it. As for the meal itself, it’s not bad. I was really looking forward to it because it’s such a famous restaurant but the eel was kind of..bland? And it was slightly dry and not as fatty and rich as I expected. So sad cause one of the main reasons we went to Kyoto is to try this. Maybe our expectations were too high? Overall, it was too expensive for what we got.

30 Dec 2024 There is nothing special about this place. Popular, maybe because of the history of this place. It said it has been over 100 years since the end of the Meiji era. The unagi taste just so so, Service is really bad. The waiter who serves our table looks like he has been forced to do the work 😂 For me, seating on the floor and eating is hard and uncomfortable. If you wanna try this place, request sitting on the first floor where the table is. The second floor is all sitting on the floor. And yes, this place is expensive compared to other unagi restaurants.

I like the taste of the unagi here. Charcoal grilled, plain and simple. Plenty of seats avaliable on a Saturday evening downstairs. The wonderful smell of charcoal lingers in the restaurant, I suspect from over more than a 100 years of grilling eel. Definitely pricey.

The unagi here is grilled just right. Flavorful and meaty. We have been here twice and ordered the small unagi-don. It's plenty of food for us. There are larger sizes and other dishes, but this one is just right for us. Western (in a chair) seating is downstairs. Sitting cross-legged and on a pad is upstairs. We enjoyed and did both. Service is prompt and friendly.

Came across this place as it’s relatively near hotel. Was told it’s Michelin bib. We ordered a medium size and added a chicken wing as sides. The taste is indeed on a lighter side and i added the pepper and soya to make it tastier.

Obviously a very popular restaurant. Went early and got our table after 20min or so. Their signature meal is the eel rice with an omelette on top. Overall very tatsy. Wish the serving of eel was bigger though. So order a larger set if you want more eel.

This place came highly recommended by a friend from Kyoto. It was also awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand. Naturally we went with anticipation. We were greeted by a short queue 20 min before the restaurant opened for lunch. The exterior is a beautiful 2 storey building, and one can view the grilling through a long glass window. We were ushered into the ground floor and into one of the shared tables. The interior exudes a retro vibe, quite charming. Service is prompt but pleasant. The food is a different story, creating more questions than satisfied customers by the time we finished our meals. We ordered a kinshidon (きんし丼), unagi set (ちょっといっぷく赤出汁セット), and Yawata Maki (八幡巻). Two major grumbles-1. The volume of rice and egg overwhelms the miserly small pieces unagi, similar in both the set and the kinshidon; 2. The sauce is light and runny, unlike the typical the sweet, slightly viscous type. Not sure which is the main dish, the egg or the eel? Where's the trifecta of Kyoto-style tamagoyaki, Kanto-style kabayaki eel, and rice with sauce of the Kinshi-don as advertised? The Yawata maki was ok, with it's charred unagi and burdock root flavours coming together, but overpriced IMO. Perhaps the fluffy egg, light sauce differentiated the establishment from other unagi eateries. But it leaves us with yet another question: what really made this place famous?