la bûche

Restaurant · Kyoto

la bûche

Restaurant · Kyoto

5

400-3 Ohararaikoincho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 601-1242, Japan

Photos

la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null
la bûche by null

Highlights

French cuisine with wood-fired local ingredients and natural wines  

Placeholder
Placeholder

400-3 Ohararaikoincho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 601-1242, Japan Get directions

labuche-ohara.com
@labuche_ohara

¥10,000+ · Menu

Reserve

Information

Static Map

400-3 Ohararaikoincho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 601-1242, Japan Get directions

+81 75 600 9196
labuche-ohara.com
@labuche_ohara

¥10,000+ · Menu

Reserve

Features

Tap to pay
reservations

Last updated

Oct 27, 2025

Powered By

You might also like

Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Cookie Policy
 © 2025 Postcard Technologies, Inc.
@michelinguide

"The chef seeks to feel and convey the terroir of Ohara, through its climate, landscape, and produce. Early each morning he visits the market, to listen to the farmers and think about recipes for the vegetables on offer that day. Prix fixe menus interweave wild mountain greens and flowers with game, drawing the diner into the natural milieu of the rural mountain communities. Food is cooked over a wood fire fed by lumber from forest thinning. In the counter kitchen, he tends a brightly burning flame, his attention focused on the food he’s preparing." - Michelin Inspector

https://guide.michelin.com/en/kyoto-region/kyoto/restaurant/la-buche
View Postcard for la bûche
@michelinguide

Global Food Trends Redefining How We Wine and Dine in 2025

"A restaurant in Kyoto offering traditional smoky flavors of open-fire cooking." - Annick Weber

https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/top-food-trends-redefining-how-we-wine-and-dine-in-2025
View Postcard for la bûche
@michelinguide

Local Gastronomy from Chef Mori of MICHELIN Green Star, One MICHELIN Star la bûche

"La bûche, operated by Chef Shohei Mori and his wife, is a French restaurant that made its debut in the MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024 with One MICHELIN Star and was also awarded the MICHELIN Green Star for its sustainable practices. The restaurant features a unique cooking method using a wooden fire, which Chef Mori fell in love with during his training in France. The menu focuses on local ingredients from Ohara, including fruits, vegetables, and game meat from local hunters. Chef Mori emphasizes the importance of terroir and traceability in his culinary approach." - Wakana Kubo

https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/sustainable-gastronomy/la_buche_chef_interview_en
View Postcard for la bûche
@michelinguide

The MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024: Newly Awarded Restaurants Announced Including One 2-Star and two MICHELIN Green Stars

"Three restaurants proposing French-inspired cuisine also received One MICHELIN Star: la bûche, led by chef Sohei Mori; MOKO, run by Versailles-born chef Alexis Moko who proposes traditional flavors in an authentic Kyoto machiya; and anpeji, where chef Masashi Ampeiji offers aromatic dishes, inspired by his experience in the South of France." - MICHELIN Guide Japan

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/article/michelin-guide-ceremony/michelinguide-kyoto-osaka-new-selection-en
View Postcard for la bûche
@michelinguide

The MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024: Newly Awarded Restaurants Announced Including One 2-Star and two MICHELIN Green Stars

"Three restaurants proposing French-inspired cuisine also received One MICHELIN Star: la bûche, led by chef Sohei Mori. La bûche expresses the terroir of Ohara through its cuisine, sourcing ingredients from neighbouring producers and hunters, with creations based around wild plants. The wine list, focusing on natural wines, also impressed the MICHELIN Guide Inspectors." - MICHELIN Guide Japan

https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/michelin-guide-ceremony/michelinguide-kyoto-osaka-new-selection-en
View Postcard for la bûche

Jordan Ayers

Google
Tucked away in the rural town of Ohara lies this amazing restaurant. I enjoyed the hospitality Mr and Mrs Mori showed me. As a foreigner, I felt very welcomed to their restaurant. It is very impressive to run a restaurant with only two people, and even more impressive to earn a Michelin star as a two-person duo. The atmosphere was very relaxing and I enjoyed every course except for the last one, which was my first time trying venison, and I think I may have been a little full by the last course. Don't let this personal shortcoming dissuade you from coming here. Every single other course was delicious. My favorite was the squash, corn, and chinese cabbage soup in the first picture. Mrs. Mori even took the time to email me a personalized thank you message, which touched my heart ❤️.

Alexandra Tran

Google
Beautiful restaurant run by the owner and his wife. The owner/chef is very knowledgeable and passionate about his craft and his wife is also excellent with flavors. They explained each dish and how the ingredients were locally sourced (some even in their own garden). The food was incredible and left you feeling extremely full. The local drink set that pairs with the menu was my favorite part and I will never forget it. The entire atmosphere felt very upscale, but intimate and inviting at the same time. It was clear that the chef built his restaurant with every piece of himself, from paintings and art his mother and wife created, to the very tabletop he built himself. It was incredible how firewood was incorporated in the dishes and it was a special experience. We spoke very little Japanese as our common tongue is English, but the chef and his wife made an effort to speak with us and converse about the food and our time in Japan. la buche rightfully deserves its Michelin star and I will not be surprised if it earns another soon.

Tyler Liang

Google
The first Michelin star is earned when the food and techniques used are delicious and perfect. The second Michelin star is earned when the food goes beyond what is on the plate. The restaurant is found in the nearby mountains of Ohara after a 40 minute drive from Kyoto proper. Chef Mori and his wife, Aoi, a dynamic duo from Ohara, deliver an experience that tells a story of the land. The watercress was picked by the local river that morning. The wild boar sourced by a local hunter. The popular river fish, Ayu, fished from the local river. The local ingredients are served through French techniques and over wood fire that give this restaurant a divine feel, but with austere authenticity. Expertly prepared by the wife, the wine pairing is perfect and generous. One was a white wine steeped with grass from the local river, which was transportive to keep it simple. Every detail was thought out. Chef Mori even pointed at the charcoal at the bottom of his fire and then at our plates saying “we made the plates from this fire”. This place deserves to have two Michelin stars. It delivers in authenticity that makes it so compelling. And in fact, they should probably have an episode in Chefs Table. My fiance and I feel incredibly lucky to have dined here. Make sure to plan out 3 hours for dinner! We made the mistake of scheduling an uber a bit too early and left a bit rushed. And I am so sorry to have left rushed. It was my fault to have scheduled a ride home too early. In reference to a previous negative review: if you’re looking for a Noma, with an army of staff and sous chef, this isn’t it. This restaurant is personal, authentic, and is run by only two people, the chef and his wife. They have pre planned everything to the tee. What is happening here deserves the respect of coming on time.

Yun

Google
A wonderful experience in La Buche! The chef learned cooking in France. In 2022, a husband and wife team opened this place together. They use fresh local ingredients with French cooking methods. The restaurant has kept its Michelin star for 2 years.The summer menu tastes light but full of flavor. Everything looks beautiful on the plate. This is a place worth revisiting.

Austin Gowen

Google
In one word, you could describe eating at la bûche as, “complete”. The meal, the service, the complementing drink course, and the chef’s flow were similar to a complete symphony and utterly impeccable. To say that I am considering booking a return trip to Japan just to try la bûche again isn’t an exaggeration, this meal was truly that good. Firstly, the customer service from the chef-owner’s wife gives as much warmth as the fire the food is prepared on. Kind, friendly, and generous. Too often restaurants with this level of cooking are imposingly formal and distant, but that is not the case at all here. The environment and the engagement you have being counter-side to the fire and food preparation make you feel like you’re a welcome guest in Ohara. Secondly, the preparation and skills involved to execute the series of 8 dishes seamlessly over a wood fire is insane, and I couldn’t believe it without seeing it. The French cuisine skills that chef Syohei Mori implements are combined with the local “taste of the land” in a performance that honestly made me feel at peace. I’ve had experiences at 1-, 2-, and 3-Michelin starred restaurants and the pure taste and skill I saw at la bûche blows away every other experience I have had out of the water. The only caution I would give is if you are extremely sensitive to smoke, don’t sit at the counter. But the smoke is actually very very light. Otherwise, I would encourage anyone and everyone to try what honestly may be the best restaurant of my life: la bûche. P.S. get the non-alcoholic drink pairing. The chef-owner’s wife prepares it and it tied the meal together exceptionally. She is not only an excellent curator and maitre d’ but also skillful in her own right. P.P.S, I read the one star review and that person is a joke. It CLEARLY states when you reserve that if you are late you miss out due to how the service is conducted, and all high quality restaurants operate this way. Also, as someone with virtually no Japanese fluency the chef-owner and his wife were incredibly kind and helpful to my wife and I despite us being the only non-Japanese guests.

Ivy Oland

Google
We’ve been fortunate to dine at some of the world’s best restaurants, and this is among the top dining experiences we’ve ever had. A husband and wife running this Michelin starred place in a remote feeling area not far outside of Kyoto. Absolutely worth the trip! Incredibly intimate. Menu changes daily, based on foraged and all local ingredients. Everything from the food to presentation to atmosphere and service was pure magic!

Steph Y

Google
TERRIBLE RESTAURANT. Avoid esp if you’re a tourist like us. Since there were road constructions along the way which we couldn't have known not living here, we got lost trying to drive to the restaurant. There’s no direct way to contact them if you don't speak Japanese so we contacted the hotel to let them know we will be late. The reservation policy during booking was "If we cannot contact you within 30 minutes of your reservation time, we will have to cancel your reservation, so please be sure to contact us in advance." But since the hotel contacted them we didn't think there's going to be a problem. On arrival, the staff insisted that we won’t be served the initial courses because we were late and missed them. They insisted that "Lunch 11:45-12:00 (all dishes start at 12:00)” in their policy already explained this. Despite their super long booking policy, longer than some of the best restaurants in the world that we've been to including Noma, this is not very clear. The chef and staff spent ages arguing with us when they could have just quickly served the courses we “missed” - and turns out they could, because when we insisted they brought out the dishes which were ready made from the fridge anyway. I understand it was our fault we were late (and the staff kept telling us it was all our fault, great holiday getting repeatedly shamed by these guys) but given how it was not explicitly mentioned they will cut courses out if you arrive late, plus the fact that it took the chef minutes to take things out of a fridge and pouring dressing on a salad (very haphazardly too), it’s very unaccommodating and silly that it took them more effort by insisting to follow their “rules” (which once again not very clear). End of the day, you go to a nice restaurant to have a good time and by being rigid and mean to your guests when they just sat down is probably not the way to go. The food was not bad overall, but you can tell the chef was grumpy - he glared at us then ignored us the whole time. He bid the local Japanese couple goodbye when they left but totally ghosted us when it was our turn. So petty and unprofessional. The restaurant is near the Sanzen-in temple with plenty of tourists walking by but it was just us and another local couple here for lunch. Perhaps these tourists knew better than us to avoid this spot.

Narisara N

Google
Starting with the location, located outside of Kyoto. Taking you into the mountain. Each plates are well created with local ingredients from the area and chef’s backyard. Highly recommended. Do love wine selections.