la bûche
Restaurant · Kyoto ·
Wood-fired French cuisine highlighting Kyoto's seasonal produce
Wood-fired French cuisine highlighting Kyoto's seasonal produce
"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
"A restaurant in Kyoto offering traditional smoky flavors of open-fire cooking." - Annick Weber
"A French restaurant north of Kyoto run by Ohara native Chef Shohei Mori and his wife, this MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024 debut with One MICHELIN Star and a MICHELIN Green Star showcases precise wooden-fire cookery and deep local sourcing. Ingredients are tailored to the flame: watercress is lightly oiled and heated only for a moment so its flavor blooms with the oil; chicken is cooked slowly at a distance; and lean venison is taken to about 70% over the fire before being finished on a grill for depth and finesse. The kitchen uses only fruits and vegetables harvested in Ohara and game like deer or wild boar from local hunters, building each day’s menu after a morning look at the local vegetable market. Seasonality drives the cooking; a winter savoy spinach was grilled slowly at a distance from a barely lit flame for about 20 minutes, then boiled once, yielding a pleasantly fresh interior and flavorful exterior that rivaled a main dish. With improving traceability and close relationships to producers, the cuisine aims to root itself even more specifically in Ohara’s micro-terroirs, bringing new energy and interest to the area while preserving its calm, relaxing character." - Wakana Kubo
"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
"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
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