Monk

We were lucky enough to sit at the counter right in front of the chef himself. The simplicity of the cooking and seasoning allowed the individual seasonal vegetables to shine through. We also had the pleasure of having a rather uncommon beef dish. The slowly dried tomato that accompanied the beef was so sweet and juicy, surreal! Other special dishes were the hawk's wing mushroom pizza, yellowtail sashimi on cucumber salad, and the panna cotta with figs. The menu changes almost every night, so you can have a uniquely different experience every time.

Honestly you guys can gather from the photos on here, it’s a nice ambiance and vibey place, but trust me, as a foodie, this place is a letdown. We booked months advance because apparently seating is limited and always two months booked ahead. Trying for exclusivity, anyone? We were seated and as you all can see on these reviews, everyone got to take photos of the chef making the food. However he came to our table and told one of our party, to stop taking pictures and only take pictures of the food when it comes out. But wait, there’s more. He asked everyone their drink order and three of us said water. He said everyone at each table must order a drink. That was the first impression that gave me pretentious vibes. What place forces you to order drinks? Sounds like a cash grab to me. Besides that, each meal was designed as if he took leaves and branches from outside his restaurant and threw it on the plate. The food was bland and flavorless, not to mention not filling, and believe me, I’ve been to amazing omakase restaurants and this is not one of them. The staff is nice don’t get me wrong, but food lacked skill for sure. Not sure if it lives up to everyone’s expectation as they say. We also went very recently, as in this past October to dine and it was a full house. The one thing we should’ve trusted is the place is FULL of tourists and no locals. That will tell you already how “good” the place is. Overall disappointed by not only the price charged, but the quality. The bill will come out as a total price for the table, on a small sliver of paper, no itemized receipt. So really, we have to just trust them.

Simple authentic cooking with the wood fired oven. There are no thrills. The setting is intimate. The food is simple and done well. I wish they served a full pizza each at the end of the course but I understand why they choose not to. They cater for any dietary restrictions including my wife who is vegetarian and pregnant. It is a good restaurant and for those looking for a fine dining experience head down!

Many of our guests often ask us to make a reservation at Monk, and I was curious why it’s so popular, so I went to try it myself. I made the reservation online exactly two months before my desired date, at noon Japanese Standard Time. In conclusion, I think it’s definitely worth going. However, if you want to eat a lot of meat or fish, you may find it a bit lacking. The dishes focus on bringing out the natural flavors of the ingredients, especially vegetables, so it’s best appreciated by people who can enjoy subtle, delicate tastes. Looking at photos, each plate may seem small, but since the meal takes about two hours, you actually end up quite full. One slightly disappointing point was that the main pizza at the end was shared between two people, instead of each person getting their own.

Delicious seasonal vegetables and wood-fired pizza. We also had excellent tuna and mackerel. The staff were friendly, very accommodating of my wife’s dairy allergy, and the counter seating gave us a great view of the chefs preparing our meal.

I enjoyed the experience of eating at Monk. The ambiance is incredible and the service was friendly and well-orchestrated. The food is presented beautifully and the team was laser-focused. The pizza dough is naturally fermented, which added complexity to its flavor and it had a pleasant chew. The other courses were nice, but a bit underwhelming with regard to seasoning and/or acidity. I would recommend eating here for the overall experience, ambiance and the chef and team’s attentiveness.

Very unique experience and atmosphere! Everything was curated with careful detail that left us amazed. It was worth it to sit at the counter and watch the chefs. We booked our reservation in advance - a must do! More than just a pizza spot, the wood fire oven is featured in every aspect of the meal!

Delectable. The service, the experience and the flavors. Everything was seasoned to perfection, with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Roasted vegetables blew our minds & the pizzas were unreal. We had a surprise steak course that was perfectly prepared. Only critique is that the menu would benefit from a deeper wine list, or even a more intentional wine/pairing option, as we felt let down by the reds on offer (both quite sweet, and just didn’t stand up to the amazing food on offer). Whisky was delicious, no cocktails. Most others in the bar were having beer.

My favorite restaurant in the whole world! I've always been a pizza lover but Chef Imai takes it to another level entirely. You begin with a simple appetizer of his pizza dough and end with a pizza of your choice. Each and every food item he serves is cooked by him and has been carefully sourced locally or personally picked by Chef Imai. My entire group was amazed by the quality and flavors of each course. Some of the memorable items were the roasted edamame on the branch, roasted tomato, seared bonito, and fig panna cotta. But star of the show was definitely the pizza dough! Nothing beats the pizza dough flavor and texture. It's even better than Italy and I dream of dining here again. My group of 6 was so lucky to get a reservation when the site was down and we had the entire half of the restaurant to ourselves. Chef Imai brought out each dish himself and also signed a few copies of his book for us. Dining here was the perfect ending of my trip to my favorite city in Japan. This review was made in connection with a Toast promotion.

Years ago I walked by this place on Philosopher's Path in Kyoto, and wondered if it was a restaurant or a local hosting a dinner party. It had a distinct and memorable vibe. Fast forward 7 years and I'm watching Chef's Table on Netflix and was delighted to have my answer. Reservations are tough but if you love special, real experiences, it's worth the effort. After a week of eating out while traveling through Japan, dining at Monk felt like comfort food. Real. Exquisite in the simplicity. Beautifully executed. Chef Yoshihiro is a talented and very humble man. We're delighted to have experienced his talent on this trip to Kyoto.

Amazing dinner. Incredibly well-planned and executed. Service was fantastic. Ambiance amazing on the Philosophers Path. Don't believe the naysayers. It was fantastic from start to finish! The pictures are completely out of order

I watched the series and read the mixed reviews. I had three simple expectations. 1. Perfectly roasted vegetables with light sauces that will still let the vegetables shine. 2. Rustic and simple. 3. Incredible pizza dough. All three of my expectations were met. It was a fun experience. The staff was very accommodating to my wine requests. The pizza alone was incredible. Tons of food, so come hungry. Also, I didn't even know I liked beets, until today.

This is a gem of a restaurant in Kyoto. Situated along a tiny street of homes outside the main city, Monk delivers vegetable forward eclectic cuisine with a focus on the wood burning oven. The pizza is spectacular. They don't have a wine list. Rather they match your taste with what they're opening that day. Service is great. A must when in Kyoto. Plan ahead. You'll need a Resy.

This is a must if you are in Kyoto. We got our reservation two months in advance when they went live and grabbed some counter seats. A truly memorable meal with a great and friendly chef and staff. I could go on for days about how great this place is, you just need to go and experience it firsthand.

It is appropriate that the Japanese word for complain is Monk-u because that is what you will do when you leave, overcharged, full of bread and burnt vegetables after hours of waiting for your food. It's the kind of place people assume is good because of something they saw on the internet. But inasmuch as if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, if you have a pizza oven, that's the extent of your repertoire. It was a joke. We were served dried up vegetables that we chewed like jerky. The first pizza was meh and didn't improve after serial courses of the same thing. THE SAME THING! You couldn't even cut through some of the food. The last straw was that there was dirt on the mushrooms--that manure-y bitter taste. I get that you might brush mushrooms instead of washing them but you need to do it thoroughly. Service was absurdly slow and clumsy. I couldn't believe someone recommended this place to us. It was the stupidest experience I've had in a long time. (It turned out that they'd just watched the tv show.) Winelist was meh, but you kept drinking because there was nothing else to do. It was excurciatingly awkward, boring and unending. It was not just us--a party of six (seated at the farmhouse table) alongside us was laughing in an ironic way because the meal was such a joke. The courses took forever and everyone looked at each other when each course arrived as if to say, "This is really what we waited for?" The downstairs dining room was full of tourists. It is NOT as some have befuddlingly compared here, a KAISEKI meal. Kyoto is full of excellent restaurants, many of which are well, well under the tab you'll pay for the menu at Monk--some are exquisite, some are simple but well executed. Do not waste your time, your money or your opportunities at this place. There is nothing to redeem an overpriced, poorly executed, unimaginative meal of pizza dough and dried vegetables. I imagine the place is geared toward tourists who visit the city, eat there once and think maybe the place had an off night. It has never been good.

Food Art. This is a place you go to experience a whole host of food items and flavors that one would not normally put together. A very attentive staff that is well trained by the owner who also takes great strides to serve his customers with a divine meal. I don't see how you can go wrong here. I found this place on a whim and was fortunately able to get a reservation with one days notice. Enjoy!

We had an upcoming trip to Japan and one of our destinations was Kyoto. After watching the Netflix series we attempted to make resys at Monk. We were able to score one. We were all excited for the experience but felt there were highs and lows...more lows imo. Let me start by saying the chefs pizza dough is on point and ridiculously good. If you get one thing in this experience it is that the pizza crust is perfected. Things we enjoyed: - The starter which is an intro to his pizza dough along with a soup. It was a pureed sweet onion soup served cold which was a great compliment to the pizza crust - Semi dried tomato. Best tomato I've ever eaten. - margherita pizza - pork ragout pizza - loquat dessert - had many flavor profiles Everything else was too simple. There were 2 fish dishes. The bonito tataki had a nice smoke flavor but it was ordinary. Cucumber that accompanied it was bland n plain. The seabass with carrot was also just plain and tasted like it was just steamed n charred. Roasted vegetables tasted like just that. One of the pizza we picked had the baby silver fish and although it was different the flavor profile was meh. If you are just into just tasting just how fresh ingredients are prepped then this may be the place for you. It's essentially earthy imo. Don't come expecting any culinary magic.... Although the pizza crust is insanely good. 2.5 stars.

I learned a new Japanese word yesterday: すごい. It means 'amazing' which is how I would describe Monk. The Yelp listing incorrectly pins this place as "Pizza" but it is more like a modern spin on the traditional kaiseki dinner from an up-and-coming master chef who uses a pizza oven for each of the 7 courses. I found out about this place after reading the WSJ May 28, 2018 article (search it up). If you are coming to Kyoto, have your hotel book you into this cozy, intimate space that only seats 14 - it is well worth the cost and the trek. PRO TIP: They only accept reservations 2 months out - so have them book EXACTLY at the 2-month mark so you get a counter seat to watch the magic happen. 7 courses at ¥7000.

A real pleasure to eat at Monk. Everything thing we tasted was of superb quality. If we lived in Kyoto, this would be a restaurant we would visit again and again. Wonderful cocktails. Never had a better mojito in my life. Each dish was creative, delicious, and made with the freshest possible ingredients. The special pizza made with Japanese flour would totally win over an Italian style pizza any day! Monk might be the best restaurant we have ever eaten at and we live in NYC, where there are a lot of fantastic options, so that says a lot. Couldn't recommend more! We will be following Monk to watch it flourish. What a hidden gem!

Stunning! Delicate flavor explosion. The food is too varied to list and the menu changes all the time. Most of the dishes are roasted, baked or charred in an Italian wood burning oven - sunchokes almost blackened, sliced delicately and sprinkled with course salt. Striped Benito drizzled with olive oil and beets sliced so thin you can see light through them. Listing the ingredients and the dishes don't do it justice. You have to experience it, watch the chef move around the kitchen in that certain rhythm that chefs have and last but not least, taste his art. That's what this is - art. Put it in your mouth and enjoy.

Monk's dining experience is one that imprints its guests in such a way that it becomes the new standard of what you will measure your special meals against. From the walk along the Philosopher's Walk to reach the restaurant to the enchanting layout of the open kitchen, you will feel you entered a different space and time when you sit at your seat. The progression of the coursed meal and its ingredients reveal themselves at a poetic pace that simulates the experience of foraging in Japan. I absolutely love it here.

This place is amazing. Every course was beautiful and delicious. The fresh local vegetables were outstanding and the wine/sake selection kicked ass. The pizza is great but be prepared for a meal that is much much more than just pizza.

More than pizza, more than local, culled flavors and dishes, an experience. If you can get a reservation, take a couple of hours and go.

Incredible dining experience. Small, intimidate setting in a beautiful part of Kyoto. Chef Yoshihiro was a delight, and made us feel completely at home. The fresh grilled vegetables, fish and pizzas were delicious and the price points were more than reasonable. Only negative was the wine selection was hit or miss, but otherwise the experience was perfect. Would highly recommend!

Excellent food and the chef is very friendly. One of the highlights of our time in Kyoto.