Tyler Cooney
Google
A small omakase service with one seating a time. The bar sits right in front of the kitchen; unlike many counter service experiences, there are no staff lurking behind you to address your needs. Everything, and everyone, is in front of you, cooking, playing, pouring drinks, cleaning dishes. It’s a team affair, run by Mr. Yomemura himself, calmly leading his team through each course, subtlety watching the processes and experiences of each guest.
There’s a formality to the restaurant, of course, living up to a 2 Michelins star standard, but there also underlays a casualness: pastel cat and dog electric outlet plugs, staff winks and chuckles to each other, Yonemura’s worn blue jeans. The clientele in turn takes up the vibe, in an appreciative, high taste, yet relaxed posture. Drinks are free flowing through a well-curated wine list, and nobody once gets up, not even to use the bathroom, in fear of missing a dish (not that we’d be skewered if we did need to relieve ourselves).
As for the dishes themselves, perhaps a bit reserved for a 2 star expectation, but as generous for the price point as any highly rated menu. Wagyu, uni, turtle, fresh Italian black truffle, freely flowing alongside succulent Kyoto produce at an impressively low price point for the ingredients. This is ostensibly French-Japanese fusion, but with Italian and even New World influences. A razor clam gratin has a surprise of fusilli pasta transitioning into a mac-and-cheese. A tartare is created with avocado that somehow becomes a singular flavor with the Uni topping. A squid ink risotto gets topped with a quail egg emulsion. It’s as open to world cuisine as you can get while still sourcing the meat and seafood from an exclusively Japanese tableau.
Highlights are the fresh tomato with scallop, dueling wagyu “pies,” turtle soup broth, and passion fruit sorbet. Every dish makes sense, even when simple, nothing sacrificed in terms of freshness or unwanted experimentation. Yonemura brings decades of experience into a Gion charm, providing a taste from the heart to locals and foreigners alike.
At the end of the service, it began to rain. I joked to my wife that maybe the restaurant would have some umbrellas to take home since we did not bring any. Nearly second layer, Yonemura walked out with a handful of umbrellas. When we left, it had stopped, but he had to come outside to check for himself that we would not need one of his protectors. The kind of genuine care that you can’t fake, that earns you world renown.
