Takezaki

Takezaki was an absolute highlight of our trip to Kyoto. It’s a intimate, elevated izakaya with only one chef, who is also the owner and who personally prepared and served each dish for us. He is incredibly talented, attentive, and made my birthday celebration feel truly special. We enjoyed a wonderful variety of dishes paired with excellent sake, each served in unique plates and cups that added to the experience. And each dish somehow managed to be even better than the previous one. After dinner, we had a lovely conversation with the chef-owner himself, a kind, thoughtful man whose passion for his craft shines through in every detail. This was more than just a meal, it was a memorable experience we’ll treasure.

We had a phenomenal kaiseki birthday dinner at Takezaki. The chef was lovely. He spoke almost no English but used google translate to tell us about each dish he made right in front of us and to answer any questions we had. He was so welcoming and stood at the front door as we were leaving waving good bye to us. It’s such a unique and intimate experience, unlike anything you would get outside of Japan. The food we had was out of the world - every dish was special, exceptionally fresh and seasonal. The sake pairings were on point. Every sake we had was delicious. I can’t recommend this restaurant enough. The chef cares so much about the food he’s serving, the creativity and craft of his cooking. He was just added to the Michelin guide and was very proud to show us as we were finishing up dinner but even more so was proud to highlight the fact that Kyoto had so many restaurants named. It’s expensive but well worth it and for the quality you could definitely pay much more.

Easily one of the best dining experiences of my life. Every dish at Takezaki is crafted with care and precision in an intimate tranquil atmosphere. Definitely the culinary highlight of our trip to Kyoto!

What an incredible experience! I had the good fortune of having omakase and every dish was so tasty and unique. Really an unbelievable meal. Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time.

We had the best meal from our Japan trip at Takezaki. We were able to set up reservation with the owner on Instagram. He even helped accommodating our 2 year old son with kids set up with alternative kid friendly dishes. Aside from all of his kindness, the entire dinning experience was amazing! Seasonal ingredients pairing with incredible selections of sake. It was a one man show, a 3 hour performance of artisan craftsmanship. We enjoyed every minute of it! Highly recommended!

We love it! My fav was the crab, so so fresh! And we love how he paid attention to every little detail of each dish, the touch of yuzu aroma to start each dish is amazing. All the veggies were perfectly cooked. We’ll def come back here next time we’re in Kyoto. Although chef does not speak English, he went out of his way to communicate with us using google translate to explain about the food and even to give us recommendations for events going on in Kyoto. Thank you Takezaki-san!

There are times in one’s life that you experience something incredible. This is one of them. The food, presentation, pairing and the way it’s shared is simply outstanding. My family and I travel the world and every time we seek out a food experience since food is something to treasure. We’ve experienced so many Michelin restaurants and this one is part of the top five. Absolutely out of this world. I have no words to describe this end to end. From when we entered to when we left.

Amazing food! Truly a great experience for anyone looking for unique Kyoto food. The chef was also incredibly kind and even gave us an umbrella for the rain after our meal.