Umenohana

We wandered into this restaurant expecting a quick, simple meal — and ended up getting something far more refined than we bargained for. We ordered a set meal and a tofu shabu-shabu, thinking it’d be straightforward. Instead, every dish that arrived felt like a small discovery. We honestly had no idea what we were doing at first, but the lovely young lady serving us, Swe, couldn’t have been kinder. She guided us through each step with so much patience that the whole thing turned into a little culinary adventure rather than an awkward guessing game. By the end, we were full, happy, and genuinely impressed. If you’ve never tried a proper tofu-focused meal before, this is exactly the place to start. Highly recommended.

Oh what an experience. It’s not just a good meal but it is truly an amazing experience. Lots of small dishes highlighting the specialties of the area. It also showcases the Kyoto area ceramics and lacquerware along with precision in presentation. Doesn’t hurt that we had amazing company to accompany the meal. A friend made the arrangement and pre selected our meal. Must say that this has to be in the top meals I’ve had. Attention to detail, pride in preparation and attentiveness in service all combine for an excellent dinner experience. Check out our dishes. Apologies for the poor photography, I was too anxious to get into those dishes.

My favourite meal in Kyoto, will definitely visit again!! Came here for a feast of tofu with beef, all the dish are delicious and flavourful even with simple ingredients. The ambience is traditional Japanese style. Love it!!

We've been here three times now and it's been a wonderful experience every time. Delicious kaiseki meal, be prepared for a feast. I would recommend getting a reservation, I don't know if they take walk-ins. It's in the basement of a shopping center, the pin on the map is correct. Enter and you will see a Starbucks on the left, take the elevator down to the basement.

Sorry to be sharing this low review but if you have only so many dining experiences on a visit to Kyoto - this was sadly not a good use of a precious dinner. 1. Service welcome etc. not great. Hostess didn’t seem very welcoming or when we left. Had to ask for water three times from server. The precision we are accustomed to in Japanese was lacking at this restaurant. We felt hurried. Dishes came out too fast. It was like they brought desert worh another dish and the wooden bill number thing all at once. They brought all the dishes to us in under and hour. my vegetarian / vegan option was 6000 vs my partner who had meat and as many dishes for a little over 3000. Odd Never shown menu options for vegan or cost options. And odd that they “sold out” and then left us. Maybe they wanted us to go. Was so odd. But then they came back and said ok they can do it. Also when we reserved it was asked and made clear one person is vegan. We also got menus in Japanese first even though I apologied in Japanese and informed them that we didn’t speak Japanese. After struggling with translation on phone - they bring us English menus. But still no vegan menu. After great dining experiences from casual to fancy this place was a miss 2. ambience in our room was dull 3. Food - fine. Lots of tofu skin /yuba (soy milk top sheet) variations. Was fine but there are many Yuba places in Kyoto Sorry to be giving it a low review. Low energy. I know the chef tried. He was the more attentive of everyone. But service was not timed well. Welcome was lacking as was leaving experience. This place is hard to find as you just go downstairs from where a Starbucks is. At the lobby area. Wish that information had been shared. This is a hard pass for us. We loved the other places we have been to - maybe it was an off night for them.

The waitresses knew a little bit English. Then we communicated by Google translate. There were more than 10 kinds small tofu dishes. The waitresses was so patience to introduce one-by-one to us. All dishes were tofu basis & mixed with fish, vegetable & others. I loved all the tastes & textures. Their chef were so amazing. Finally, we took three hours to complete all the dishes.

Incredible experience! Traditional Japanese place with 10 different types of tofu dishes. Best culinary experience we had in Japan! Waitress was very kind and friendly, food arrived so quickly and the menus are very generous and filling.

Unique restaurant serving soy/tofu dishes. Place was tastefully furnished and servers were polite. We had a bit of difficulty as we can’t speak Japanese but everything worked out in the end.

This is a chain with locations in at least Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. The Kyoto location is at the basement level of what looks to be an office building, so it's not very conspicuous. The restaurant staff at this location spoke little English so I was a bit unsure at first, but knowing they had English menus helped. The staff were friendly enough and did their best to accommodate us despite the language barrier. For three people we got two sets of the 3900 yen courses plus two a la cart items. That was just right for us. We couldn't even finish all of the yuba (vat of soy milk heated on a stove at the table to form layers of tofu skin). In fact the waitress who took our order suggested that three full sets might be too much food for us and she was right. That was very much appreciated. Everything was delicious, healthy, and elegantly presented. The set consisted mostly of different tofu/soy-based creations. A couple of dishes had fish or shrimp mixed in. Although it was mostly vegetarian it was quite filling because of the high protein content in soy. As another reviewer mentioned, every party is seated in their own dining room separated by paper sliding doors, so the ambiance was quite tranquil and private. It's a traditional restaurant so you need to take off your shoes before entering the restaurant but the tables have recessed floors so you can't sit normally. I highly recommend this place for an authentic Japanese dining experience. If you're on the fence about tofu, this might change your mind!

We stumbled onto this restaurant by accident, since it was across the street from the Hotel Monterey Kyoto. We ate here two nights in a row, since it was so good. The price is quite reasonable, considering the quality of the food and service. The dining rooms are all private and spacious. Service was excellent; the staff spoke very limited English, but they were still very helpful in explaining the various dishes and how to eat them, as well as in preparing the tableside dishes. The food was quite unique and overall excellent. This is not fine-dining, but the value is really excellent. If you stay at the Monterey, you owe it to yourself to try this restaurant at least once.

Unique experience in unique setting. Yuba style (tofu skin - Google it) 8+ "course" (courses are tiny) dinner kyoryori style. Delicious, but not cheap ($18900 yen for 3). Accommodated my vegetarian wife very well. Experience/food probably worth the cost.

This is the Mecca of tofu. So many ways, styles and types all made with water from Fushimi-Ku. The best of Kyoto. They have plenty of fried food and Waygu beef for the meat eaters in The party. The ambience of the restaurant is unique and very pretty. Be brave you seekers of protein