Kyoto, Japan｜ジビエ食堂

The food here was unbelievable! Seriously one of the best meals I’ve ever had. We left everything up to the owner/chef, and got a bottle of red that he recommended(a delicious California Pinot Noir for about ¥5000). The chef’s course may seem a little pricey, (about ¥7500-8500 per person), but for a gourmet meal like this, I would say totally worth it. Every dish he brought out was better than the last. Some highlights for me were the wild boar and deer, both perfectly cooked and better tasting than any other game I’d had before. And my absolute favorite was the Japanese Spanish mackerel (sawara/さわら in Japanese), which was served with fresh wasabi in a white wine sauce. It truly melted in my mouth. One of the best fish I’ve ever had. My only note for foreigners is that everything is in Japanese, so you may want to have Google translate or someone who knows a few words handy, but the owner is very friendly and will be happy to help you out. He’s an amazing chef, and clearly very passionate about the food. We couldn’t believe there wasn’t a line out the door for this place. Give it a try!

Yoshiki Fujita is an amazing cook. We discovered this place because our hotel was one block away. He is trained in Paris. We had an amazing Japanese-Western fusion meal that included venison and cheese. Everything was perfect.

It was beautiful to look at, delicious and perfect with the wine! I want to come again!