This restaurant is close to Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社). The shrine lighted up in the evening and attracted a lot of tourists. Anyway the restaurant is a very narrow street. I was asked to take off the shoes to enter the seat. There was only one customer on the counter seat, namely me, for that night, so I enjoyed the “private room” experience. It was a very young chef behind the counter to serve my set for that evening, but often he just left me alone in peace so I could just message friends. Although it was a simple 2-page print-out, the menu was very lengthy but they did great (English) explanation (writing) on the dishes.

Before everything, I got a free sake (picture not given), and then another sake in bamboo cup in the first course. I got drunk after that; I am totally useless on consuming alcohol. The first course was basically a tube of small bites. I did not even bother to listen nor read the menu description, as it was way too long. I should say that everything was nice but nothing very surprised, and also they were mostly, if not all, cold. The presentation did pop out for sure, just as you fantasied of kaiseki. Then I got a soup, the usual order of dish in kaiseki. Of course it was full of umami flavour. However, the chef made it less umami by adding some acid via citron, and the vegetable made them taste towards freshness end. Therefore I found it much more interesting. Separately, the soup was completely clear which needs many techniques to reach such clear consistency. After a sashimi, the first hot main dish was lobster. The chef actually grilled it in front of me while I had previous dishes. The final result was certainly surprised. The tail part was just cooked and tender, yet the head part was half raw, with chewy texture. Although I had to say, the flavour was exactly as I thought. Later, the chef took back the shell part and made a soup from the lobster. This was similar to Peking Duck in China, that makes a soup from the bone of the duck. The flavour followed the entire light-and-clear style of this restaurant. Yet I was not sure about the floating things in the soup, which I think is the egg from the lobster? The second main dish was shabu. Compared with Roan Kikunoi, I prefer shabu here, which are presented in a tidy way, with a few slides of abalone and vegetables. Similar to many previous soup dishes, the chef put stronger citron flavour that really stand out from umami flavour. Although it sounds strange, the liver vinegar sauce was actually very smooth and slightly thick; I enjoyed.

I would not recommend the rest of the menu as they all precisely what I expected: (1) well-presented, (2) light seasoning, (3) umami and citron flavour, and (4) humble feeling. However, the downside is also what I just described: it was precisely one will think of keisaki. This brings us to the final question for the restaurant: should they provide something more fun or characters so to compete in this fierce fine dinning business. I should voice out that they have an excellent customer service. When I left the restaurant, the chef and waitress came out and bowed to me until I was out of their view; there is a short walk until I reach a corner of the street.