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Kyoto

Cenci

Cenci

Cenci is on even more people’s bucket lists since being selected in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. Led by a chef whose culinary talent is unquestionable and whose generosity as a person grows with each passing year, up-and-coming chefs around Japan seek to emulate his life and restaurant style. Add to the incredible flavors the chef’s connection with the ingredients and producers, initiatives to protect the environment and sustain primary industries, and respect for the artisans behind the tableware and cutlery that carry these delicious flavors to our palates, and this dining experience is bound to leave a big exclamation mark in your book of culinary memories.

Creating a space for quietude and relaxation was the motivation behind this location in the beautiful cherry blossom-lined streets of Okazaki near Heian Jingu Shrine and the Rohm Theatre Kyoto, away from the bustling central areas of Kyoto. With a mezzanine floor, the interior has plenty of space for tables and a private room. The restaurant attracted attention immediately with its interior design featuring brick walls, a high ceiling, and sturdy columns reminiscent of a Scandinavian building.

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CUISINE

Respect for the artisans

The chef’s heart and hands work in unison to further elevate exquisite produce from around Japan. Lunchtime at Cenci presents a choice of two chef’s courses containing seven savory dishes and three desserts each, but in the evening, all diners are served one chef’s degustation course of eight dishes and three desserts. The culinary journey begins with the velvety, mouth-filling flavors of Parsut prosciutto, then guides you through soup, salad, and vegetable, fish, and meat dishes, before arriving at three fruit-forward desserts. Every dish features umami-rich ingredients from that season in unique combinations with innovative seasonings for a feast that cannot be found anywhere else.

Your course may begin with an appetizer of filefish served with lacto-fermented turnip, filefish liver, a gelee of dashi stock extracted from the fish bones, and chives. A signature dish only available from September to October contains ayu sweetfish impregnated with roe. The time-consuming cooking process involves gently grilling the fish to first remove the bones before deep-frying. The fish is served with Yoshida Dairy Farm fresh cream, steamed Napa cabbage, celeriac puree, and the crisp-fried bones that were removed earlier – a delicious example of the chef’s philosophy of not wasting anything.

The soup course might feature the sumptuous flavors of native Okinawan Agu pork in homemade ravioli with Seigoin daikon in a soup made from chicken broth, kombu, and soymilk from Japanese soybeans. The gentle flavor of soymilk accentuates the pork’s umami. The chef’s incredible pasta skills continue to be on display with tagliolini in a sauce combining the innate sweetness of Seigoin turnip from Tazuru Farm with the briny sea flavors of bottarga and seaweed. The chargrilled duck breast is kept tender and succulent by first wrapping it in skin from the duck’s neck. A liver sauce, pear and bittercress puree, and cabbage salad beautifully complement its richness. Finally, for one of the three desserts, you may be treated to Apple Tarte Tatin made with tart Granny Smith apples arranged into an exquisite looking and tasting dessert served with Teiguanyin oolong tea ice cream and fresh cream.

INGREDIENTS
Cheese and whey from Yoshida Dairy Farm in Okayama Prefecture, Bon Dabon Parma ham from Gifu Prefecture, and Agu pork from Okinawa’s Takada Farm – these are some of the producers that supply Chef Sakamoto, chosen by him after visits to their sites for careful observation of their techniques and discernment of flavors. Many are so popular that they are almost impossible to obtain, but this chef never has trouble with supply because he has gained the trust of producers who know they can depend on him to maximize the flavors of the fruits of their labor. Each day, Sakamoto converses with his ingredients, checking their flavors and conceptualizing dishes that make them the star. The approach is one guests can fully appreciate through the style of his restaurant and his delectable food.

An extensive collection of primarily Italian wines can be enjoyed by the glass or bottle or in pairings. A tea pairing weaves Japanese and Chinese teas into the Italian course offering surprising new complementary flavors.

Cenci cuisine #0
Cenci cuisine #1

CHEF

Ken Sakamoto

Ken Sakamoto was born in Kyoto in 1975. Wooed by the taste of pasta made by an Italian roommate while studying in London, Sakamoto headed to Italy, where the flavors absolutely floored him. He joined the legendary Kyoto restaurant Il Pappalardo to learn the fundamentals under a flagbearer for Italian cuisine in Japan, Chef Yasuhiro Sasajima. When he left to go independent with Il Ghiottone in 2002, Sakamoto followed, supporting the restaurant during its busiest days. He was entrusted with managing the Marunouchi location, developing his capabilities in both cookery and operations, before serving as head chef at the flagship restaurant from 2005 for nine years. He went out on his own with Cenci in 2014. Selection in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants validated the philosophy Sakamoto has long pursued, with his predilection for all things natural, social consciousness, and deep awareness of his role in spreading the word about the wonderful produce and wares being made by artisans around Japan.

VISION
Chef Sakamoto has always been so stimulated by the innovative thinking and diversity of dishes produced by chefs he meets at overseas events. He sees his challenge as developing borderless cuisine using ingredients from Kyoto and around Japan injected with various flavors through the application of spices and fermentation techniques. In addition, he is fond of deconstructing and analyzing dishes he has eaten elsewhere and then recreating them with his flair.

Outside the culinary world, Sakamoto’s energy is devoted to protecting craftsmanship and ocean resources. In 2020, he joined fellow Kyoto chefs to form the Kyoto branch of “Chefs for the Blue”, an organization whose mission is the promotion of sustainable fishing to protect the oceans and preserve food cultures. Sakamoto believes that those of us fortunate enough to partake in the ocean’s gifts must first learn about how to enjoy it so that we can pass that rich culture on to many future generations. Therefore, he works to implement the group’s motto of “no overfishing, no waste” into his cuisine to spread the message far and wide.

PREMIUM PRODUCE

Countless guests have been charmed by the rich flavor and luscious texture of Bon Dabon prosciutto di Parma, made in Gifu Prefecture and served as a Cenci appetizer since opening. The prosciutto has evolved to more delectable heights with the introduction of a Berkel slicer – the Ferrari of the slicing world. Made by the only certified Parma ham maker in Japan, the same delicate salty flavor is even more enjoyable with these impossibly thin slices that begin to melt the moment they rest on your tongue. Vegetables from Kyoto’s Tazuru Noen are equally indispensable to Cenci’s cuisine. Turnips grown on the farm in Kamigamo, on the northern outskirts of Kyoto, weigh up to five kilograms each. Plump yet tender, a brief encounter with heat releases incredible sweetness from within. Showing their versatility, the turnips make their way into pasta and purees and are sometimes fermented for a delectable flavor twist.

Course

Weekday Lunch
Cenci lunch only short course
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥21,000
¥21,000
Reservation Request
Weekend Lunch/Dinner
Cenci full course menu from July, 2023
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥31,000
¥31,000
Reservation Request

Kyoto

Cenci

Cenci

PRICE
¥21,000
~
CHILD
12
& UP
LUNCH
OPEN
MIN GUESTS
1
PERSON
~
GENRE
Italian, Kyoto
ADDRESS
1F, 44-7 Shogoin Entomicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8323, Japan
OPEN
Lunch: 12PM (12:30PM LO), Dinner:6PM (7PM LO)
CLOSED
Monday and Tuesday
URL
NA
PHONE
NA

RESERVATION

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