Kyoto
Gion Yamagishi
祇園やまぎし
Finest Japanese cuisine in the heart of Gion without all the formalities. Instead of sitting through the full experience of a traditional kaiseki meal, Gion Yamagishi offers an impressive a la carte menu of delicacies from salt-grilled tilefish to suppon hot pot. For top restaurateur Takahiro Yamagishi, also the owner chef of Tominokoji Yamagishi, this is his latest endeavor to create a new dining style that is truly about satisfying the guests.
Surrounded by picturesque teahouses and geisha houses, Gion Yamagishi is located in a stone-paved alley on the south side of Gion. At night, lanterns light up in front of the townhouses, creating a magical atmosphere as you walk around the historic district.
Once you step through the lattice sliding door of the restaurant, you will enter a quiet space, with a beautiful long wooden counter and a courtyard garden. A black tray is placed neatly in front of each chair. The folded napkin has a picture of a rabbi on it, drawn by the owner himself. Every detail is designed to reflect a sense of appreciation to the guests.
For Takahiro Yamagishi, Gion Yamagishi is his latest endeavor to provide a new culinary experience in Kyoto. A teacher of multiple Japanese traditions and a former sushi chef, he has proven his talent as a restaurateur with the success of Michelin-starred Tominokoji Yamagishi. He also owns the hot pot restaurant Nijo Yamagishi, izakaya-style Nominokoji Yamagishi and Yakiniku Yamachan, a popular wagyu BBQ restaurant.
“We live in an era where food is changing all the time,” he says. “Japanese cuisine is not limited to traditional kaiseki, where you have to sit through a long set menu. We will continue to evolve to meet the needs of our customers.”
His concept behind Gion Yamagishi is to offer the taste of Tominokoji Yamagishi in a less formal setting. The lunch menu is casual but high quality, ranging from chirashizushi bowls and udon noodles.
For dinner, guests get to enjoy 3 seasonal omakase courses to start, followed by courses of their choice selected from an extensive la carte menu of 50 dishes. This is the perfect way to savor the best seasonal tastes offered by the restaurant while crafting the rest of the meal to your own liking.
“It is a cultural experience to enjoy a meal at the center of Gion,” Yamagishi explains, “I was lucky enough to be able to open a store in this special neighborhood, thanks to all the people and relationships that have helped make it happen.”
As the head chef, Yamagishi handpicked Makoto Hinenoya, who comes with excellent experience from his years at top restaurants, Tankuma Kitamise Honten and Tsujitome. Hineyona’s wide range of specialities such as charcoal grills and suppon (soft shell turtle) creates a dynamic menu of seasonal flavors.
CUISINE
"We live in an era where food is changing all the time"
At Gion Yamagishi, guests first enjoy omakase courses, followed by the guest’s own selection from the a la carte menu. You are spoiled for choice with an extensive menu of more than 50 dishes, ranging from rib roast, tempura, fried oysters and suppon hot pot. Don’t forget to try the “sea urchin dog”, the signature dish from the sister restaurant Yakiniku Yamachan, where they wrap sea urchin, raw Japanese beef and rice in a maki roll.
From the grill menu, salt-grilled guji (tilefish) is a Kyoto speciality. The soft filets are cooked to perfection on the open grill, accompanied with Manganji chili peppers and pickled ginger. Yuan-yaki chicken is another delicious grilled dish, where the marinated meat is grilled slowly over hot charcoal until the skin is crisp. The inside is moist and juicy.
Suppon hot pot is a chef signature. Packed with umami, the meat of the turtle, homemade tofu, and baked rice cakes are cooked in the flavorful stock. Every spoonful warms your body.
Roast beef udon is a delicious surprise. Homemade roast beef is served on a bowl of thick somen noodles and topped with refreshing mizuna leaves and slow cooked egg. The silky noodles and soft meat create a great flavor together.
Sea bream chazuke is a perfect warm dish to wrap up your tasty meal. Filets of sea bream are marinated in sesame sauce and served over rice. Pour the broth made from grilled sea bream bones, bonito, and kombu seaweed, and sprinkle seaweed, roasted sesame seeds, and wasabi before you tuck in.
The black sesame tofu is one of their popular desserts. Made with black sesame and tapioca, the tofu is soft and silky. Sprinkled with plenty of usucha and koicha green tea powder for an aromatic Japanese flavor.
Also take a moment to enjoy the exquisite Japanese pottery and kitchenware used throughout the meal. The grill and the donabe pot used to cook the rice are custom made by Rokunabe in Shiga Prefecture.
INGREDIENTS
Leveraging the established network of suppliers of its sister restaurants, Gion Yamagishi uses only the highest-quality ingredients. The fish, chicken, and vegetables come from the same suppliers as Michelin-star Tominokoji Yamagishi, while the wagyu beef is sourced from the same vendor as Yakiniku Yamachan.
What also deserves a special mention is the selection of Japanese sake. In addition to popular local sake, they stock rare vintages such as No. 6 from Aramasa Sake Brewery. With sake becoming increasingly popular with international guests, the restaurant is committed to offering a diverse variety.
CHEF
Makoto Hinenoya
He later worked for Tsujitome to learn about the world of cha-kaiseki, a kaiseki style that is served in the context of a traditional tea ceremony. He took on a head chef role at a kaiseki restaurant in Gion that specializes in yuba cuisine before joining the Yamagishi Group in 2022.
He worked with the team at Tominokoji Yamagishi, where he deepened his knowledge about various aspects of the restaurant business such as purchasing and customer service. He is excited about his new role at Gion Yamagishi where he hopes to make the most of his past experience.
“I’m looking forward to hearing first hand what our guests think about my cuisine,” he says. “I want to make sure I can meet their expectations and respond to all their requests.”
VISION
“We want to break the norm that restaurants in Gion have to be all so formal,” the chef explains. “We want Gion Yamagishi to be a relaxing and friendly place where people can stop by and enjoy Kyoto’s culture and traditions.”
SAKE
The restaurant’s cellar is stocked with top-class wine, champagne and sake. Its sake selection is especially impressive, stocking more than 40 different vintages from all over the country. You may be delighted to find names like Juyondai and Kokuryu, which are hard to come by.
Take the Jikon brand for example, you can find your favorite from six different varieties ranging from Junmai Ginjo to unpasteurized sake. Make sure to sample all three vintages of Aramasa Sake Brewery's No. 6, which is said to be out of stock in most places. Juyondai Tatsuno Otoshiko Junmai Daiginjo is another special bottle that is hard to find even at sake specialty stores.
Course
- The price includes our booking fee of ￥8,000
- The price includes our booking fee of ￥8,000
- The price includes our booking fee of ￥8,000
- The price includes our booking fee of ￥8,000
Kyoto
Gion Yamagishi
祇園やまぎし
- GENRE
- Kaiseki, Gion
- ADDRESS
-
1F, 570ー154 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0074, Japan
- OPEN
- Lunch:12PM-2PM (LO), Dinner: 6PM-10PM (LO)
- CLOSED
- Wednesday
- URL
- NA
- PHONE
- NA
