Kyo Kaiseki Kichisen (京懐石 吉泉) Kyoto

Awards

MICHELIN Guide

Two stars restaurant, 2026

All Michelin stars in Kyoto All Michelin stars in Japan All 2 stars Michelin in Kyoto All 2 stars Michelin in Japan

OAD

Japanese Restaurants 2026, 195

All OAD Japanese in Kyoto All OAD Japanese in Japan

Tabelog

2026 Bronze

All Tabelog in Kyoto All Tabelog in Japan All Tabelog Bronze in Kyoto All Tabelog Bronze in Japan

Restaurant Ranking

Restaurant Ranking 2024, #1339, PRO #17.17, USER #15.33

All Restaurant Ranking in Kyoto All Restaurant Ranking in Japan

Ratings from the web

Tabelog

3.88

Chef

Yoshimi Tanikawa

Cuisine

Japanese Cuisine

• 2026
• 2018
• 2017

8 / 10

Dinner at Kyo Kaiseki Kichisen (京懐石 吉泉)

on 01 May 2026

by sakus aku923

This was the last meal of my trip to Kyoto.When in Kyoto, I definitely wanted to try Japanese cuisine.The grilled fish was delicious, but I forgot the name of the fish. I think it was Mutsu?Surprisingly, we were served sashimi twice, and the second serving of tuna was incredibly fresh and melted in my mouth.I was talking about wanting sushi made with this tuna, and to my delight, it actually came out!The bamboo shoots in the Wakaduke were tasty, and the seaweed was wonderfully tender.The standout... More

This was the last meal of my trip to Kyoto.When in Kyoto, I definitely wanted to try Japanese cuisine.The grilled fish was delicious, but I forgot the name of the fish. I think it was Mutsu?Surprisingly, we were served sashimi twice, and the second serving of tuna was incredibly fresh and melted in my mouth.I was talking about wanting sushi made with this tuna, and to my delight, it actually came out!The bamboo shoots in the Wakaduke were tasty, and the seaweed was wonderfully tender.The standout dish was the sea bream rice; the bream was so tender and had a fantastic texture, making it incredibly delicious.I wanted to have a second helping, but I was too full to do so.It seems like a great place for dinner as well. Less

7 / 10

Lunch at Kichisen (京懐石 吉泉)

on 23 Dec 2018

by Robin J

Very minimalistic, subtle flavours. The meal started off very nicely, but for some dishes such as plain soba noodles there are limits to how exciting they can be. For the desserts the subtle style worked very well.

9 / 10

Lunch at Kichisen (京懐石 吉泉)

on 31 Jul 2018

by Gerhard Huber

The Master of dahsi is at it again. Arguably one of the best food presentation I have encountered in my travels. A so tasty!

9 / 10

Dinner at Kichisen (京懐石 吉泉)

on 14 May 2018

by Gerhard Huber

- Yoshimi Tanigawa

Tanigawa-san, the owner of Kichisen gets sometimes criticised by dinners from the West that he caters too much to them.

Nothing could be more wrong. A kaiseki meal is derived from the traditional tea ceremony and thus has to be not what the Chef wants it to be, but what the Chef thinks what the guest wants it to be. This is not playing to an audience but a deeply cultural compass which comes from studying besides transitional cuisine from Kyoto, Zen, poetry, flower arrangement... More

- Yoshimi Tanigawa

Tanigawa-san, the owner of Kichisen gets sometimes criticised by dinners from the West that he caters too much to them.

Nothing could be more wrong. A kaiseki meal is derived from the traditional tea ceremony and thus has to be not what the Chef wants it to be, but what the Chef thinks what the guest wants it to be. This is not playing to an audience but a deeply cultural compass which comes from studying besides transitional cuisine from Kyoto, Zen, poetry, flower arrangement and fragrances.
Very rarely one can get a dashi as light and fragrant while at the same time being very concentrated. His rice dishes which normally conclude the meal are equally balanced creations of flavour of the toppings and texture of the rice.

For me this is the epitome of Kyoto kaiseki.
Less

9 / 10

Dinner at Kichisen

Top list

on 24 Apr 2017

by Gerhard Huber