Kinobu

10/10! Kinobu was a great experience in terms of food, service and atmosphere! The entrance is well located on the map, although the entrance can be a bit hard to find (it does not say «Kinobu» on the front. Check the photos of the entrance. The receiption was amazing as several staff members receive you. A few wearing beautiful kimonos. We got our own private room, which we loved and totally got a superb fine Japanese dining experience. We had the lunch menu and paid a bit more than 20k yen for 4 people (ordering a few drinks as well) .The food is of ingredients of high quality, and comes with timely with the server, whom were polite and very kind. We were lucky to have a few in our group that could speak a bit Japanese. The server did however try her best to explain in English when we could not understand which ingredients the dishes were made of 🙈 The only downside is that it might be a bit difficult to reserve as you have to do it through phone & be lucky to have the recipient to speak a bit of English if you cannot speak Japanese. However, it is not something a little googling «Make a reservation in Japanese» can’t solve! All in all, Kinobu really deserves their Michelin star and I would definitely recommend going here.

Best meal I've ever had in Japan. Service was amazing and food is top notch. I will go again in a heartbeat. We got the keiseki meal for about $150usd per person. Involved many courses. Their menu changes often but you can always expect food to be fresh and plated beautiful. We had a private room for four. Everything was perfect. It's a must have experience in japan

Michelin quality food and set menu. Every dish was unforgettable and unique. Adheres to seasonal foods and Kaiseki menu. The waitresses all wear kimono provide excellent service with fantastic food!

With so many amazing places to eat in Kyoto I would not recommend Kinobu. Our reservation was initially made by our hotel concierge for 12.30, pushed back on our request to 13.30 - and accepted by the restaurant. We arrived early at 13.10. The lady who served us was kind and hospitable. However, our meal was extremely rushed. At one point, we were still eating our sushi when our stew arrived, and we were still eating our stew when our barracuda arrived. We had three courses on the table at the same time. I do not think this is acceptable at any restaurant, but certainly not one with a Michelin star. We asked our server if we could have five minutes before the next course. Very soon after, our next course arrived. There was no time to sit and enjoy and let our food settle before we were required to eat the next course. We then asked our server again for a 10 minute break. This was quite awkward because she then told us that the kitchen closes at 15.00. We did not come to a ramen restaurant to eat quickly and leave. If there was not enough time for us to enjoy our menu, we should have been told at the time when we booked. Instead we felt very rushed, were not able to enjoy our food, and felt pressurised to leave the restaurant soon after we had finished. In fact, we were almost chased out! This was not the private dining Michelin meal that we had been hoping to enjoy. There were some other issues:- - there was very limited explanation of the dishes, just the main ingredients. When eating at a Michelin restaurant where people from all over the world come, I thought perhaps we could have received an English menu with some more detailed explanation of the food we were eating, even if run from Google translate - we received one dish of barracuda with some lotus root and sweet potato. The barracuda lacked flavour and was dry and not pleasant to eat - At the end when we received the bill, there were taxes, 15% service and another item in addition to pay. This was also not clear when we booked, or on the website Overall, we felt as though we paid more than expected (over JPY 25,000 per person with one drink each) for an experience that was very disappointing. When raising the above directly with the restaurant they refused to make amends and blamed our experience on the hotel concierge for not checking the kitchen opening times - a very sad lack of accountability and care over customer feedback.

Really good value kaiseki. We got a lot for a set and ended with a fantastic dessert combination. Service was great and everyone gets a private room.

Upscale dining with traditional Kyoto style cuisine. Th whole place gives of a very traditional ryokan feel.

Tried the set menu. The whole process takes two hours. I feel that I am experiencing a great performance, not just having a meal.

Incredibly intricate and beautiful food served in a private room by a team of very lovely and professional staff.