Kohaku

Not sure what to order first? Start with an assortment of obanzai, Kyoto-style home cooking. Choose a selection of 3 or 5 dishes, then sample a few flavours as you decide what to try next. One diner who enjoyed the 5-dish selection particularly liked the simmered daikon with minced meat. It is a good way to sample familiar obanzai, such as simmered vegetables and vegetables dressed with sesame, a little at a time.

For another dish, consider nama-fu dengaku: grilled wheat gluten served with miso. A traveller singled it out as a memorable order, and also enjoyed chicken tenderloin with chopped wasabi as a pairing for sake. Both are on the menu. Yuba toro-taku is another option; one diner remarked on its layers of yuba and the pleasure of eating it with wasabi. Some guests order a regular portion, while a solo diner reported choosing half-size dishes. That can make it easier to try several things on your own, with portion sizes to consider as you order.

Kyoto sake offers one way to round out the meal. The menu includes Joyo Honjozo Ōkarakuchi and Tomio Junmai Ginjo, among other options, as well as a shochu highball with Manganji pepper. One guest tried a Manganji pepper sour and enjoyed the unexpected heat on the finish.

Kohaku is on Minamigurumacho, south of Sanjo on Kawaramachi Street. It has counter seating and private rooms. One diner mentioned watching the cooking from the counter; the setting suits a solo evening of sampling several dishes or a meal shared with company. Reservations are available, and dinner service starts at 17:00.