Kikunoi Honten

As expected with a 3 Michelin star place, the whole experience was top notch. Japanese hospitality at its best. The restaurant is set in a home and can imagine how it was like in the olden days.
Food was impeccable and excellent. Our wait staff was also very attentive, although language was a slight barrier.

A quintessential Kyoto kaiseki experience.
Service, food, and atmosphere are all outstanding. Sometimes considered one of the more conservative kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto, Kikunoi’s menus actually tend to be full of clever innovations and modern touches.
The service is gracious and attentive. The meal never feels rushed, and the private rooms with garden views are among the best in the city.
I recommend going for lunch since it can be a long meal and being able to walk around Higashiyama afterwards can be a nice way to wind down after such an elaborate meal.

For a three star Michelin restaurant, this place had a lot of hype. We had high expectations going in and overall left with mixed feelings.

Service- phenomenal. Period. The private rooms are one of a kind and the wait staff are incredibly professional and almost too respectful (lots of bowing and kowtowing, but that might be more of a cultural discrepancy). It’s a business casual dress code and shoes off in the restaurant. The overall experience for lunch takes 2.5 hours for 10 courses which is on par with the course of fine dining.

Food- this is a mixed bag. Overall, I think the meals definitely challenged and expanded my palate. There were a lot of foods I’ve previously never tried and a lot of textures I personally don’t really like (like the slimy, okra like feeling) the courses all had great presentation but only 3-4 dishes I would eat again. The dishes were certainly original and had a flair of “trying to be unique.” But sometimes pushes past my comfort zone. The portion sizes, dare I say we’re almost too big for 10 courses.

Overall- would recommend only if you have an adventurous palate and time on your hands.