Dinner at Oku Restaurant Gion District, Kyoto

Oku Restaurant was where we had dinner in the Gion District of Kyoto Japan earlier this year. Gion is one of the most atmospheric places in Kyoto, especially at night. The old wooden houses and narrow alleys make it seem like a scene out of an old TV series Samurai Shintaro. We could imagine ninjas running on the roofs of these low buildings.

The area may be interesting but finding a suitable place for dinner in Gion can be challenging. Most of the places are windowless. Sometimes they display short descriptions and menus, but usually only in Japanese language and prices are higher than what we would like them to be. Dinner courses are usually upwards of 15,000 yen per person.

We were therefore delighted to stumble upon the Oku restaurant in Gion, Kyoto. There was a display in English with pictures and the prices were affordable. But we also hesitated – was it a tourist trap as it looked too good to be true.

Oku Restaurant, Gion Kyoto

We subsequently discovered from reading an article Kyoto on a Budget that Oku is related to the Miyamasou ryokan, “one of Japan’s great dining destinations”. It is located in the Miyama mountains, a 50 minute drive from central Kyoto. In 2008, the chef opened Oku, first as a retail outlet for lacquerware and ceramics and later as a cafe to showcase their products.

There were a few choices of menu available. We picked the most affordable one – the 6,000 yen UME course. Here are pictures of the OKU dinner menus.

We had some beer and sake to with our meal. They were priced at usual restaurant prices in Kyoto.

The UME menu was a fish-centric course dinner. A couple of appetisers started the ball rolling.

Next were two sets of top quality sashimi sea bream followed by yellow tail. They looked gorgeously translucent and fresh. The taste was exquisite.

Next were a couple of cooked fish dishes miso grilled cod fish (above picture) and yellowtail and crab hotpot (picture below). The cod was pretty good. The hotpot was exceptionally tasty. Cooked with daikon, gingko nuts and taro, the broth was delightful. Not a drop was wasted.

After all that wonderful food, dinner at Oku restaurant ended on a quiet note. They had apparently run out of the dessert and instead offered us a bottled pudding. A nice custard, but nowhere near the standard of the preceding dishes.

Ratings:
Food: 5
Service: 4
Value: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 5 TOPs 

OKU
570-119 Gionmachiminamigawa Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto JAPAN 605-0074

Tel: 075-531-4776 

Lunch 11: 30-14: 30
Cafe 14: 30-17: 00
Dinner 17: 00-20: 00

The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog