A hidden treasure in the heart of Gion
Travel + Leisure, the popular American travel magazine, awarded Kyoto the number one spot in its 2015 World's Best Cities ranking for the second year in a row. To have Kyoto chosen as the best among all the world’s cities is a great honor. The publicity has led to a rise in international flights at Kansai International Airport and it's becoming increasingly common for Kyoto’s streets to be filled with tourists no matter where you are in the city.
I’m sure many people, both foreign and Japanese, have visited this great city more than once. It makes sense, there are countless places to visit here. Even after living in Kyoto for over a decade, there are still many temples and sights that I haven’t had the chance to see yet. And don’t even get me started on the amount of delicious-looking restaurants where you can sample various local delicacies such as pickled vegetables or matcha green tea! Many of these restaurants are so old that it seems as if their precise origins are shrouded in mystery, a fact that only makes me want to visit them all the more!
Today, I’d like to introduce Restaurant Tamura, the perfect place to visit when you have something special to celebrate and are in the mood to eat food a little more fancy than usual. Located in Kyoto’s Gion district, the restaurant describes its cuisine as “French food you eat with chopsticks.”
Located in the middle of a maze of narrow streets, Restaurant Tamura is almost impossible to find without directions. So let me fill you in! The restaurant is located north of Hanamikoji Street, down a small side street that is just past Shinmonzen Street. The private town houses surrounding the restaurant give it an unassuming appearance. but I couldn’t help but feel that something magical was about to happen as I passed by the traditional fabric curtains fluttering in the wind at the entrance.
After stepping inside, my first impression was of the stark contrast between the dark brown tables and the bare white walls, with bright yellow plates adding a splash of color to the picturesque scene. In total, there were four tables and eight counter seats.
The first item to arrive before me was the bread. Its perfectly warm and soft texture hinted that it had only recently been removed from the oven. At times, I have had the (unfortunate) experience of eating at restaurants where their baguettes were so tough that I almost broke my teeth on them. Oh, did I almost ruin your appetite? Let me restore it! Restaurant Tamura scored full marks for their bread, and the intentionally restrained use of herbs allowed me to really savor the taste of the focaccia with butter.
For the main course, I decided on Course B, which had the smallest number of dishes. The course included hors d'oeuvres, an appetizer, the fish of the day, a rice dish, a dessert, and a drink. Reading “hors d'oeuvres,” I imagined that I would be presented with a tiny amuse-bouche or similar on a plate, so I was pleasantly surprised when five delicious-looking, bite-sized hors d'oeuvres appeared.
Included were delights such as turnip soup, ponzu vinegar gelee, and mushroom risotto baked in a miniature pie. It was obvious from the beautiful presentation that the chef had put their all into making each item, skillfully teasing out the perfect balance of tastes from each individual ingredient to create the perfect match.
The appetizer was a vegetable and seafood salad served with a yuzu miso sauce and a traditional Japanese soy-based sauce. Combined with either sauce or simply eaten as is, the dish was delicious. The sea bream was not raw as if I were eating carpaccio, but rather it had been lightly seared, giving it a wonderfully fragrant smell. Such was the quality of this appetizer, the delicious taste of the dish felt like it was gradually diffusing throughout my body and revitalizing me.
The main dish was plaice, a type of white fish. It was cooked à la poêle with sautéed Kujo scallions and a rich sauce américaine, both of which combined perfectly with the simple flavors of the plaice.
By this point, I was already starting to feel full, and felt sure that dessert must be the only dish left. But I was wrong! I had forgotten the rice dish! Thankfully it was just a small portion, in a bowl about the size of my palm. It’s a little hard to tell from the photo, but if you look at the pickled items in the dish on the right, you can see that the amount of rice is actually very small! The bowl was so little that I could fit it in one hand. I almost felt as if I was using something from a children’s play kitchen. Regardless, the rice itself, a Kyoto-grown variety known as Yumepirika, was delicious.
However, no matter how full I was, I still had room for dessert: chocolate gateau and cheese blancmange drizzled with a creamy yellow sauce made with eggs from hens raised locally in Kyoto. I’m not a huge fan of custard, so I wasn’t all that excited to try this dish, but with each bite I took, I couldn’t believe how the texture just seemed to melt in my mouth! Smooth, light, and with a to-die-for orange aroma, it was like heaven on a plate. Why did I ever think that I didn’t like custard!? Chocolate gateau can be a very heavy dish, but the delicate flavors of the blancmange helped to create a perfect balance between the two. Until the very last bite, the dishes I sampled at Restaurant Tamura blew me away, exceeding my expectations a thousand times over.
It's clear that one of the secrets of restaurant Tamura’s success is their reasonably priced yet exceptionally high quality food. But there is more to it than just that: eating there is an experience to remember. The staff take every care to ensure that diners have the most pleasant visit possible. Moreover, the immense skill of the chef, which is obvious after just one delicious mouthful, also plays a big part in the attraction of the restaurant. If you are looking to enjoy an amazing meal in an elegant setting, Restaurant Tamura should be at the top of your list.
Website:
http://r-tamura.com/