Dinner at Yuuki Gion
I’m glad I made a reservation
For dinner, I left the hotel and headed to Gion. My destination was Yuuki, a place I’d seen mentioned all over the internet.
When I got there, there was an enormous line outside. I’d arrived a little before my reservation time, but they told me, “We still have earlier guests, so please come back right on time.” The place was absolutely packed.
So many menu options—it was fun
I was shown to a table on the second floor, and then began the happy dilemma of deciding what to order.
Since the restaurant is directly run by the brewery, its own Kinkame series of sake is listed by rice-polishing ratio. I’m not a sake fanatic at all, but even I got excited.
Just to compare, I tried both the most expensive junmai daiginjo and a regular junmai, and came away thinking, “So more polishing isn’t automatically better…” The price was double, and it really showed me how deep sake can be (lol).
Dishes that made the drinks go down easy
Let me record what I ate alongside all that delicious sake… First, grilled Manganji peppers, which were in season. One of them was the unlucky jackpot—shockingly spicy—and it had me in tears lol.
The lightly pickled water eggplant and green melon were incredible—the best water eggplant I’ve ever had.
For sashimi, I chose red sea bream with fresh uni and seared yellowtail with salt. Needless to say, everything was delicious.
Being a tourist, I’m naturally drawn to things that feel especially Kyoto, so I ordered the agedashi nama-fu. Wonderfully chewy.
There was isaza from Lake Biwa simmered in sweet soy, and Kujo green onion with teppai. I’d never even heard of a fish called isaza before, and I think this was my first time eating it too.
Then came the white shrimp tempura. It tasted like the umami of Kappa Ebisen multiplied several thousand times over. Amazing.
Toward the end, since I can never resist firefly squid, I ordered marinated firefly squid. And then there was the pressed mackerel sushi the regular-looking table next to me had ordered. It wasn’t on the menu, so I wondered if it was some regulars-only item, but I was able to order it too! (lol)
Before I knew it, closing time was approaching and the crowd had thinned out.
What a meal. I’ll definitely come back the next time I’m in Kyoto!!
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