Kyoto food: kaiseki, tofu, matcha, and the market

Short answer: if Osaka is a street-food riot, Kyoto is the quiet, seasonal, faintly fussy opposite — kaiseki, tofu, matcha, and a covered market that's fed the city for centuries. Here's what to eat, and where.

Kaiseki — the pinnacle (book ahead)

Kaiseki is Kyoto's art form: a long, seasonal, multi-course meal where every plate is timed to the month. The temple of it is Kikunoi Honten ＋ (three Michelin stars); its more relaxed sibling Roan Kikunoi ＋ holds two. These need reservations — often weeks out — and cost accordingly, but it's the meal people fly home talking about. The cheaper way in: book a kaiseki lunch rather than dinner, or a tempura-kaiseki like Yoshikawa ＋.

The everyday Kyoto plate: obanzai and tofu

You don't need a tasting menu to eat well here.

• Obanzai — Kyoto home cooking, a spread of seasonal little dishes. Menami ＋ is a good place to start.
• Yudofu — a simple, sublime hot-pot of tofu in a light broth, and originally Buddhist temple food. Eat it where it belongs, around Nanzen-ji ＋, at Okutan or Nanzenji Junsei ＋.
• Shōjin-ryōri — full Buddhist vegetarian temple cuisine, served at some temples; the most Kyoto meal there is.

Nishiki Market — "Kyoto's kitchen"

Nishiki Market ＋ is a narrow covered lane of pickle stalls, tofu makers, sweet shops, skewers and tea — the city's larder, and grazing-lunch central. It gets packed, so go earlier rather than at noon.

Matcha, sweets, and old coffee

Kyoto and nearby Uji are Japan's matcha heartland. Nakamura Tokichi ＋ in Gion does the famous matcha desserts; Kagizen Yoshifusa ＋ is the place for kuzukiri and traditional wagashi sweets. And Kyoto guards the kissaten (old-school coffee house) tradition — Inoda Coffee ＋ is the institution — against the modern draw of % Arabica ＋.

The casual crowd-pleasers

Not everything is hushed and seasonal. Kichi Kichi ＋ does a theatrical tableside omurice (book online, it's tiny), Menbaka Ichidai ＋ serves a literal "fire ramen", and Gyoza Chao Chao ＋ is a cheap, happy dumpling stop. Fun, accessible, no kaiseki budget required.

The one thing to sort before you fly

The top of Kyoto's food — kaiseki, the famous counters — is reservation-heavy, and the best places book out weeks ahead. Sort those before you leave home. The market, the tofu, the sweets and the casual spots need no plan at all.

Let the plan put the right meal at the right moment: tell us your dates and we'll place Kyoto's food where it fits your days — the market near your morning, tofu by Nanzen-ji, dinner near your bed. It's a solid first cut you can run with, in about a minute.