Restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand
Kyoto kaiseki, done properly in Bangkok.
Kinu by Takagi is Bangkok's most carefully executed Kyoto-style kaiseki, earning Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025. The fixed-format menu, sake collection, and closing matcha ceremony make it the right call for special occasions or business dinners where the room and structure of the evening matter. Book it with a purpose.
Kinu by Takagi is Bangkok's most considered Kyoto-style kaiseki experience, and if a formal Japanese multi-course dinner is what you're planning, it belongs near the leading of your shortlist. The format is fixed, the setting is intimate, and the experience is structured around ceremony rather than flexibility. Book it for a special occasion, a business dinner where atmosphere matters, or any meal where you want the evening to feel deliberate. At ฿฿฿฿ pricing, it's a serious spend, but the Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms it's being taken seriously by the people who track this category. What you should know before booking: this is not a venue you drop into casually, and the kaiseki format means your evening is pre-determined from arrival to the closing matcha tea ceremony.
Arriving at Kinu by Takagi requires a small act of attention: the entrance is behind sliding wooden doors, which sets the tone immediately. This is not a restaurant that signals itself loudly. Inside, teakwood crosshatch flooring anchors the room, and the décor draws on both Japanese and northern Thai ceramics in a way that reads as intentional rather than decorative. The welcome takes place in a Japanese-style Minka area, where drinks are served before you move to your table. This transition from reception to dining room is built into the structure of the meal itself, and it's one of the reasons Kinu works well for occasions where arrival matters as much as the food. The physical space is small and controlled, designed for focus rather than energy. If you're looking for a room with atmosphere and noise, this is not it. If you want a room that makes a dinner feel like an event, it delivers.
Chef Takagi's approach is Kyoto-style kaiseki, which means the meal progresses through a sequence of courses built around the natural qualities of Japanese ingredients rather than dramatic technique or theatrical presentation. The bar carries an excellent sake collection, and the meal closes with a matcha tea ceremony, a formal conclusion that distinguishes this from a standard tasting menu. The structural integrity of the kaiseki format is worth understanding before you book: you are not ordering à la carte, and the pacing is set by the kitchen. For guests who want that kind of immersive, uninterrupted progression through a meal, Kinu delivers it with visible care. For guests who prefer flexibility or want to build their own experience dish by dish, a different format would serve them better.
Kaiseki does not travel. The format at Kinu by Takagi is built around sequence, temperature, ceremony, and the physical environment of the room. The matcha tea ceremony that closes the meal, the welcome drinks in the Minka area, the progression through courses at a considered pace: none of this survives a delivery box. If you are considering Kinu as a special-occasion dinner at home or an off-premise option, redirect that spend. The value here is entirely in the room. Book a table or don't engage with the format at all.
Booking at Kinu is currently rated easy, which makes it more accessible than several of Bangkok's other ฿฿฿฿ Japanese venues. Given that, there is no reason to delay a reservation if you have a date in mind. The seat count is not publicly listed, but the intimate setting and the ceremony-driven format suggest capacity is limited, and weekends and public holidays will fill faster than weeknights. For timing, a weeknight booking gives you the quietest, most focused version of the experience. If you are planning around a specific occasion such as an anniversary or a business dinner with a client, midweek is the call. The bar's sake collection means there is depth for guests who want to extend the evening beyond the formal tea ceremony close. Dress expectations are not published, but the ฿฿฿฿ tier and the formality of the kaiseki setting make smart casual the sensible floor. There is no publicly listed phone or website in Pearl's current data, so approach booking through your hotel concierge or a reservation platform if a direct line isn't immediately apparent.
Among Bangkok's ฿฿฿฿ Japanese restaurants, Kinu sits in a specific register that is worth understanding before you decide. For broader Japanese dining in Bangkok, Yamazato offers a different scale and style of Japanese cuisine, while Den Kushi Flori and Gen (Vadhana) represent other directions in the city's Japanese dining range. If you want yakitori rather than kaiseki, Shirokane Tori-Tama is worth knowing. For Southern Thai at the same price tier, Sorn is the comparison to make. Outside Bangkok, PRU in Phuket and AKKEE in Pak Kret are worth noting if your travels take you further. For kaiseki reference points in Tokyo, Myojaku and Azabu Kadowaki give you a sense of the category at its most demanding. You can explore the full Bangkok fine dining picture through our full Bangkok restaurants guide, and if you're planning a broader trip, our Bangkok hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are worth reviewing alongside it.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinu by Takagi | Japanese | ฿฿฿฿ | Easy |
| Sorn | Southern Thai | ฿฿฿฿ | Unknown |
| Baan Tepa | Thai contemporary | ฿฿฿฿ | Unknown |
| Gaa | Modern Indian, Indian | ฿฿฿฿ | Unknown |
| Côte by Mauro Colagreco | Mediterranean, Modern Cuisine | ฿฿฿฿ | Unknown |
| Sühring | German | ฿฿฿฿ | Unknown |
A quick look at how Kinu by Takagi measures up.
The entrance is behind sliding wooden doors — easy to miss, intentionally so. Inside, you're in a Kyoto-style kaiseki format: a set sequence of courses built around the natural qualities of Japanese ingredients, ending with a matcha tea ceremony. Welcome drinks are served in a Japanese-style Minka area before the meal begins. This is a full-evening commitment, not a drop-in dinner.
Booking is currently rated easy relative to Bangkok's other ฿฿฿฿ Japanese venues, which means you don't need to plan weeks out. That said, kaiseki restaurants run on fixed seatings and small covers, so booking a few days ahead is sensible. Last-minute walk-ins are unlikely to work in a format this structured.
The space combines Japanese and Thai design references — teakwood flooring, Japanese and northern Thai ceramics, sliding wooden doors — and the kaiseki format is formal by nature. Dress neatly: polished casual at minimum, formal or business-casual if that's your register. The room will make underdressed guests feel it.
If you're coming specifically for Kyoto-style kaiseki, yes. Chef Takagi's format focuses on the natural qualities of top Japanese ingredients, and the meal closes with a matcha tea ceremony — details that reflect a commitment to the full kaiseki structure rather than a condensed version of it. If you want something more casual or a la carte, this format isn't designed for you.
For Thai fine dining at a comparable price point, Sorn and Baan Tepa are the primary alternatives, though the cuisine and format are entirely different. Sühring covers European fine dining with similar ceremony and price. If you want Japanese but a different register, Côte by Mauro Colagreco sits at ฿฿฿฿ with a French-Mediterranean focus. Kinu is the clearest choice if Kyoto kaiseki specifically is what you're after.
At ฿฿฿฿, Kinu holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, which confirms it clears the basic quality threshold for the category. The real question is format fit: kaiseki is a structured, ceremonial meal and the price reflects the full experience — space, sequence, sake programme, and tea ceremony. If that's what you're buying, the value case is solid. If you'd rather eat Japanese food in a more flexible setting, the price-to-experience ratio shifts.
The bar at Kinu by Takagi is noted for its sake collection, but the venue's format is kaiseki — a structured multi-course meal — rather than a walk-in bar-dining concept. The bar functions as part of the overall experience rather than a standalone counter you can book independently. Confirm with the venue directly if bar-only seating is something you're specifically looking for.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
