Restaurant in Kyoto, Japan
Bib Gourmand soba, accessible price, real craft.
Itsutsu is Kyoto's most compelling case for serious soba at an accessible price. Back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024–2025) and a sourcing philosophy built around the entire buckwheat plant set it apart from the city's standard soba houses. At ¥ with easy booking and Wakuden family credentials, it is a straightforward yes for food-focused visitors to Kita Ward.
Getting a table at Itsutsu is easier than you might expect for a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient in Kyoto — and that accessibility is part of the case for booking. At the ¥ price point, this is one of the most affordable ways to experience serious, considered soba in the city, served through an omakase format that traces the buckwheat plant from root to leaf. If you are visiting Kyoto's Kita Ward and care about how food is grown and sourced, Itsutsu deserves a place on your itinerary alongside the nearby Daitoku-ji Temple complex.
The name itself is a statement of sourcing philosophy. Itsutsu means 'five' in Japanese, and the five colours referenced are those of the buckwheat plant at each stage of its growth: root, stalk, flowers, seeds, and leaves. That framing is not decorative — it shapes the menu. The kitchen's relationship with buckwheat is comprehensive rather than transactional. Where most soba restaurants treat the grain as a cooking medium, Itsutsu treats it as an organism worth understanding in full, and the omakase structure exists to show that understanding course by course.
That sourcing depth is underwritten by the Wakuden family connection. Wakuden is one of Kyoto's most respected kaiseki establishments, and Itsutsu carries forward that tradition of material precision into a more accessible price tier. The aesthetic sense you would expect from a Wakuden-affiliated house , restraint, seasonal attunement, visual clarity on the plate , is present throughout. For a food explorer visiting Kyoto, that lineage matters: you are not eating at a standalone soba shop, you are eating at a venue with institutional knowledge behind it.
The five elements of the natural world, honoured partly through the proximity of Daitoku-ji Temple a few steps away, add a layer of conceptual coherence that is rare at this price range. Visually, Itsutsu is understood to reflect the aesthetic vocabulary of its neighbourhood and heritage: clean lines, seasonal material, presentations that reward attention. Expect soba served plain or with spicy daikon as the structural anchor, with seasonal additions such as aemono (dressed vegetable or seafood dishes) or sabazushi (mackerel pressed sushi) available à la carte. The combination of a fixed omakase spine with à la carte flexibility gives you control without sacrificing the chef's seasonal intent.
Chef Alois Vanlangenaeker brings an international perspective to this deeply local format. The pairing of European culinary training with the rigour of Japanese soba technique is unusual in Kyoto, and it gives Itsutsu a distinct interpretive angle without abandoning the discipline that defines the category. You are not getting fusion , you are getting a chef who has done the work to understand the source material at a level that justifies the omakase framing.
The Google rating of 4.2 across 259 reviews at a ¥ price point suggests consistent delivery rather than occasional brilliance. At this tier, consistency is the harder achievement , it means the sourcing philosophy and kitchen discipline hold across a high volume of covers, not just on special occasions.
Michelin awarded Itsutsu the Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, its recognition for places that deliver quality above their price level. For a venue operating at ¥, two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards are a concrete signal that the kitchen is performing well above its economic weight class. That award does not guarantee every session is perfect, but it gives you a reliable baseline.
For context on what Itsutsu offers relative to the broader Kyoto soba category: Honke Owariya is the most historically significant soba address in Kyoto, operating for centuries and carrying deep institutional weight, but its format is less omakase-driven and the setting is more traditional. Chikuyuan Taro no Atsumori and Gombei offer solid soba in the city, but neither carries the sourcing philosophy or the tasting-format structure that makes Itsutsu distinctive. If you want to eat soba at the level where the grain itself is the narrative, Itsutsu is the address in Kyoto right now.
Travellers moving across Japan's culinary circuit may also want to cross-reference Akasaka Sunaba in Tokyo and Ayamedo in Osaka for regional soba comparisons. For Kyoto's broader dining picture, see our full Kyoto restaurants guide. If you are building a wider trip, the Saryo Tesshin and Juu-go entries are worth reading alongside this one for a complete picture of Kita Ward dining.
Elsewhere in Japan, food explorers in the region might also consider HAJIME in Osaka, Harutaka in Tokyo, akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa as part of a broader Japan dining itinerary.
For planning your time in Kyoto beyond restaurants, see our full Kyoto hotels guide, full Kyoto bars guide, full Kyoto wineries guide, and full Kyoto experiences guide.
Quick reference: Itsutsu, Kita Ward, Kyoto. Soba omakase. Price range: ¥. Michelin Bib Gourmand 2024 and 2025. Google: 4.2 (259 reviews). Booking difficulty: easy. Part of the Wakuden family.
Booking a few days to a week ahead should be sufficient in most cases. Itsutsu is rated as easy to book by Pearl's standards , the Bib Gourmand recognition has raised its profile, but the venue has not crossed into the weeks-out territory of Kyoto's harder kaiseki tables. That said, if you have a fixed travel date, book as soon as your schedule is confirmed rather than waiting until you arrive in the city.
Yes, without reservation. At the ¥ price point with two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards, Itsutsu is delivering quality that sits well above what the price alone would suggest. The omakase format, the Wakuden family connection, and the sourcing philosophy around the buckwheat plant give you a structured, considered meal at a cost that does not require a special-occasion budget. It is one of the strongest value propositions in Kyoto's soba category.
The omakase is where Itsutsu makes its case most clearly. The structure allows Chef Vanlangenaeker to express the seasonal sourcing philosophy that defines the kitchen , plain soba and spicy daikon soba as the spine, with aemono and sabazushi available à la carte as seasonal additions. If you want flexibility, you can build around the core omakase with those à la carte choices. At ¥, the omakase format is a very low-risk commitment compared to the ¥¥¥¥ kaiseki menus at venues like Gion Sasaki or Ifuki.
It works well for a low-key special occasion where the emphasis is on food quality and setting rather than ceremony. The Daitoku-ji Temple proximity and the Wakuden aesthetic sensibility give the meal a sense of occasion that punches above the price tier. For a formal anniversary dinner where service ritual and room grandeur matter as much as food, a ¥¥¥¥ kaiseki venue like Kyokaiseki Kichisen would be more appropriate. Itsutsu is better suited to the food-first special occasion than the event-first one.
No dress code information is confirmed in Pearl's database for Itsutsu. As a soba house with Wakuden affiliations and a Bib Gourmand rather than a full Michelin star, smart casual should serve you well , neat, considered clothing appropriate to a refined but not formal dining room. Avoid overly casual resort wear; the setting and lineage warrant a small degree of care in presentation.
Seating configuration details are not confirmed in Pearl's current data for Itsutsu. If counter or bar seating is a priority for you , it often gives the leading view of soba preparation in Japanese restaurants of this type , contact the venue directly when making your reservation to ask about options. Given the omakase format, counter seating where available would likely offer the most engaging experience.
No confirmed dietary restriction policy is available in Pearl's database, and the venue's phone and website details are not currently listed. The omakase format at soba restaurants can be less flexible than à la carte dining, so if you have serious dietary restrictions, contact Itsutsu directly before booking to confirm what the kitchen can accommodate. Soba itself contains gluten, which is a relevant consideration for anyone with gluten intolerance or coeliac requirements.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itsutsu | Soba | ¥ | The name means ‘five’, referring to the five colours of the buckwheat plant, from its root, stalk, flowers, seeds and leaves. It also pays tribute to the five elements of the natural world, with Daitoku-ji Temple a few steps away. Omakase of soba and other dishes is replete with seasonal flavours, revealing the chef’s mastery of Japanese culinary arts. Aesthetic sense is outstanding, as befits a soba house of the Wakuden family. Soba is served plain or with spicy daikon. Dishes such as aemono or sabazushi may be added à la carte.; Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Gion Sasaki | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| cenci | Italian | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Ifuki | Kaiseki | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Kyokaiseki Kichisen | Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Kyo Seika | Chinese | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Itsutsu measures up.
Counter seating is typical for soba houses of this style, and as a Wakuden-family venue, Itsutsu is likely to offer counter positions that give you a direct view of the kitchen. That said, specific seating configuration is not confirmed in available venue data, so check the venue's official channels to request your preferred spot when booking.
Yes, at a ¥ price point with two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025), Itsutsu delivers well above its cost. The omakase format brings seasonal dishes and soba with the craft of a Wakuden-family kitchen — a level of cooking that typically costs several times more elsewhere in Kyoto. For value-conscious diners who want genuine culinary depth without a kaiseki bill, this is one of the clearest cases in the city.
There is no published dress code, but Itsutsu is a serious soba house within the Wakuden family, near Daitoku-ji Temple. Neat, understated clothing is appropriate — think what you would wear to a refined lunch in Kyoto, not a formal dinner. Overly casual dress would feel out of step with the aesthetic seriousness the venue signals through its name and philosophy.
No dietary policy is confirmed in the venue data, but soba omakase menus are typically structured around seasonal Japanese ingredients and are not easily modified. If you have allergies or strict dietary requirements, check the venue's official channels before booking — the omakase format at venues like this rarely accommodates significant substitutions.
At ¥ pricing, yes. The omakase at Itsutsu is built around soba with seasonal additions including dishes like aemono or sabazushi à la carte, reflecting the chef's grounding in Japanese culinary arts and the Wakuden family's aesthetic standards. Two Michelin Bib Gourmand recognitions confirm the quality-to-price ratio. If you want to eat à la carte only, the option exists, but the omakase is the clearest argument for making the trip.
It works well for an intimate occasion where substance matters more than spectacle. The setting near Daitoku-ji Temple, the philosophical depth behind the name, and the Wakuden-family aesthetic make it a considered choice for a meaningful lunch or dinner. It is not a grand celebratory room, so if you need a larger, more formal setting, Kyokaiseki Kichisen is a better fit for that kind of occasion.
Book at least two to three weeks in advance, particularly if you are visiting during peak Kyoto seasons such as cherry blossom or autumn foliage. As a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient with a small, focused format, demand is consistent. The ¥ price point keeps interest high across a broad range of visitors, which adds to booking pressure relative to higher-priced venues in the city.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
