Restaurant in Kyoto, Japan
Counter kaiseki with serious award credentials.
Kiyama is one of Nakagyo Ward's most consistently awarded kaiseki restaurants, holding eight Tabelog Silver awards and a current Michelin Plate since opening in 2017. Dinner runs JPY 30,000–40,000 per head before drinks; lunch at JPY 15,000–19,999 is the stronger entry point. Reservation-only and booking is hard — plan four to eight weeks out minimum.
A 4.44 Tabelog score, a current Michelin Plate, eight consecutive Tabelog Silver awards (plus a Gold in 2021), and a 2025 ranking of #48 on Opinionated About Dining Japan — Kiyama has one of the most consistent award records of any kaiseki restaurant in Nakagyo Ward. If you are deciding whether to spend JPY 30,000–40,000 at dinner on a kaiseki counter in Kyoto, this is a strong yes, provided you can secure a reservation. Booking is the hard part.
Kiyama opened in April 2017 under chef Yoshiro Kiyama and has run reservation-only since day one. The room seats 30 across counter positions and private spaces, which keeps the experience personal without the austerity of a pure counter-only format. The counter is where the better part of the experience sits: you are close enough to observe the kitchen's pace and rhythm, and the format rewards the kind of diner who wants to read what is happening rather than simply receive a sequence of courses. For a second visit especially, counter seating lets you track the seasonal logic of the meal more clearly than a private room does.
The cuisine is kaiseki — a structured, multi-course format built around seasonal Japanese ingredients and classical technique. Kiyama's Tabelog description frames it as "sincere kaiseki" with a "pleasant aftertaste, like gentle ripples on the water," which is poetic but points at something real: this is not a restaurant competing on dramatic, high-concept presentation. The emphasis is on restraint, precision, and the quality of what is on the plate. That positioning places it closer to traditional Kyoto kaiseki values than to the modernist end of the genre.
Drinks include sake (nihonshu), shochu, and wine. The 10% service charge is applied across the board, so factor that into your budget calculation: dinner at JPY 30,000–40,000 per head, before drinks, becomes JPY 33,000–44,000 after service. Review-based average spend at dinner is reported between JPY 60,000 and JPY 79,999, suggesting drinks and course upgrades push the total materially higher than the listed price band implies.
Counter seating at a kaiseki restaurant of this calibre changes the meal in a specific way. The standard kaiseki experience , private room, formal service at a remove , is curated for occasion dining: anniversaries, corporate entertaining, first-time visitors to the format. The counter strips that back. You eat in view of the kitchen and the chef's team, which means the sequencing of the meal becomes legible. You can see when a course is being finished, what technique is being applied, and how the pacing is being managed. For someone returning to Kiyama after a first visit in a private room, the counter is the clear recommendation: it is a different restaurant in functional terms, even if the courses are drawn from the same seasonal programme.
The space is described as stylish and relaxing with counter seating , not the hyper-formal, hushed register of Kyoto's most senior kaiseki establishments. Private rooms are available if a group dinner or a more contained occasion is the brief, and the venue is confirmed as available for private hire. Children and babies are noted as welcome, which is less common in this price tier and makes Kiyama a viable option for families travelling with young children who want serious food without a prohibitive dress code atmosphere.
The award history here is worth reading carefully. Kiyama held a Michelin 1 Star in 2024, appears as a Michelin Plate in 2025, and has held Tabelog Silver continuously since 2018 except for a Gold in 2021. The OAD ranking moved from #29 in 2023 to #39 in 2024 and #48 in 2025 , a downward trajectory in rank, though OAD rankings fluctuate with reviewer participation, not necessarily quality change. The Google rating sits at 4.6 from 306 reviews, which at this price point represents a diner base that skews toward repeat visitors and serious food travellers. The Tabelog 100 selection (Japanese cuisine West, 2021, 2023, 2025) is a further signal that the platform's reviewing community treats this as a reference-point restaurant for the region.
For context on what those rankings mean in practice: Kiyama sits below Gion Sasaki and Kikunoi Honten in the overall Kyoto hierarchy, and below Tokyo references like RyuGin and Kanda in the national OAD ranking. But within Nakagyo Ward specifically, the consistency of its record over eight years is not easily matched. Other strong kaiseki options around Japan worth considering if your itinerary is flexible include HAJIME in Osaka and Goh in Fukuoka, both at a comparable price tier.
Reservations: Reservation only , walk-ins are not an option. Kiyama does not operate a website, so bookings go through Tabelog or by phone (+81-75-256-4460). Lead time at this award level typically runs four to eight weeks for weekday dinner slots; weekend dinner should be treated as harder. Last entry at lunch is 13:00; last entry at dinner is 19:30. Closures are not fixed to a set day each week, so confirm before you travel. Budget: Lunch JPY 15,000–19,999 per head (listed); dinner JPY 30,000–39,999 per head (listed), plus 10% service charge. Review-based spend at dinner runs JPY 60,000–79,999, indicating drinks and course selections can double the base. Getting there: Approximately five minutes on foot from Marutamachi subway station (about 323 metres). No on-site parking; use a nearby paid facility. Payment: Credit cards accepted. Electronic money and QR code payments are not accepted. Dress: No stated dress code in the data, but the price point and occasion type (family-friendly is listed, but kaiseki at JPY 30,000+ implies smart casual at minimum). Group size: 30 seats total; private rooms and full private hire available for group occasions.
See the comparison section below for Kiyama against its closest Kyoto peers.
Kiyama sits within a competitive kaiseki field. For broader Kyoto planning, see our full Kyoto restaurants guide, our full Kyoto hotels guide, our full Kyoto bars guide, our full Kyoto wineries guide, and our full Kyoto experiences guide. Within Kyoto specifically, Hyotei, Mizai, and Gion Maruyama represent different registers of the same kaiseki tradition and are worth considering depending on your budget and booking window. Beyond Kyoto, akordu in Nara, Harutaka in Tokyo, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa cover the broader Japan fine dining picture for travellers with a multi-city itinerary.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Kiyama | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Gion Sasaki | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| cenci | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Ifuki | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Kyokaiseki Kichisen | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| SEN | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Kiyama and alternatives.
Yes — counter seating is available and makes Kiyama a genuinely good option for solo diners. A 30-seat room with counter positions means you are not isolated at a table for one, and the reservation-only format ensures a seat is confirmed before you arrive. At ¥30,000–¥40,000 for dinner (plus 10% service charge), solo dining here is a significant spend, but the counter format returns more value per seat than a private room at the same price.
Lunch is the sharper entry point: listed at ¥15,000–¥19,999 versus ¥30,000–¥39,999 for dinner, with review-based averages suggesting dinner can push ¥60,000–¥79,999 all-in. If this is your first kaiseki at this level, lunch gives you the full Kiyama experience — Tabelog Silver credentials, chef Yoshiro Kiyama's kitchen, private rooms available — at roughly half the cost. Book dinner if the kaiseki format is already familiar and you want the full evening pacing.
Gion Sasaki operates at a comparable award tier and is a direct kaiseki alternative for those who want a similarly credentialled room. Kichisen is the choice if budget is secondary and you want Kyoto's most formally regarded kaiseki experience. For a more contemporary Japanese format at a lower price point, cenci offers a distinct counter-focused approach. Kiyama's consistent Tabelog Silver record (2018–2026, Gold in 2021) and Opinionated About Dining ranking of #48 in Japan make it a serious option against all three.
The venue data does not document a specific dietary restriction policy. Kaiseki is a structured, course-based format where substitutions depend heavily on the kitchen's flexibility on a given night. Contact Kiyama directly by phone (+81-75-256-4460) well ahead of your reservation — this is standard practice at reservation-only kaiseki at this price level, and advance notice gives the kitchen the best chance of accommodating requests.
Private rooms are available and the venue can be taken over for private use, making group bookings viable. The room holds 30 seats total, so mid-size groups are the practical ceiling. For groups, the private room format suits the occasion better than counter seating; families are explicitly noted as welcome, including young children. Confirm group size and private room availability by phone (+81-75-256-4460) when reserving, as Kiyama operates without a website and booking is reservation-only.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
