Restaurant in Kyoto, Japan
Seasonal Italian with a Kyoto-grown ingredient focus.
ristorante DONO is Italian cooking rooted in Kyoto's seasonal philosophy, with a dining room overlooking the Heian Shrine torii gate and a menu built around vegetables often grown by the chef himself. Michelin Plate-recognized and easier to book than most Kyoto destinations at this level, it is the right call for a special occasion dinner that wants atmosphere and intention without kaiseki formality.
If you are planning a special dinner in Kyoto and want something that feels genuinely considered rather than merely expensive, DONO is the right call. This is Italian cooking filtered through a Kyoto sensibility: seasonal vegetables often sourced from the chef's own cultivation, a dining room that looks directly onto the torii gate of Heian Shrine, and a menu that nods to risotto and pasta while reworking those traditions with produce that reflects where you actually are. Book it for a celebratory dinner, a date that requires more than kaiseki formality, or a business meal where you want atmosphere without stiffness. It is not the most obvious Kyoto choice, which is precisely the point.
DONO occupies the second floor of Beau Passage Kyoto Okazaki, a low-profile address in the Sakyo Ward that places the dining room at eye level with the vermilion torii gate of Heian Shrine. That view is the room's defining feature: you are eating Italian food in Kyoto while one of the city's most recognizable Shinto structures sits in the near distance. The setting is intimate rather than showy. For a special occasion this matters: the space creates a sense of occasion without the theatrical weight of a formal kaiseki room, which can feel alienating if your guest is not already versed in that format. Groups looking for a private dining experience should contact the restaurant directly to discuss arrangements, as the room's scale and second-floor positioning make it well suited to contained, focused gatherings rather than large party bookings.
Chef Pino Saccheri trained in Italy and is the second son of the owner of Sojiki Nakahigashi, one of Kyoto's most respected addresses for ingredient-led Japanese cuisine. That lineage matters: the kitchen's commitment to sourcing is not a marketing position, it is a family inheritance. The chef tills his own fields, raises vegetables, and gathers edible wild plants. Seasons and vegetables take center stage. The menu is described as Italian, and recognizable forms like pasta and risotto do appear, but the execution carries a creative departure that is leading understood as the result of someone who absorbed both Italian respect for terroir and Kyoto's rigorous seasonal philosophy simultaneously. A fully plant-based menu is available if requested at reservation, which is a practical detail worth knowing before you book for a guest with dietary requirements.
DONO holds a Michelin Plate (2025), a recognition that indicates consistent quality cooking without the full-star designation. For context, a Michelin Plate means the inspectors found the food good and worth knowing about. It is honest positioning: this is not a two-star destination that demands a pilgrimage from across the country, but it is a restaurant that will not disappoint anyone who arrives with calibrated expectations. The Google rating sits at 4.9 from 38 reviews, which is a small sample but a consistent signal.
The wine list is a genuine strength for this price tier. The program covers Piedmont, broader Italy, France, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California, with an inventory of around 7,500 bottles across approximately 1,300 selections. Wine pricing sits at the mid tier: a range of options across price points rather than a list that skews entirely toward three-figure bottles. For a special occasion dinner where you want to drink well without treating the wine list as the main event, this is a comfortable fit. If wine matters to your group as much as food, this is worth factoring into your choice of DONO over a kaiseki alternative where the beverage program is typically more constrained.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which is a meaningful advantage in a city where the most-discussed restaurants require weeks of advance planning or a hotel concierge to broker access. That said, easy does not mean walk-in-ready for a celebration dinner: reserve in advance to secure the right table, particularly if the shrine view matters to you. Reservations: Book directly; contact method not published, so approach via the venue's address at Beau Passage Kyoto Okazaki, 2F. Dress: No dress code published, but the setting and price point suggest smart casual at minimum; formal attire is appropriate and will not look out of place. Budget: Cuisine pricing sits at the ¥¥¥ tier, equivalent to a mid-to-upper range dinner in Kyoto terms. Meals served: Dinner only. Dietary needs: A fully plant-based menu is available on request at reservation.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| ristorante DONO | Italian | ¥¥¥ | Easy |
| Gion Sasaki | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| cenci | Italian | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Ifuki | Kaiseki | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Kyokaiseki Kichisen | Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Kyo Seika | Chinese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, it works well for a meaningful dinner rather than a purely celebratory blowout. The dining room overlooks the torii gate of Heian Shrine, the setting is quietly considered, and Chef Pino Saccheri's produce-driven Italian approach gives the meal a clear point of view. At the ¥¥¥ price tier, it costs less than Kyokaiseki Kichisen but delivers something more personal than a standard hotel fine-dining room.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but a ¥¥¥ Italian restaurant on the second floor of Beau Passage Kyoto Okazaki, overlooking Heian Shrine, warrants at minimum neat, considered dress. Overdressing is unlikely to be a problem; arriving in casual streetwear probably is. Treat it as you would any serious Italian restaurant in that price bracket.
For Japanese fine dining at a comparable or higher level, Gion Sasaki and Kyokaiseki Kichisen are the benchmark addresses. For a more accessible Kyoto dinner that still prioritises seasonality, cenci is worth considering. If you want Italian specifically, DONO is the strongest case in this part of the city at this price point.
At ¥¥¥, the combination of a Michelin Plate (2025), a dining room facing the Heian Shrine torii gate, and a wine list spanning Piedmont, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California with around 1,300 selections makes the price credible. The food is technically Italian but shaped by Kyoto's ingredient culture, which adds specificity you would not get at a generic Italian restaurant. If you want straightforward Italian classics, look elsewhere; if the local-produce angle interests you, the price holds up.
Bar seating details are not documented in the available venue data. Given the second-floor format inside Beau Passage Kyoto Okazaki and the restaurant's positioning as a sit-down dinner destination, counter or bar dining is not confirmed. check the venue's official channels before planning a drop-in bar experience.
Specific dishes are not documented here, but the restaurant's own framing points clearly toward vegetable-forward plates sourced from Chef Saccheri's own cultivation, alongside Italian touchstones like risotto and pasta reinterpreted with Kyoto produce. If you eat fully plant-based, note that a 100% plant menu is available if requested at reservation, which is a practical detail worth acting on before you arrive.
Tasting menu format and pricing are not confirmed in the venue data, so a firm verdict would require checking directly. What is documented is that DONO holds a Michelin Plate (2025), the kitchen is produce-led and seasonally driven, and the wine program is a genuine asset to pair against a longer format meal. If a multi-course format is available, the sourcing philosophy and wine list depth make it a credible candidate over a shorter order.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
