01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
One of the memorable features of the kaiseki at Gion Maruyama is the chance to savour seasonal ingredients grilled over charcoal. Diners have mentioned charcoal-grilled spiny lobster, sweetfish with a watermelon-like aroma, and char. Another visitor enjoyed watching the chef grill fish and meat right in front of them.
Past menus give a sense of the variety in the soups: examples include hōnen-hamo, pike conger with white maitake mushrooms, winter melon, asparagus and yuzu, and dōmyōji-hamo served with matsutake mushrooms. The appetisers are just as varied, from shrimp and egg-yolk sushi with vinegared lotus root to anago rolled with burdock and served with chestnuts and ginkgo nuts, as well as duck breast topped with jelly. The changing menus invite diners to take their time over each course, as kaiseki is meant to be enjoyed.
The à la carte offerings include options for rounding off a meal or choosing a dish centred on a hot pot. These include a pot with charcoal-grilled Wakasa amadai (tilefish), a black wagyu sirloin hot pot with Kyoto vegetables and Japanese pepper, and a set of domestic soft-shelled turtle hot pot with seasoned rice. Rice dishes include takikomi gohan made with natural sea bream from Akashi, while charcoal-grilled conger eel udon combines the flavour of Kyoto vegetables with the tingle of Japanese pepper.
The drinks list includes bamboo sake: junmai ginjo sake from the long-established Tamano Hikari brewery in Fushimi, Kyoto, served in green bamboo. One diner who sat at the counter recalled the bamboo sake as a particularly memorable drink encountered on a trip. Choosing a sake to accompany the seasonal dishes is part of the experience.
Alongside the counter, the restaurant has private rooms, tatami rooms and table seating. The counter offers a view of dishes being prepared, while a private room or tatami room may suit a meal with more time for conversation.
