I was invited by a regular customer to visit again after 2 and a half years at the recommendation of Mr. Suzue. The regular customer, who is a wine collector, suggested that we enjoy some delicious wine together, so he surprised me by bringing in a red and white wine! (laughs) Location: Okazaki Jingu Michi, Shirakawa Minami, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture Access: 5 minutes on foot from Higashiyama Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway ■ The Tabelog Award 2023 Bronze Winning Restaurant ■ Tabelog Top 100 Japanese Cuisine WEST 2023 Selected Restaurant ■ Tabelog rating at the time of visit: 4.39 Wines brought in: ◎ DRC Romanee St.Vivant 1989 ◎ PULIGNY MONTRACHET 1ER CRU LES PUCELLES 2002 Items received: First, as it was hot, we toasted with beer ● Mountain eggplant and Awaji Island sea urchin cold dish ● Southern Awaji fugu tai, demon mackerel, and Katsuura tuna ● Tottori Hamasaka white sweetfish with kelp soup noodles ● Southern Awaji Fukura grilled conger eel ● Hiroshima Sera matsutake mushroom grilled dish ● Kamo eggplant and conger eel My impression of the meal was that I am always impressed by the amazing quality of Mr. Suzue's ingredients. This time, we had the end-of-season conger eel and early matsutake mushrooms. After the Bon Festival in August, we were able to enjoy plenty of domestic Hiroshima Sera matsutake mushrooms. The combination with white wine was excellent, and I was in ecstasy! (laughs) Since the head chef, Mr. Suzue, is from Tokushima Prefecture, he generously serves top-quality ingredients such as conger eel from southern Awaji, sea bream, demon mackerel, and it's always a very satisfying experience! The head chef also enjoyed wine with us, making it a fun dining experience! The best! Thank you for reading until the end! If you could give a 'like,' 'follow,' 'save the restaurant,' or leave a 'comment,' it would be greatly appreciated and serve as motivation for the future, so thank you in advance!

Summer at Suzue-san. Enjoy high-quality ingredients with exquisite tableware. Sea urchin and seaweed sashimi (amberjack, sea bream, tuna) Soup (grilled tilefish and somen noodles) Grilled dish (sawara, conger eel) Simmered dish (abalone and Kamo eggplant) Sea bream and tempura rice Peach daifuku The meal started with Suzue-san's signature starter of sea urchin with hidden seaweed underneath. The sweetness of the sea urchin served at this restaurant never fails to impress. Among the sashimi, the amberjack (from Iwaya) left the best impression. The rich umami flavor of the amberjack combined with the acidity of the sudachi citrus was incredibly delicious. The sea bream (from Awaji) also had a surprisingly flavorful taste for this time of year. However, the tuna (from Wakayama) was a bit lacking. The soup with grilled tilefish and somen noodles was memorable, with the savory flavor of the tilefish and the fragrant noodles. The grilled sawara (from Sera) was juicy and wonderfully aromatic. The consistent quality of this sawara was somewhat surprising. The simmered abalone (from Tokushima) was rich and flavorful, and the Kamo eggplant complemented the abalone beautifully. The peach daifuku was sweet, juicy, and incredibly delicious. Suzue-san's cooking focuses on bringing out the quality and flavors of the ingredients. While some dishes may appear simple, no effort is spared in preparing them. The only downside is the extremely high bill at the end.

This time, Mr. Suzue enjoyed dishes such as Awaji sea urchin and Mita water shield, Thai, tuna belly, and Wando Island shellfish soup, Fukura conger eel with round eggplant and abalone simmered dish, and rice with butterbur sprout and hairy crab. It was a truly happy experience to savor such exquisite ingredients in beautiful dishes. Thank you for the feast.

It took me quite a while to understand the taste of this restaurant. This is because they hardly use seasonings and instead bring out the maximum flavor of the ingredients to finish the dishes. It is truly one of a kind. The dish I had this time was also seasoned with almost no seasoning, just boiled with natural water and the natural flavor of the ingredients. The highlight this time was the conger eel. It was incredibly fresh and flavorful, the best I have ever had.

I am looking forward to Mr. Suzue's dishes again this year. The menu includes carabineros with kogomi in olive oil and sudachi sauce, tai and uni sashimi, red clam soup, grilled conger eel, shishamo fish, and bamboo shoot soup. We enjoyed the strawberry daifuku while admiring Mount Kenzan. Thank you for a wonderful meal today as well.

The sashimi is incredibly delicious. I've never seen such shiny sashimi before. It can be eaten without anything else. The chef is a nice person. Always busy and hardworking, and easy to talk to. There are also dishes by Ogata Kōrin, so you can enjoy more than just the food.

When it comes to Japanese cuisine in Kyoto, this place is my favorite. It probably offers some of the best dishes in Kyoto. The Uni (sea urchin) from Awaji, crab, mackerel, nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch), fugu (blowfish) fin, matsutake mushrooms, and crab cooked rice were all delicious. The dessert with persimmon was also excellent. Once again, everything was perfect.

At this time of year, Suzue-san serves delicious dishes such as child-bearing ayu tea simmered in Lake Biwa, red sea urchin from Ehime, Matsutake mushrooms from Ayabe, sweet sea bream from Hamasaka, simmered shark fin, nigiri sushi with Oni-aji salted tuna, and aged Daishakushi persimmons. Suzue-san always impresses with top-notch ingredients prepared with the highest level of skill. It's the best restaurant where you can always enjoy exceptional food. Thank you for the feast!

Autumn at Suzue-san's. You can enjoy carefully selected ingredients and dishes. Highlights include: Child-bearing ayu simmered in sweet soy sauce, sashimi platter (sea bream from Awaji, sea urchin from Uwajima, mackerel from Awaji, fatty tuna from Shiogama), grilled kamashio and tofu soup, matsutake mushroom from Suzu, grilled guji fish collar, simmered shark fin, ikura and salmon roe rice, vanilla ice cream. The simmered fallen ayu is cooked only with roasted green tea, resulting in a subtly sweet flavor. The sashimi platter is all top quality, with the sea bream and mackerel leaving a lasting impression. The mackerel's fat is remarkably clean, and I feel like it's been a while since I've had something of this level. The kamashio in the soup is also of very high quality, made with kombu and kamashio bones instead of using bonito, typical of Suzue-san's soup dishes. The grilled matsutake is steamed in foil until it starts to sweat, releasing a fragrant and juicy aroma. With a little bit of sake and a bill of around 100,000 yen, the dishes bring out the quality of the ingredients in a straightforward manner. While the dishes may seem simple, it is clear that no effort is spared in preparing them.

Thanks to the hotel concierge, I was finally able to secure a reservation at Shunseki Suzue for this Kyoto trip! The meal included red sea urchin and sea bream from Lake Biwa, ayu fish with roe, tea-stewed Ishikawa prefecture matsutake mushrooms, grilled saury, kombu dashi bonito, and tuna neck and otoro from Shima. Each dish was explained in detail by the chef, using seasonal ingredients in a luxurious way. The meal was delicious! Thank you for the feast! If you'd like, please follow my Instagram for more content! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffutogram/

At this time of year, Mr. Suzue is truly amazing. The soup contained simmered ayu and sea bream with roe, red sea bream with sea urchin, and hirame with fine noodles. There was also a soup with matsutake mushrooms from Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The meal included swordfish and winter melon soup. There was also fatty tuna, conger eel, and peach mochi. As always, it was a parade of top-notch dishes. ⭐️

Looking for summer ingredients, I went to a restaurant where you can enjoy the best ingredients with precious tableware. The appetizer (sea urchin and seaweed), sashimi (horse mackerel, sea bream), soup (conger eel, matsutake mushroom), grilled dish (matsutake mushroom, cutlassfish), simmered dish (tilefish, Kamo eggplant), sushi (tilefish, shrimp, tuna), peach daifuku. The sea urchin and seaweed are a classic starter for this season and will leave you impressed from the first dish. The horse mackerel sashimi also had high-quality fat and was delicious. I regret ordering white wine. The sea bream was also of high quality for this season. The awaited matsutake mushrooms were from Hiroshima. I had them in a soup and grilled. The conger eel and matsutake soup had a rich and sweet taste of the eel (from Awaji) which was impressive. The dashi was a matchmaker connecting the flavors of the eel and matsutake mushrooms. The grilled matsutake mushrooms had a good aroma and were juicy. They were carefully grilled over charcoal and steamed in foil to finish. The cutlassfish (from Awaji) also had a wonderful fat content and was very delicious. The saltiness in the simmered dish was strong, but it didn't overpower the flavors of the ingredients. You could taste the richness and sweetness of the tilefish clearly. Despite trying to keep the drinks to two glasses of white wine, the bill exceeded 120,000 yen, which was quite shocking. If prices continue to rise like this, the day when I can no longer afford to visit is approaching.

After a long time, I had a delightful meal at Shunseki. I couldn't contain my excitement! I enjoyed red sea urchin from Awaji, fresh striped horse mackerel from Mita, sea bream from Akashi, Mita beef, Aburame from Awaji, Hayamatsu from Hiroshima, Torikai from Noto Island, abalone from Kaifu, simmered Kagamia eggplant, Otoro, swordtip squid, and Kuruma prawn with vanilla ice cream and Japanese sugar. Summer meals at this time are truly special with Chef Suzue. Looking forward to next year as well! Thank you for the wonderful meal.

This month, Mr. Suzue served us his first ayu sea bream, akagai shellfish, sea urchin, all from Awaji Iwaya, as well as anago conger eel with marinated daikon radish, Tanba beef sirloin, and red snapper, anago eel, and tuna. The strawberry daifuku was also delicious. As always, the food and tableware were fantastic. Thank you very much for the wonderful meal!

Finally, I had the long-awaited meal at "Shunseki Suzue". On this day, I went to the counter with 4 people. A friend of mine made the reservation for me, so I had no idea about the menu, but I was so excited... The dishes we had that day were: - Daikon radish with karasumi (bottarga) - Various parts of blowfish as small dishes - Blowfish and bamboo shoot soup - Blowfish shirako (milt) with ponzu sauce - Grilled blowfish shirako - Grilled gurnard - Meat and daikon radish - Sushi (ark shell, white sea bream, sea urchin, tuna belly) - Strawberry daifuku The impression I got from this restaurant was that the hearty dishes left a lasting impression. When it comes to high-class Japanese cuisine, you might expect small, delicate dishes, but this was completely different. Each dish was hearty, yet meticulously prepared, showcasing the owner's dedication. Starting with the karasumi, I was blown away by the first bite. It was moist, not too salty, and the flavor spread in my mouth. Eating it with daikon radish was a whole new experience. The gurnard was a size I had never seen before, and despite expecting it to be tough, it was tender and juicy. The sushi was served on a large plate, making a huge impact and looking like a work of art. We finished with dessert served in a dish from over 500 years ago. I was truly impressed by the dishes and I definitely want to come back season by season. Thank you for the amazing meal.

Tsukiyama crab, 4.8kg blowfish, Ise lobster, Awaji sea urchin, Akagai clam, Tono tuna, Guji, shrimp potatoes, and young bamboo - a parade of top-notch ingredients that can easily take the spotlight in a high-end restaurant. Even the dessert, featuring ultra-premium Momoi strawberries, comes with a price tag that matches its quality. When it comes to the ultimate Japanese cuisine in Kyoto, it's easy to see why Suzue is considered the best.

I was able to visit during Suze-san's favorite season, which I already love. A master of ingredient selection, he goes to the mountains every day to fetch water. He pays attention to every detail, from the plates to the smallest things. It's safe to say that this is the top in Japan. The main dish this time was 4-5 kilograms of natural pufferfish. They brought out the best parts of the pufferfish: pufferfish milt, red snapper, fatty tuna sushi, ark shell sushi, sea urchin sushi, and strawberry daifuku - the best ever. Everything was truly amazing.

At the beginning of the year, the seasonal menu at Mr. Suzue's restaurant included 4.8kg of Tsuiyama crab, pufferfish, Matsuyama Castle bamboo shoots, Ise lobster, shirako, grilled Hatahata from Kinosaki, shrimp and taro, Ise lobster, tuna from Toi, ark shell, red snapper, and strawberry daifuku in a dried mountain pot. Looking forward to another great year!

In early winter, Suzue-san had gathered wonderful ingredients. The meal included: sashimi (sea bream, sea urchin, ark shell), soup (barracuda, turnip, wood sorrel), grilled dish (grouper), grilled dish (blowfish milt), simmered dish (abalone, taro), sushi (Tobi's tuna, ark shell with rapeseed flowers, grouper), homemade vanilla ice cream. The dishes at Suzue-san always have a unique touch to them. The sashimi was flawless, especially the sea bream and ark shell. While all the ingredients were superb, the most memorable was the grouper. It was grilled perfectly, crispy on the outside and tender inside. The sushi with grouper had a rich and sticky texture, with strong umami flavor. The tableware used was also exquisite, and asking Suzue-san for recommendations enhanced the dining experience even more.

I was invited to Shunseki Suzue near Heian Shrine in Kyoto! The restaurant has a dignified atmosphere and a warm-hearted chef. They explain the dishes and how to eat them in a polite manner. The most impressive dish was the soup. The chef kindly praised me for eating the fish neatly, despite my many challenges. The dishes were all of high quality and the portions were generous. I would love to visit again in a different season. Thank you for the wonderful meal!