Second visit. Last time, I visited for dinner but this time I came for lunch to combat the summer heat in Kyoto. I arrived right at 11:30 and there was a line of tourists, but luckily we were able to get in on the first round. The famous Kinshi-don was very delicious. Next time, I would like to try the eel rice bowl.

The eel itself is very delicious. The Kinshi-don is famous, but I think the correct choice is the Unadon. The portion was modest. I entered the restaurant during the second round of seating, which seems to be divided into time slots like 11:30 and 12:30. It felt a bit strange to me.

I came here to try the famous Kinshi Don. Although the ochazuke is also popular, it seems like everyone is ordering the Kinshi Don these days, maybe because it looks good in photos. The staff here are very professional. The eel is grilled carefully after you order, and the egg for the Kinshi Don is cooked one by one with great care. Despite the effort put into the dishes, the prices are reasonable. The taste is delicious, so I can confidently recommend it. When the staff explained the menu, they seemed to want me to try the Unaju instead of the Kinshi Don. Maybe because the Kinshi Don requires a lot of effort and everyone orders it just for the Instagrammable aspect, they might feel a bit lonely. They highly recommended enjoying the eel that they grilled with confidence.笑

For my second lunch stop, I visited this Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant for the second time. Last time, I ordered the classic katsu-don, so this time I tried the mamushi-don. However, the recommended dish at this restaurant seems to be the regular unagi-don or unagi-ju. The waitress explained this in English to the two Korean girls next to me. I might try the unagi-ju next time!

On days off, there are long lines as everyone has mentioned. Especially now, there are many foreign customers. The place where you line up is very cold, so even if it's warm outside, it still feels about 10 degrees Celsius cold. As for the eel, the sauce is very light. They can provide extra sauce for those who need it. When I ate it, the eel was more fluffy than crispy. The crispiness may vary depending on the day. The pickles and soup are also very delicious.

I came to this eel restaurant in Kyoto to eat their Kinshi Donburi, so I made a reservation in advance. The restaurant is located in a narrow alley, making it a bit hard to find. Inside, there are only 2 tables and 6 counter seats. The Kinshi Donburi comes in two varieties: one with eel liver and tamago (egg) on top, and the other with just eel. I also had a cup of warm sake to go with it. The eel was tender and delicious, and the sauce was simple and not too sweet. The rice at the bottom was mixed with sauce and sesame seeds, giving it a nice flavor. The eel liver dish that was served first paired perfectly with the warm sake. Despite being a weekday, the restaurant was fully booked, so I recommend making a reservation in advance.

On the first day in Kyoto, we had dinner at a long-established eel restaurant founded in 1866. It's a popular place that's hard to get a reservation at! The "kinshi-don" is a big hit ^_^ It's located in a place that seems like a maze in a back alley, which makes it exciting. We had the beautifully arranged "kinshi-don" with plenty of shredded egg, and the "mamushi-don" (surprisingly named after a venomous snake, but it's actually eel) with rice mixed with seaweed and sesame seeds. The eel, grilled without steaming, was crispy and delicious! I was happy to visit this popular restaurant that I was curious about! Thank you for the delicious meal!

I had made a reservation for just a seat, so we started at 7:00 pm in Gion, wandering through the unique back alleys and side streets to find the charming entrance. Perhaps due to the Gion Festival or the local atmosphere, there were maiko fans displayed inside the restaurant, and with only one group of customers, we were able to enjoy a quiet meal. The eel dish "Yanagawa" was 1800 yen, the "Kinshi Don" was 2400 yen, and a bottle of beer was 600 yen, totaling 4800 yen. I had always imagined Kinshi Tamago to be slightly dry, so I was initially skeptical about why it was included, but it turned out to be soft and moist, complementing the eel dish perfectly without overpowering it. The eel itself was delicious, with a well-balanced sweet and savory sauce that coated the rice nicely. We were also able to request extra sauce, which made us very satisfied. The Yanagawa eel dish we ordered as a beer snack still retained the delicious eel flavor. The value for the Kinshi Don was good, but the Yanagawa eel dish was a bit on the expensive side. Overall, it was a very satisfying dining experience. As a side note, they had Hara Ryo-kaku's Ichimi Togarashi, Kuro Shichimi, and Sansho pepper available in a box. The Ichimi Togarashi was incredibly spicy and wonderful, while the Kuro Shichimi and Sansho pepper had a lovely aroma. I bought them as souvenirs at Kyoto Station.

This is a restaurant located near Shijo Kawaramachi in Kyoto. I was intrigued by the photo of the eel bowl topped with kinshi egg and decided to go check it out. Finding the place was a bit tricky as it was not facing the main street, but tucked away down a narrow alley-like path. I arrived around 1 pm on a Monday and managed to get a table for two, with another couple seated at the counter. The menu offered eel dishes for those who wanted a hearty meal, with options like eel rice bowl, eel and egg rice bowl, and kinshi egg rice bowl. I chose the kinshi egg rice bowl priced at 2,400 yen. After a short wait, my dish arrived. The vibrant yellow color was appealing, and mixing the egg revealed the delicious eel underneath. The rice was well-seasoned with sesame seeds and looked appetizing. The eel was crispy on the outside and tender inside, and the rice had a nice balance of flavors. The kinshi egg added a creamy touch. Sprinkling some sansho pepper enhanced the taste even more. While the portion of eel was a bit small, the dish was well-balanced and satisfying for a lunch meal. Overall, it was a delicious dining experience.

I arrived at the restaurant for an early dinner at 5:30 pm, shortly after it opened. The entrance was a bit easy to miss if you weren't careful, but the restaurant had a cozy and calming atmosphere. It took about 30 minutes for the food to be served, as they prepared and grilled it after taking the order. The eel dish had a Kansai-style preparation, without steaming, and the eel was flavorful and crispy. It was served on a bed of rice mixed with sauce, topped with half an eel and a generous amount of shredded egg. The sauce was surprisingly mild, so I added more to my liking. It was a different experience from the usual eel dish, and the gentle taste of the egg was a nice touch. I would like to visit again in the future.

Hidden in a back alley, this long-standing eel specialty restaurant has only a counter and two table seats. Reservations recommended. Their specialty dish is an eel bowl topped with freshly made fluffy kinshi egg, prepared right in front of you at the counter. The aroma of charcoal-grilled eel is irresistible. The miso soup, Nara pickles, and pickled vegetables are also top-notch. No reservations needed on weekdays, no waiting. Cash only.

First time visiting this restaurant (^_^) I actually planned to go to a different place, but it turned out they are closed on Mondays... I made a mistake... (+_+) However!! Thanks to that, I discovered the kinsen donburi (^_^) It's located on a narrow street off the main road, so I was a bit nervous, but it had a nice Kyoto-like atmosphere (^^) The food was very delicious. Thank you for the meal (^_^)

Kinshi-don for 2400 yen There is only a sign at the entrance of the alley, and you can't see the shop even if you peek in. If you walk to the back, you can finally see the noren, so you can figure out where the shop is. You won't find your way there without looking it up before you go. The difference between mamushi-don and kinshi-don is whether the rice is mixed with sauce and sesame seeds, with nori or with sauce and sesame seeds sprinkled with shredded egg. The eel in the bowl is half, while in the unaju, they use one whole eel. It takes a little time to grill the eel and shredded egg after receiving the order. The dish is served! When you open the lid of the bowl, you will see a beautiful yellow shredded egg spread all over, which is beautiful. When you move the shredded egg aside, the eel peeks out. The Kansai-style grilled eel is crispy and delicious! Some other shops serve it with dashimaki tamago, but I prefer shredded egg. The sauce is mildly sweet and refreshing, which I also liked. Thank you for the meal. It was delicious. 7.0

I was around Kawaramachi, so I decided to have lunch somewhere in the area. There are plenty of restaurants around here, so I was looking for a place with more of a Japanese feel rather than heavy dishes. I found a hit near me, which was an eel restaurant. I tried visiting it a while ago but it was full and I couldn't get in. The restaurant, Sannomiya, is located through a gate and down a narrow alley, which I really like about Kyoto. Inside, there are 4 counter seats and 3 tables, making it a small restaurant. The most popular menu item is the Kinshi Donburi for 2,400 yen. I was wondering where the eel was, but when I dug through the shredded egg, I found it! The eel is grilled to a crispy texture after ordering, making it delicious. Each order of rice is mixed with sauce and white sesame, and the shredded egg is also grilled. Even though it seems fine to pre-make it, the effort put into cooking it in front of you makes it taste better. The sauce is light, and they offered more if needed, but I found it to be just right. The shredded egg is fluffy and has a subtle taste. The eel was the star of the dish, and the Nara pickles and soup were also delicious. Thank you for the meal. Sannomiya 075-532-5830 Kyoto, Higashiyama-ku, Yamatooji-dori, Shimogawara, 2-chome, Tokiwacho 155-2.

The restaurant is famous for its tea-pickled eel. I had wanted to go there for a while, but they are closed on Sundays. This time, I finally had the chance to go. The restaurant is located at the end of a narrow alley. I was a bit worried about finding it, but there were people waiting in front of the shop, so it was easy to locate. The curtain at the entrance is stylish. I had imagined it to be a long-established eel restaurant, so I was surprised when I entered the shop. The atmosphere is more like a small izakaya, very clean and neat. It's a small shop that can get full with just 10 people. Also, I was surprised to see that there were not many elderly customers, but rather a lot of young men and women. I ordered the tea-pickled eel, while my friend ordered the eel on rice. It was served in about 10 minutes. The eel is arranged in a cross on top of the rice. It is eaten with poured green tea, along with wasabi and sansho pepper. The eel was more tender than I expected, and the sauce was richly flavored. Honestly, I still prefer the traditional eel soup. I will try the eel on rice next time. There was something that caught my eye on the menu - onigiri for 700 yen. Considering the price, it must be an onigiri with eel inside.

Near the post office, you enter through the gate and there is a shop inside. I had the Kinshi Don. The Kinshi Don is rice seasoned with eel and kinshi (thinly shredded egg crepe). It had a nice combination of black shichimi pepper and sansho (Japanese pepper), and it was delicious! They also offer eel ochazuke for takeout. Eel is considered quite pricey these days.

Just a short walk from Gion Shijo Station, there is an eel restaurant along Yamato Oji Street. Last time I visited, it was unexpectedly fully booked and I couldn't get in. I ordered the Kinshi Don for 2400 yen. The chef grilled the eel while a young woman cooked the egg. The bowl was filled with delicate shredded egg. As I moved my chopsticks, the eel appeared. The crispy grilled eel was fragrant and very delicious. Just when I was enjoying it, I received a call from work and had to hurry. It was delicious eel. Next time, I want to splurge and try the Unaju.