51 replies to this topic

[nuxvomica]

I finally got organized enough to have a kaiseki at Kyo Ya. (You have to order it three days in advance.) At $120 for nine courses plus dessert, it's not cheap -- but not at all beyond reason, either, given the amount and the (extremely high) quality of the food. They have a cheaper one for something like $90, but if you're doing it, you might as well go whole hog, I reasoned.

Some of the things they give you in the kaiseki dinner are on the menu; many aren't.

Is it worth it? Well, it's fun. But I can't say that it was a much much better experience than ordering off the menu here. Well worth trying -- but let's put it this way: I wouldn't avoid Kyo Ya if you can't have the kaiseki. A regular meal is probably a better value.

That said, this was a parade of exquisite dishes. Some were better than others. But none was less than excellent.

You know what my very favorite piece of food in this long meal was, though? It was the oyster, as described above by Orik, that in the kaiseki came with the sashimi course. I thought it was almost stunning how good it was. So everybody do what Orik says: go there and have the oysters.

i agree with the oyster, it was terrific. completely forgot about the dinner we had earlier this month. great sake list, lots of good stuff by the glass, too. some truly great off-the menu stuff they sent.

the tongue, however, was very dry and flavorless, as was the smoked eel. alas, no shirako the night we went.

[AaronS]

I had the less expensive kaiseki once and really liked it. I walked in and got what I took to be the 120 meal minus a few courses.

The highlights for me were a really nice tofu dish and some pressed sushi.

[porkwah]

You just need to order the kaiseki three days in advance. It doesn't matter what kind of night you're going. They need three days' notice to assemble the ingredients and block out the kitchen time.

ETA -- Otherwise, just to eat there (but not to have the kaiseki), yeah you can walk in on weeknights.

i've showed up and had it be full on weeknights before.

[Orik]

Ideally, show up with a reservation on a weeknight.

[scamhi]

We went to Kyo Ya Wednesday night and were mildly disappointed. The restaurant is beautiful. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the wooden slat walls.

Some items were excellent...Chawanmushi with crab, mushrooms and chicken, oysters and slow cooked pork belly. Not good were the yellowtail cooked with uni sauce, this was very dry and there was no taste of uni. the sweet potato tempura was a baseball sized fried whole white sweet potato with an option of soy sauce or salt for $11.00 that was just silly. Also the Mongo squid were 3 squares of thick squid pieces with a miso sauce. the squid was about 3/8" thick and not at all easy to chew.

oysters


mongo squid


dry Yellowtail with uni sauce


sweet potato tempura


Chawanmushi


Braised pork belly


With 2 large beers and a small bottle of sake cost was just under $150.00.
we went to the turkish kebab place for a chicken schwarma sandwich afterward.

[ulterior epicure]

Good grief that's a huge purple potato! It dwarfs that tiny sauce kettle.

p.s. Are you sure it was a purple potato (which I read to mean like the waxy ones associated with Peru) and not a Japanese yam?

[scamhi]

the potato was a japanese yam and it was actually smaller than a baseball.

[Jesikka]

When I went to Kyoya recently, the fried yam was a standout dish (we had many wonderful dishes). It's not usually my sort of thing, but it was almost like a donut, but with enough salt to carry it. I don't remember our yams being remarkably large at all, nor do I remember a choice of soy or salt. I'm pretty sure both were served with our dish.

[mongo_jones]

Also the Mongo squid were 3 squares of thick squid pieces with a miso sauce.

this is an outrage!

[scamhi]

Also the Mongo squid were 3 squares of thick squid pieces with a miso sauce.

this is an outrage!

very chewy, not tender like you
from one of those very large squid

[Daisy]

Had a smashing dinner Friday at this very lovely restaurant. Ankimo two ways was impeccable, especially the poached version. Creamy, plump oysters were topped with a dab of grated daikon and a wisp of shiso or a dot of umeboshi. I had never had pressed sushi before and very much enjoyed the version here which we ordered topped with tender eel. The tempura sweet potato, crisp skinned and soft and sweet within, is delicious when dabbed in the dish of salt served with it. Kurobota belly long-cooked with mirin was succulent, not too fatty (the way I like it), swimming in tasty sauce and dabbed with fiery mustard. Incredibly fresh mackerel sashimi shone yet was overshadowed by a very generous mound of the freshest, most flavorful uni I have ever had. We wrapped it in the sheets of nori provided to make the simplest and best handrolls ever. We finished up with a rice pot with scallops and snow crab. A fragrant and subtle dish with perfectly cooked seafood. We managed about half of the rather large serving and were sent home with two large rice balls, each with a little dish of pickles provided.

The good service, gorgeous plates and serving utensils, beautiful space and rather wonderful food does not come cheap. With tax and tip it was about $300, about $60 of which was sake. Which sake was presented beautifully on a bed of ice in a lucite box with a compartment at the end holding an orchid blossom.

[Sneakeater]

It's almost impossible to talk about this place without using the word "lovely", isn't it?

[Sneakeater]

The person I last took to Kyo Ya has turned into an oyster lunatic, texting me at all odd times about going out for oysters.

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Place certainly has its effect, though.

[Sneakeater]

We finished up with a rice pot with scallops and snow crab. A fragrant and subtle dish with perfectly cooked seafood. We managed about half of the rather large serving and were sent home with two large rice balls, each with a little dish of pickles provided.

I just wanted to agree with Daisy about how fragrant and subtle this wonderful dish is, and also about how nice the doggy packaging is (eaten cold the next day, it's almost too subtle, though).

[Squeat Mungry]

I just now noticed this thread. Does anyone know whether this restaurant has any relation to the (also highly acclaimed) Japanese restaurant of the same name here in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco? (A half-assed Google search provided no clues.)