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[Let's enjoy the spring! Kyoto's cherry blossom viewing...
A must-see for those who "want to eat delicious yakitori in Kyoto."
We pick up the best yakitori restaurants in Kyoto, such as those that serve the freshest jidori chicken and those that grill their yakitori using special charcoal. We also introduce restaurants that are easy to stop by on your way home from work or sightseeing, and that are only a train ride from Kyoto Station! We also provide information exclusively obtained by Leaf's editorial staff, such as the best times to visit, and the owner's recommendations for gourmet foods to eat with yakitori. Check it out until the end to find your favorite restaurant. (TEXT/Yurie Sano, EDIT/Miki Tamura)
Kushikura, located in a renovated 100-year-old Kyoto townhouse, offers not only Tajima chicken skewers but also seasonal dishes. You can order individual items, or order a set course that includes soy milk hot pot, chicken hittomabushi, and other dishes. The wide variety of sake, including Kyoto's locally brewed sake and shochu, is also a nice feature. The restaurant is also open for lunch, where you can enjoy yakitori in a set meal style, and has private rooms for 2 to 4 people as well as a large banquet room, making it a reliable choice for a variety of occasions.
Tajima chicken skewers can be ordered separately. The charcoal fire enhances the quality of the ingredients on these skewers.
Hole time / Lunch 13:00 or later, Dinner 20:00 - later (LO/21:00)
Food menu to go with it / Chicken Hitsumabushi Course, which can be ordered only for dinner, 4,800 yen.
Located a few minutes' walk from Sanjo Ohashi Bridge, Charcoal Kushiyaki Torito Kawaramachi Sanjo Branch is a yakitori restaurant that focuses on the finest ingredients. They visit poultry farms to select the most delicious chicken meat each season, and offer locally raised chickens such as Kyoto Hine Chicken and Tanba Chicken. The restaurant offers a wide selection of yakitori, from standard to rare parts, as well as an extensive side menu including earthenware pot dishes. In addition to an L-shaped counter where diners can watch the cooking in front of them, the restaurant also offers semi-private kotatsu (table placed over a sunken kotatsu) seats, making it an ideal place for a variety of occasions.
Rare parts of the meat, such as Sori (385 yen) and Furisode (308 yen), can also be tasted here. The famous tsukune (rice cake) is 440 yen per piece.
Hole time / No
Food menu to go with it / Gomoku takikomi gohan (rice cooked with five ingredients): 1,594 yen
At Tsunekiya, you can enjoy skewers with a crispy surface and a fluffy interior in a retro space. The menu offers about 30 kinds of skewers, including morning-drawn Kyoto red chicken with homemade sauce and rare parts of Japanese black beef such as hoso and tenmimi. The restaurant also offers a wide variety of side dishes, such as deep-fried seseri and homemade thick fried tofu, which are prepared with the utmost care. Enjoy the view of the beautifully landscaped tsuboniwa garden and spend a relaxing time.
Scissors 180 yen per scissors. Tender young chicken is seasoned with a secret sauce made from a combination of white wine and coarse sugar to give it a deep flavor.
Hole time / 17:30-18:30, after 21:00
Food menu to go with it / Homemade thick fried bean curd 450 yen
The restaurant opened in October 2024, where you can enjoy yakitori in an atmospheric atmosphere with a counter made of a single piece of zelkova and camphor wood and pendant lights, etc. The chicken made from Hinai Jidori female chickens raised for 180 days is attracting attention for its rich flavor. The restaurant's other dishes, such as dashimaki tamago (rolled egg) cooked over a wood fire and rice cooked in a stove, are also prepared over a natural fire. The extensive sake lineup, including natural wines and rare Japanese sake, is also worth noting.
An example of a 12,000 yen course meal. Negima is a sumptuous dish using the most delicious part of the thigh meat. The skewers are carefully grilled at different angles to ensure that both the chicken and the green onions are cooked to the best condition.
Hole time / 2 sessions from 16:00 and 18:30, with the hole time being the 16:00 session.
Gion Torijyu opened in August 2024, attracting much attention for its unique yakitori, which is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Mr. Yogi, who has been in the business for 25 years, uses Tosa binchotan (binchotan charcoal from Tosa), which has high heat, to grill each brand of chicken in a way that brings out the best flavor of each species. The course is composed of a balance of flavors and textures, such as the juicy Jidori chicken followed by the more resilient Gundori chicken. Enjoy the blissful moment created by our artisans.
Nagoya Coach thigh meat is offered in a 12-course for 7,500 yen and a 16-course for 10,000 yen. Nagoya Cochin, also known as the king of local chickens, has a strong flavor and elastic texture. Salt from Kochi Prefecture brings out the flavor of the ingredients.
Hole time / 17:00-18:00
Food menu to go along with the course / dishes using seasonal vegetables that appear in the course
Yakitori Seri, located in a back alley in Shijo, is a hideaway with only nine counter seats. The owner, Yoshitoshi, is from Shiga Prefecture, so you can taste Omi ingredients such as Omi Gundori, Omi Kuro-hen, and Hitomi Winery wines. Yuzu kosho (yuzu pepper) and lemon salt, both made from Shiga Prefecture's Yahira chili pepper, are available as condiments, so you can enjoy a variety of flavors.
From left: Boneless chicken wings with green onions, 270 yen; a perfect combination of juicy fat from the wings and the sweetness of the green onions. Omi Gundori Chicken Momo (thigh) 470 yen, with its addictive flavor and firm texture.
Hole time / after 20:30 on weekdays (Sold out depending on the part)
Food menu to go with it: Charcoal grilled vegetables 260 yen and up, chopstick rest (cassata) 550 yen
Gion Tachi opened in July 2024 along Shinbashi-dori in Gion, which is characterized by cobblestone pavement. The restaurant is attracting a lot of attention as a space for adults where sommeliers and sake tasters offer their suggestions in an atmosphere that combines traditional Japanese beauty with a modern sense of style. In January 2025, the restaurant will open for lunch, making it possible to enjoy charcoal-grilled dishes from daytime to nighttime.
The OMAKASE Course, priced at ¥12,000, features five types of yakitori and one type of seasonal vegetable, each grilled one by one. Enjoy the deep flavor of the morning-drawn Kyoto red-breasted chicken!
Hole time / 12:00-16:00
Food menu to go with it / Charcoal-grilled A5-rank Kobe beef (OMAKASE course menu for 12,000 yen)
[Kyoto Torihachi is a popular restaurant where you can enjoy brand-name chickens such as Fukushima Prefecture's Date chicken, Tokushima Prefecture's Awao chicken, Kumamoto Prefecture's Umaka chicken, and Tottori Prefecture's Daisen chicken. When you open the door of the restaurant, located at the end of a narrow street lit by lanterns, you will be greeted by a quiet and relaxed atmosphere that will make you forget that you are in the center of Kyoto. The yakitori are carefully grilled and served one by one by a skilled chef while observing the customers. Enjoy a luxurious time at the U-shaped counter seats.
Lightly grilled rustic dishes, plump and juicy kashiwa and shiratama (white rice balls), and other dishes are grilled to lock in the flavor while manipulating the charcoal.
Hole time / after 20:00
Food menu to go with it/Gohan with egg 550 yen
Wabi-ya Koryokudo Gion Hanamikoji Honten is a chicken restaurant that makes the most of the individuality of its ingredients, paying particular attention to the degree of cooking and seasoning. For lunch, the Ishiyaki oyakodon, a bowl of rice topped with chicken thighs covered with the aroma of charcoal fire and three rich red eggs from Kyoto Prefecture, is very popular. For dinner, the restaurant offers only the Kyoto Yakitori Style Course, which is a seasonal dish. Seven types of pairing drinks, carefully selected by sommelier and manager Mr. Nakatani to match the dishes, are also on standby.
Duck tsukune (tsukune is a type of tsukune with duck meat) appears in the 10,000 yen Kyoto Yakitori Style Course. This dish brings out the best of the ingredients and allows you to enjoy Kyoto's culinary culture.
Hole time / 13:30
Food menu to go with it / Ishiyaki oyakodon 2,260 yen
Yakitori Ogo, which serves Kyo-aka Jidori chicken, was the dream of Mr. Suwa, who trained at Honwaka, a famous chicken restaurant in Katsura, before opening this restaurant. The chicken is grilled using aromatic Kishu-binchotan charcoal, and the savory aroma spreads with each bite. The restaurant features a wide variety of sake, including fully fermented, aged sake, and there is a line of sake for heating right in front of the counter seats. Ask for a recommendation and warm your body and soul with a mild cup of sake.
From left to right: thigh (260 yen), tsukune (220 yen), and yagen cartilage (230 yen). The thigh is sliced into large pieces, and the delicious taste of Kyoto red ground chicken can be directly felt.
Hole time / after 20:00
Food menu to go with it / Kyo-aka Jidori Chicken Momo Tataki 980 yen
Charcoal-fired yakitori at Nominbebe (Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto), which blends in beautifully with the Gion district, can be ordered until 2:00 a.m., making it the perfect place to go on a day when you want to drink. The chicken is freshly pulled in the morning and grilled over high heat in one go, giving it a juicy and delicious flavor. The restaurant also offers many excellent dishes made with the utmost care, including tsukune chazuke, which is tsukune in a glass broth made by simmering chicken bones, vegetables, and tail. The restaurant also offers a wide selection of Japanese sake, so ask for a recommendation that goes well with the dish.
The signature dish, kimo (220 yen), is a reproduction of the flavor directly from Shijo Mibu [Thunder], where the owner, Mr. Hasebe, trained, and has a refined taste with no peculiarities.
Hole time/21:00-24:00 (Reservations required for 18:00-21:00)
Food menu to go with it / Creative skewers, pork belly, tomato cheese, 330 yen
Charcoal-grilled Yakitori Chabuya, which appears as you walk down a back alley in Shijo, is a relaxing bar reminiscent of the good old Showa period. The restaurant is always crowded with customers, who can enjoy authentic yakitori from as low as 200 yen. In addition to the popular yakitori, the restaurant also serves a wide variety of other alcoholic beverages such as ham cutlets and oden. With a glass of sake in hand, enjoy your favorite dishes to the fullest.
Liver 220 yen is slowly roasted over charcoal, with an appetizing aroma that is very appealing!
Hole time / 20:00~.
Food menu to go with it / Oden assortment: 880 yen
Sumiyaki Toriyaki Toriko serves fresh jidori chicken such as Kyo-aka Jidori and Tanba Ajiwai Dori. You can order rare parts of chicken such as furisode, which is popular among connoisseurs. The restaurant also offers a wide variety of dishes other than yakitori, such as toriwasa (chicken wasabi) made from Kyoto red chicken meat and yubiki ponzu (boiled harami in ponzu sauce). The restaurant, which is housed in a deep renovated machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse), has counter seats as well as stylish table seats, and welcomes both solo customers and groups of customers.
Furisode: 300 yen. A rare part of Kyoto red part of the chicken, a combination of the best of both the thigh and the breast.
Hole time / 17:00 or after 21:00
Food menu to go with it / Tori-wasabi
At Charcoal Chicken Yaki Shiraku, located near the Sanjo Ohashi Bridge, you can enjoy self-serve yakitori on a shichirin (charcoal grill) installed at each table. The staff will teach you how to cook the right amount of each part of the chicken, so beginners can feel at ease. Another notable feature of the restaurant is that it procures whole Kosaka chickens, which are known as aseptic chickens and can only be handled by a limited number of chefs. Ask for recommendations from the wide selection of natura wines and enjoy pairing them with the chicken.
Grilled cheese tomatoes for 500 yen: cheese is melted on a shichirin (a charcoal stove) and mini tomatoes are dived into the melted cheese and grilled in cross sections.
Hole time / after 20:00
Food menu to go with it / Potato salad 650 yen
Tachiton Torizuki, which opens at 3:00 p.m. every day, is an attractive place where you can enjoy yakitori grilled with the perfect amount of heat for each part of the chicken, as well as flavorful obanzai. The restaurant's relaxed atmosphere is perfect for drinking alone or with friends. On the second floor, where reservations are limited, there are tables that can be used when you want to spend time in a relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant also offers a wide variety of dishes to finish off your meal, such as torimabushi rice and chicken ramen, so you can enjoy the delicious taste of chicken without missing out on anything.
Special dakimi made from the thigh meat of the Satsuma Gokyu Chicken and Oma Sakura from Kagoshima Prefecture: 300 yen per dakimi
Hole time / 15:00-18:00
Food menu to go with it / Steamed Tsukune (3 kinds for 550 yen, 5 kinds for 850 yen)
Opened in December 2024, Chikusai Yokodori is operated by the popular Kyoto izakaya (Japanese-style bar) group Gojyuka. The restaurant, which has been renovated into a modern Kyoto-style machiya (traditional townhouse), offers a hearty 16-course menu that is sure to be a hit with customers. You can enjoy grilled chicken skewers made from carefully selected chicken meat and dishes using seasonal ingredients. The restaurant also offers a 12-course short course and an a la carte menu, which will be useful for a variety of occasions.
Negima (green onion) with fragrant chicken thighs topped with fresh sprouts. Dishes start from 6500 yen for a course.
Hole time / 17:00-18:00
Food menu to go with it / Rice with chicken broth (350 yen, free refill)
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