Restaurant Nontaro

Time for sushi in Kyoto and to be more specific, time for sushi at Nontaro a traditional sushi restaurant open for over 50 years...


Located in the heart of the Gion entertainment district; aka the heart of the geisha district.

Using fresh ingratiates from Tsukiji, sushi and sashimi can't come any better...

Entering the delight of row fish...

The interior comprised of a single wood counter that fits about 10 diners...

Of course, as always we went for the Omakase-style dinner, that is the chef's choice.

Starter: Squid, Green onion with vinegret miso sauce

Left: Toro (Thon gras)
Right: Octopus
Top: Sea bream

This was the most amazing sashimi in my whole life; Toro with layers of fat and a texture that... frankly speaking, I don't have vocabulary to describe!

Left: Chawanmushi (an egg custard, stock and some pieces of fish and vegetables)
Right: Boiled firefly squid and radish sprout with vinegret miso sauce

From the left:
- Shrimp
- Tuna
- Yellowtail
- Ginger pickles

Left: Pacific-herring roe
Center: Shrimp
Right: Squid

Left: Abalone
Right: Ikura Gunkan (Salmon roe), maybe not as reach in taste as Russian caviar, but almost there.

Aloe with Japanese herb and sour plum paste... hmmm I haven't taste this before! Yamy...

Dark miso soup

Chef’s were quite friendly and I guess pleased from my enthusiasm, one ask me what type of meat is the main ingredient in my country. I've sad beef, although, Denmark massively producing pork and Macedonia producing lambs and goats. Somehow I haven’t been in the mood for this :-)

So, he pulled out a piece of top quality Kobe beef, grilled it for a 10 second and made a nagiri sushi for me… Pure delight!

Everything was fantastic and fresh. So precise and punctual, with a flavor that explodes in my mouth at the same moment fat melts away. Well, after this experience, eating sashimi in Copenhagen is real torture :-/

Me and the masters...

Special thanks to Emi for managing all reservation and guidance through this sea of magical things.

It cost us about 120€ per person, including beer and sake, and it is absolute must when around Kyoto.

Rating: 9.0 (out of 10.0)

Restaurant Nontaro
Hanamiko-ji Shijo-agaru
Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto