Hyotei

Hyotei traces its history back more than four centuries to a tea house that served pilgrims and travellers at the approach to Nanzen-ji, one of Kyoto's great Zen temples. It began as the Shobayashi tea house and grew into one of the city's most respected kaiseki restaurants, while keeping its thatched buildings and garden setting in the leafy Nanzen-ji district at the foot of the eastern hills.

The restaurant has two parts. The main restaurant serves seasonal kaiseki at lunch and dinner in tatami rooms that look onto the garden, with dishes following the months in classic Kyoto style. The annex, or Bekkan, is a more relaxed space with chairs and tables around a garden, serving breakfast and shokado bento, a lacquered box of small seasonal dishes, at lunchtime. Whichever you choose, the Hyotei egg is the signature: a soft-boiled egg with a set white and a just-firm, rich yolk, served as part of the meal. In summer the annex serves asagayu, a traditional morning rice porridge, and in winter it offers a quail porridge.

The main restaurant opens for lunch from 12:00 and for dinner from 17:00 and is closed on Wednesdays, while the annex serves breakfast from 8:00 and lunch from 12:00 and is closed on Thursdays. Both also have irregular closing days, and hours can change with the seasons, so confirm when booking. Reservations can be made by phone or through the online booking services listed on the official website. Breakfast at the annex is the most affordable way to visit and is a fine start to a day of temple visits.

Hyotei suits couples, food lovers and anyone after a traditional Kyoto meal in a garden setting. The main restaurant involves sitting on tatami, while the annex has chairs and is easier for those who find floor seating uncomfortable. Allow around two hours for kaiseki and about an hour for breakfast.

The restaurant is about six minutes' walk from Keage Station on the Tozai subway line, and there is parking. Nanzen-ji is right next door, with its huge Sanmon gate, its brick aqueduct and the subtemples of Konchi-in and Tenju-an, and the Philosopher's Path begins a short walk to the north. Heian Shrine and the Okazaki museums are also close by.