Gion Mametora 衹園豆寅 (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

One of my favorite places to visit in Kyoto is Hanami-koji Street (花見小路), a historic quarter near Gion famous for its traditional buildings, kimono shops, restaurants and most importantly, geisha. I have been here quite a number of times but it's my first time dining inside one of these traditional 2-storey buildings. 

I have already booked our seats at Gion Mametora (衹園豆寅) more than a month ago. I even booked the set lunch menu for everyone so I didn't have to worry about going through their food menu, which I assume only comes in Japanese. When I saw the word "bean" (豆) as part of the restaurant's name, I immediately assumed that it's a vegetarian restaurant featuring Kyoto's amazing tofu cuisine.

The main dining room is a traditional Japanese tatami room with tables generously spaced between each other. It's particularly important considering little nugget's in the house!

The appetizer platter came with an array of small nibbles including...

A slice of steamed duck breast which was succulent.

Sweetened eggplant topped with some sort of white foam.

Something like bitter melon served with crispy dried fish.

Tofu! But that's the first and last time we would see it on the menu this afternoon.

Vegetable jelly with peas and slices of conger eel. Pretty nice and sweet.

Speaking of sweet, the cherry tomato was sweet and juicy.

Next up, a bowl of warm fish and vegetable soup with eggplant, raw radish and scallion strips.

Grilled ayu fish with some smoky flavors. That was our last starter.

Now, this is what we came here for, Mametora's “Mame-zushi” box. Mame-zushi is a small and round size sushi designed for Maiko, an apprentice geisha. The bite-size made it perfect for them to eat while they were all dressed up.

The cutest Mame-zushi had to be the shrimp.

This one came with salmon, a thin sheet of cheese and okra. 

We were so stuffed after the Mame-zushi box but there was still a small dessert and tea to come.

A mochi stuffed with red bean paste, finished off with a sprinkle of brown sugar powder.

Not bad.

After our early lunch, we took a quick walk around Hanami-koji Street before heading towards the direction of Yasaka-jinja Shrine (八坂神社). But this is not going to be the end of us at this famed avenue (literally meaning "blossom viewing lane") since we will be having dinner here again in five hours.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 570-235 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, 605-0074, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Kyoto-Kawaramachi

Tel: +81 (0)75 532-3955

Website: www.kiwa-group.co.jp/mametora_gion

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 8:30pm daily