Muni La Terrasse (Kyoto, JAPAN) ★★☆☆☆

I have been sleeping on this one for a while since we came back from Osaka cuz I didn’t know where to start. View, ambience, food or service (yeah can’t wait to get started on this one), it’s tough to pick a starting point.

This lunch booking at Muni La Terrasse was made pretty much right after we secured our flight tickets to Osaka. The reportedly amazing view of Togetsukyo Bridge (渡月橋) and Katsura River played a huge role in my decision to come here and of cuz the fact that it’s a Alain Ducasse establishment added to the draw.

But my first impression was a less than satisfactory one. When my little nugget and I first stepped through the entrance of the hotel (yes, it’s a hotel restaurant), we were immediately shown a stop sign by a female employee of the hotel asking for our intention to enter the premise. I told her straightaway that we had a lunch reservation and without inviting us into restaurant, she asked us to wait outside (actually outdoor) while she went in to check for our booking. Putting two and two together, I was thinking that she thought we were just trespassing and attempted to sneak in for a photo. But give her credit, she was smiling all this time.

Not surprisingly, she found my booking and we were escorted into the dining room. I have asked for seats by the window but it looked like that remark wasn’t properly recorded. No problem there as we could still see the bridge from our vantage point, albeit with a few diners partially blocking our view. That’s fine.

After taking a look at the food menu, we all took turns to place our order. This was the least enthusiastic table service I’ve seen from staff of a Michelin starred restaurant. From what I’ve seen, from the manager to the waiter, waitress and hostess, no one was keen to serve us. But I felt a little better when i spotted them treating the rest of the diners with the same ice cold service. At least, we were not being treated differently.

Oh and back to the dishes we tried…..

Vitello tonnato – Thin slices of veal stacked up together, were topped nicely with a creamy tuna sauce, which has been decorated with mini iceberg and capers on top. I am a fan of vitello tonnato so I was definitely enjoying the bright start.

Hand-cut beef tartare, hazelnut and capers – While I had the vitello tonnato, a few of us went with the signature starter here. This was far from what I expected from a traditional hand-cut beef tartare; at least the presentation suggested it was a contemporary take on the traditional version. According to multiple sources, this was indeed very tasty with the acidity from the capers and crunch from the hazelnut complementing the flavorful raw beef beautifully. 

Casareccia, courgettes and quick-sautéed shrimps – While some of us were still in cloud nine (after the beef tartare), we all came crashing back to earth. The casareccia pasta was decent but I expected a little more out of the main dish from a Michelin starred establishment.

Contemporary almond profiteroles – For dessert, I picked the contemporary almond profiteroles which was more like a cream puff showered with roasted almond flakes and chocolate ganache. This was actually not bad and I especially enjoyed the sweet-savory choux pastry meshing well with the chocolate ganache and vanilla ice-cream.

Roasted pineapple, green shiso and ginger – Mom ordered the roasted pineapple slices thanks to my ringing endorsement but thought it tasted a little funny with the mix of shiso and ginger.

This was what it looked like when there was no one sitting between us and the view to Togetsukyo Bridge. It was good to finally get a few photos in. As expected, when we were ready to step out of the restaurant, there was no "thank you", "goodbye" or "see ya next time" from any of the staff. But why am I not surprised!?

Apart from the renowned bamboo forest, I thought this part of Arashiyama including Togetsukyo Bridge and Katsura River also deserves a deep dive.

Honestly, I much preferred this unobstructed of the bridge than the one back at Muni La Terrasse. At least, over here I didn't have to put up with the attitude from their service team.

There are many things in life that are uncertain but you can jot this one down, I will never come back to Muni La Terrasse ever again. The team should be embarrassed with the terrible service here today which was utterly disappointing and shameful especially for a Alain Ducasse restaurant.

Luckily, that didn't ruin the rest of the afternoon for us. This guy next to me in particular just couldn't care less.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1F, MUNI KYOTO, 3 Sagatenryuji Susukinobabacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, 616-8385, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Saga-Arashiyama / Arashiyama

Tel: +81 (0)75 873-7770

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm (Day may vary by month)