Delicious Tempura Restaurants in Kyoto and the Surrounding Area Discover Oishii Japan -SAVOR JAPAN -Japanese Restaurant Guide-

Update-date: Jul 01 2020

Author: SAVOR JAPAN

Delicious Tempura Restaurants in Kyoto and the Surrounding Area

Tempura is a gourmet specialty you should definitely try when you visit Japan. It is a Japanese food made with ingredients such as seafood and vegetables which are coated in a batter made of flour, eggs, and water and fried in oil. With its irresistible crispy coating, piping hot tempura is addictive from the first bite and is a favorite food of Japanese people. This time we will introduce some recommended tempura restaurants in Kyoto and its surrounding areas, including some restaurants in Osaka and Hyogo, that you should try!

See full listings of Tempura restaurants found in and around Osaka and Kyoto.

1. Japanese Restaurant Mai (Kyoto / Japanese Cuisine)

Restaurants in Kyoto and the Surrounding Area Where You Can Eat Delicious Tempura

With a great location just a 2-minute walk from Kyoto Station, Japanese Restaurant Mai is a restaurant where you can try fresh and seasonal Japanese cuisine. Being able to eat freshly-made tempura after seeing it made in front of your eyes by the skilled cook behind the open counter is a selling point of this restaurant. The tempura is fried in a blend of 3 types of oil including pure sesame oil, which ensures a crispy finished product. The Assorted Tempura Platter (1,680 JPY) consists of 7 kinds of tempura including lobster and seasonal vegetables and is wonderfully satisfying.

Japanese Restaurant Mai

Open: Lunch 11:30 pm to 2:30 pm operating throughout the New Year's holidays,

Dinner 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm (last order 10:30 pm). Last order for drinks 11:00 pm,

Breakfast 06:30 am to 10:00 am, operating throughout the New Year's holidays,

Cafe 10:00 to 11:30 operating throughout the New Year's holidays
Closed: Irregular
Average price: [Lunch] 1,000 JPY
Access: One minute walk from Hachijo East exit of Kyoto station, on every JR line, or on the Kyoto City Subway Karasuma line or Kintetsu Kyoto line.
Address: Hotel Elcient Kyoto 1F, 13 Higashi Kujo Higashi Sannou-cho , Minami-ku,Kyoto-shi , Kyoto Map
More Details Reservation

2. Kyoto Gion Tempura Yasaka Endo (Gion-shijo / Japanese Cuisine)

Yasaka Endo is a well-known tempura restaurant with a long history that stands on the edge of the vast Kennin-ji Temple grounds. Ingredients unique to the local area such as traditional Kyo-yasai (vegetables from Kyoto), fresh fish from the Akashi and Wakasa areas, and freshwater fish are fried with the exceptional skill of the experienced chef. The restaurant specializes in a unique combination of seasoning salt and tempura dipping sauce, and the frying oil used is the highest quality cottonseed oil. The restaurant prides itself in its specialty tempura. Another charm of this restaurant is the very Kyoto-like atmosphere, with its cobblestone path and sukiya-style (a type of Japanese architecture) building.

Kyoto Gion Tempura Yasaka Endo

Open: Lunch 11:30 am - 3:00 pm (L.O. 2:45 pm) / Dinner 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm (L.O. 9:15 pm)
Closed: -
Average price: [Dinner] 10,000 JPY / [Lunch] 5,500 JPY
Access: Approximately 10 minutes by foot southeast of exit 6 of the Keihan Shijo Station
Address: 566 Komatsu-cho , Higashiyama, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Map
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3. Mutsunoya (Kawaramachi / Japanese Cuisine)

This is a long-standing Japanese restaurant that was established in the vicinity of the Takase River in 1897. The pride of this restaurant is its Tempura (from 2,800 JPY) which focuses on fresh, seasonal Kyo-yasai such as Kamo eggplant and Manganji chili pepper. In the highly-recommended Kikusui Course (8,800 JPY), in addition to tempura made with Kyo-yasai, fresh fish, and shrimp, you can even try a variety of quality dishes such as one-bite seasonal hot pot, grilled delicacies, and stewed items. Menu items using the restaurant's specialty ingredients, which are fresh fugu (Japanese pufferfish) and hamo (conger eel), are also not to be missed!

Mutsunoya

Open: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Closed: Irregular
Average price: [Dinner] 15,000 JPY
Access: 5 minutes walk from Kawaramachi Station 1B exit on Hankyu Kyoto Main line
Address: 146, Tenno-cho, Bukkoji-agaru, Kiyamachi-dori, Shimigyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Map
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4. Arashiyama Yugetsu (Arashiyama / Japanese Cuisine)

This is a restaurant where you can try authentic local Kyoto cuisine for a comparatively reasonable price while taking in the view of the picturesque landscape of Arashiyama. The appeal of this space is that although it has a formal tatami mat dining room in which you can feel the restaurant’s 90-odd years of history, the atmosphere is relaxed and casual. Of the diverse menu options, the tempura provides special attention to seasonal ingredients. The a la carte menu includes Seasonal Vegetable Tempura (1,500 JPY) and a Tempura Assortment (1,800 JPY). Even the non-tempura dishes such as the dashi broth, made with the finest ingredients, offer a culinary experience in which you can feel the soul of Japanese cooking. Indulge yourself!

Arashiyama Yugetsu

Open: [Monday - Wednesday, Friday - Sunday, National Holidays, Day before National Holidays] 11:00 am - (L.O. 7:00 pm)
Closed: Thursday
Average price: [Dinner] 3,500 JPY / [Lunch] 3,500 JPY
Access: Go up the slope at the end of [Arashiyama station] of Hankyu Arashiyama Line, cross Nakanoshima bridge and go left for 50 m
Address: Kanyuchi, Saganakanoshimacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto Map
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5. Marutamachi Yangas (Marutamachi / Izakaya)

This is a Japanese restaurant located a short walk from Marutamachi Station where you can enjoy drinks and seafood dishes in a refined setting with a warm, wooden feel. The fresh fish is chosen personally by the owner, who visits the fish market each morning to ensure the highest degree of freshness and quality. Out of all the fresh seafood tempura offered, the recommendation here is the Tempura of Tilefish (1,500 JPY). With its crispy skin and fluffy meat, this is a masterpiece that showcases the elegant sweetness that is characteristic of tilefish. The unique menu is also filled with other excellent dishes such as Genuine Shishamo Tempura (900 JPY) and Shirako Tempura (1,000 JPY).

Marutamachi Yangas

Open: 5:00 pm - 12:00 am (L.O. 11:00 pm)
Closed: Irregular
Average price: [Dinner] 6,000 JPY
Access: 1-minute walk from [Marutamachi] Station on Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line
Address: 1F, K Studio, 381, Takeya-cho Karasuma Higashi-iru Shimizu-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Map
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6. Gion Bengara (Gion-shijo / Japanese Cuisine)

Gion Bengara is a restaurant in Gion, Kyoto’s iconic historical downtown area. Customers are welcomed by the elegant atmosphere that remains from the establishment’s days as a geisha teahouse. Here you will be treated to a variety of a la carte dishes that emphasize the traditions of Japanese cuisine. In the Tempura Assortment (2,300 JPY), you can try a wide variety of ingredients, such as Japanese tiger prawn, fruit tomato (sweet tomato ripened in winter), Japanese whiting, and asparagus. At this restaurant, which is famous for its tempura, every piece of tempura is a masterpiece fried using a thin coating technique that only the experienced chief can achieve.

Gion Bengala

Open: [Weekdays, Saturday, National Holidays, Day before National Holidays] Lunch 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm (L.O. 1:00 pm), Dinner 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm (L.O. 10:00 pm) *Also open on Sunday during December (dinner only)
Closed: Sunday

*If Monday is a national holiday, it will open on the preceding Sunday instead. Business hours will be as usual during the Obon period. Closed on December 31 and January 1.

Average price: [Dinner] 8,000 JPY / [Lunch] 4,500 JPY
Access: 3-minute walk from Exit 7 of Gion-shijo Station on the Keihan Main Line, 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line
Address: 107, Tominaga-cho, Yasaka-shinchi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Map
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7. Tempura Endo Okazaki (Jingu-marutamachi / Japanese Cuisine)

This tempura restaurant is located on a corner adjacent to Heian Jingu Shrine. Here you can indulge in a diverse array of tempura in a space that has a unique mix of traditional Japanese and modern atmosphere. The restaurant offers a selection of tempura with an enjoyable airy batter and light crispiness, such as the 3 Endo Specials featuring the restaurant's renowned corn tempura, pea croquettes, and sea urchin nori (seaweed) rolls, or the quintessential Choicest Prawn. Another recommendation from the menu is the Tencha, a refreshing dish of shrimp kakiage (tempura fritter) served on rice with Japanese green tea poured over the top.

Kyoto Tempura Endo Okazakitei

Open: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm (Lunch L.O. 4:00 pm, Dinner L.O. 9:00 pm)
Closed: None
Average price: [Dinner] 10,000 JPY / [Lunch] 4,000 JPY
Access: 10-minute walk from Jingu-marutamachi Station on the Keihan Main Line and Keihan Oto Line / 25-minute taxi ride from JR Kyoto Station
Address: 60-3, Nishi Tenno-cho, Okazaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Map
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Recommended Restaurants in the Surrounding Area

Up to this point, we have listed restaurants where you can try tempura in Kyoto. What did you think of them? Read on for some recommended restaurants in the surrounding prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo, which are easy to get to from Kyoto.

8. Wazen Washu Yuya (Osaka) (Nakatsu / Izakaya)

Wazen Washu Yuya is a Japanese restaurant located just a 2-minute walk from Osaka's Nakatsu Station. It offers quality Japanese dishes for a reasonable price. The establishment is particular about sourcing domestically-produced seasonal ingredients and the seafood used for the tempura is of outstanding quality and is so fresh that it could be eaten as sashimi. Aside from seafood tempura such as salmon topped with salmon roe or squid with sea urchin topping, the menu is chock full of out-of-the-ordinary choices such as Wagyu (a type of high-quality beef) tempura, Camembert cheese, and ginger tempura. The chef aims for a perfect finished product by adjusting the frying temperature and time for each ingredient.

Wazen Washu Yuya

Open: [Tuesday - Friday] Lunch 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (L.O. 1:45 pm)

[Tuesday - Sunday, National Holidays, Day before National Holidays] Dinner 6:00 pm - 12:00 am (L.O. 11:30 pm)

Closed: Irregular

*Closing days are irregular, so please check with the restaurant in advance
Average price: [Dinner] 3,500 JPY / [Lunch] 1,280 JPY
Access: 2-minute walk from Nakatsu Station on the Hankyu Kobe Line and Takarazuka Line, 6-minute walk from Nakatsu Station on the Midosuji Subway Line, 10-minute walk from Umeda Station on the Hankyu Line
Address: 3-5-5, Nakatsu, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Map
Source: In Traditional Chinese only

Reservation

9. Kani Don-ya (Osaka) (Takojizo / Japanese Cuisine)

This is a specialty crab restaurant where you can try snow crab in summer and red king crab in winter. The crab can be enjoyed in a variety of ways such as charcoal-grilled or cooked in a hot pot, but the most extravagant is tempura. A dish you can’t easily find outside of a specialty restaurant is the Crab Tempura, in which outstandingly fresh crab meat is fried, adding just a subtle accent to its flavor. The menu also includes course options like the Charcoal-Grilled Snow Crab / Tempura Course (6,050 JPY) and [Snow Crab Tempura / Crab Hot Pot Course] (6,600 JPY) so that you can enjoy the flavors of crab to your heart’s content.

Kani Don-ya

Open: Lunch 11:30 am - 3:00 pm / Dinner 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Closed: Wednesday *No holidays on December but closed on new year's eve & new year's day
Average price: [Dinner] 8,000 JPY
Access: 8 minutes walk from Takojizo Station
Address: 2-23-1, Minamiue-machi, Kishiwada, Osaka Map
More Details Reservation

10. Tenkichi (Hyogo) (Kuise / Japanese Cuisine)

This is a locally-focused tempura rice bowl and set-meal restaurant where the veteran chef who has former experience running a kappo restaurant (a kind of restaurant with an intimate atmosphere and setting that's not too formal), wields his skills. In addition to dishes such as Tendon (410 JPY) and the Tempura Set Meal (510 JPY), which use classic ingredients such as shrimp, pumpkin, and eggplant, the Lobster Ten-don (710 JPY), which includes a hearty serving of 2 lobster tails, is also extremely popular with customers. Dishes such as the Chicken Tempura, which consists of fried chicken breast, and the Cheese Tempura which is cheese made into tempura, can be enjoyed regardless of age. Using domestically-produced ingredients means that the food can be offered at a low price without sacrificing quality, which has earned the restaurant a good reputation.

Tenkichi

Open: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm (L.O. 7:30 pm)
Closed: Sunday
Average price: [Dinner] 500 JPY
Access: 5 minutes walk from the exit of Kuise Station. Go north from the Kuise Intersection along the Route No.2.
Address: 2-16-18, Kuisehon-machi, Amagasaki, Hyogo Map
More Details Reservation

What do you think? This article introduced some great restaurants where you can experience tempura that makes use of natural, seasonal ingredients while enjoying the charms of Kyoto. Feel free to make use of this article when you’re sightseeing in Kyoto and the surrounding area!

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.