This year I’ve made multiple trips to the beautiful old capital of Japan, the beautiful city of Kyoto. On my most recent visit I want on a matcha green tea tour, and then, finished the day with a dinner at the Touzan Restaurant located at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto Hotel. The Hyatt Regency Kyoto is located only 550m from Shichijo Station. Touzan offers traditional multi-course dining, known as kaiseki in Japanese. They offer several set-course menus as well as an a la carte menu. I went for a menu that incorporated some of my preferences as well as the chef’s. The entire meal focused on the highest quality of Japanese ingredients, all cooked to perfection.

Touzan’s dining room is very aesthetically pleasing. In typical Hyatt-fashion, everything was gorgeous and minimal. What was incredibly stunning was that the dining room looked out over a dry landscape garden, often known as a “zen garden” in the west. I have always loved these gardens and really enjoyed it throughout the evening! Touzan offers private dining rooms as well.

For the evening, we were taken care of by the wonderful Assistant Restaurant Manager, Gen Yamada. Gen did a great job of offering attentive service with a smile throughout the evening. Up first were the appetizers which consisted of three items. One was a jelly with uni and wasabi, another was scallops and tomato sauce, and finally, vegetable with salted fish stomach. I actually enjoyed all of them, but my favorite was the jelly with the uni! For this course I also had my first glass of Tomio Sake from Kyoto. This went down very smooth and a great way to start the meal!

Up next was the chef’s sashimi selection. The chutoro, or medium-fatty tuna was definitely my favorite, as it usually is! You can see the marbling of fat from the picture, it just melted in my mouth. That being said, it was all beautiful and delicious, especially in presentation, served atop a massive ice block. At this time and I was served a second glass of sake, which was a bit drier to pair with the sashimi.

The Hyatt Regency Kyoto Hotel put on a traditional Japanese dance show just in the middle of the dinner. This was not something I had never seen in my life and I found it very interesting. After the performance, the dancer came around and took pictures with all of the restaurant guests. This was a great surprise addition to the evening!

One of the main reasons I come to Japan is for their beautiful wagyu. For this meal I had the 100g of Kyoto wagyu tenderloin. This mouthwatering meat was served with tomato, chili pepper, wasabi, and salt. I ordered a glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon from California as well which paired perfectly together! I savored every bite for as long as I could. Some of the best beef ever, cooked to a perfect medium-rare, you must try it!

Following the amazing Kyoto wagyu tenderloin was a plate of assorted tempura. The tempura was extra crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Each item was absolutely perfect. This was served alongside some Japanese pickles, the burdock was my favorite (I actually ordered seconds.)

Up next was a hotpot rice. However, this was not a traditional Japanese style rice, this was a corn rice with ham and butter! This was clearly a crowd-pleaser. It just melted in my mouth and I even took home the part I couldn’t finish, because it was so amazing!

The grand finale at Touzan was a lovely dessert which included a sorbet, red beans, assorted fruit, and Japanese lime. A refreshing and enjoyable way to finish off the evening!

This meal at Touzan was flawless! The bonus of the Japanese dance performance was a true delight and totally added to the experience. I loved the view of the dry landscape garden as well. If you love good food, service, and ambiance, I would absolutely recommend you have a meal at Touzan Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto Hotel!

Touzan Restaurant

Restaurant

644-2 Sanjusangendo-mawari, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, 605-0941

Phone: +81 75-541-3201