• 4
• Great food with lots of variety!

This is my favourite restaurant in Kyoto. I came for dinner twice and both times there was a queue. I had to wait up to 30 mins for a seat. The restaurant is advertised as "Healthy food not containing ingredients of animal-origin". I did not find any meat on the menu. Unfortunately, they use fish stock -- particularly for soup based dishes. However, these are clearly marked on the English menu (but not on the Japanese one). The noodle dishes look really nice, but unfortunately, most were made with fish stock. There is, however, one ramen dish on the menu that does not have fish stock -- it's made from soy milk so that it looks like the white pork bone soup found in most ramen restaurants. I had that -- the noodles weren't that great (I would prefer if it was softer), but the soup was fantastic! I finished the whole bowl of soup. The second time I had one of the Japanese set, which was value for money at 1500 (+ tax). There was a steak like patty that was really good. The brown rice and mix grain rice were really good on their own too. The set also came with soy ice cream. I also ordered a tofu cheese cake which was just OK. There were many interesting dishes which I would like to try if I stayed in Kyoto longer. The person sitting next to me had a tofu burger which looked really good. I find this restaurant way better than Matsuonoko which is also nearby. It's located in a very central location at Shijo-Karawamachi area. Prices are good. Dinner are around 1000 - 1500 and you can make most main courses a set by an addition 100-200 yen. Lunch sets are even more value-for-money (basically the same dishes at a lower price). The portions are pretty big. The waiters speak some English and they have an English menu. You really shouldn't miss this restaurant if you are in Kyoto. They have a website: www.mumokuteki.com