• 4
• Favourite restaurant in Kyoto so far

I've lived in Kyoto for almost five months, and Mumokuteki is the restaurant I always find myself going back to. It's a nice restaurant with a cozy atmosphere, conveniently close to teramachi-dori shopping arcade. The staff are generally friendly and there is an English menu available, though at the time of writing this menu is slightly confusing. It lists both a Lunch and Brunch menu, but the Brunch menu is actually the dinner menu (as I found out when I tried to order on my first visit). The staff understands just a little English, but generally I think one can get by without Japanese. If you don't speak Japanese, pointing at the menu while smiling seems to work, according to someone I met there today. Note that there are some items on the menu which contain fish, but these are clearly marked and thus easy to avoid. The food itself is divine. I've been here at least ten times (possibly more often) and only once when it was very busy did I get something that was cold and too greasy (my two friends at the same table ordered the exact same food and theirs was warm and not greasy, so I think I just had some bad luck). The vegetarian tonkotsu ramen/soy milk ramen is the best I've had so far - I would absolutely recommend this to everyone. The avocado burger is also worth checking out if you'd prefer something more Western-style, and the soy milk chai is also very agreeable. A note: I visited this restaurant with my Buddhist vegetarian friend, who can't eat leek, garlic, onion and certain other herbs in addition to meat and fish, and she could choose several items from the menu as well. In case any strict Buddhist vegetarians are reading this, I thought it was worth mentioning as I know it can be hard. It would still be best to ask the waiter or waitress for advice, but as I write this review they have options open for you. The only potential negative is the waiting time - on busy days it can take up to thirty minutes to be seated. This restaurant is well worth the wait, though, so if you have time, please give them a chance.