Our first dinner in Kyoto set the tone for everything we hoped this trip would be, curious, adventurous, and deliciously unfamiliar. We chose Cenci (pronounced chinch), the Michelin-starred restaurant of Chef Ken Sakamoto, whose cuisine is known for marrying Italian technique with the fresh ingredients of Japan’s seasons. It was the perfect place to lean into what we love most about traveling to eat—new tastes, new textures, and flavors that challenge and surprise us.
We arrived a few minutes early, standing before a modest, unmarked gate with only a recessed sign—still unlit—to hint that this was indeed the right place. For a moment, doubt crept in. Then other guests appeared, equally hopeful, and reassured us we hadn’t wandered astray. When the gate finally swung open, it felt like being admitted into a secret enclave. We passed through a brick tunnel, meticulously constructed by the chef and his team from salvaged materials uncovered during the restaurants build, and emerged into an airy, two-story dining room. Above us sat the stadium kitchen, poised like a stage, promising transparency and performance in equal measure.
First Time Tastes
Cenci’s ten-course tasting menu reads like an invitation to explore. Fermented vegetables, artisanal cheeses and hams, and a plethora of unusual plants, grains, fruits, fish, and meats flowed from the kitchen. Our Japanese culinary adventure had already introduced us to many first tastes, but Chef Sakamoto expanded that list dramatically. There was sakura-niku—cherry meat, also known as horse—served in a familiar form that invited reflection rather than shock. Rakkoya, Chinese onion bulbs, offered a mild sweetness, while takenoko, young bamboo shoots, tasted impossibly fresh, nutty and earthy. Shirako, cod milt, challenged preconceptions with its silky richness. Even the seasonings told stories. Tonka bean tasted of vanilla and caramel, while mugwort, an herbal “weed” long used in Asian medicine, added mint and aromatic notes.
What made the evening even more memorable was Chef Sakamoto himself. Throughout the service, he moved easily between kitchen and dining room, inviting guests to climb the short staircase to observe the kitchen up close. He answered questions with warmth and enthusiasm, clearly delighted by curiosity and conversation. It reinforced the sense that this meal wasn’t just about eating—it was about learning, tasting, and engaging.
Dinner at Cenci reminded us why we seek out places like this. It’s not novelty for novelty’s sake, but the joy of discovery—the thrill of encountering flavors we’ve never known and trusting a chef to guide us through them. For our first night in Kyoto, it was a hearty welcome and a delicious affirmation of saying yes to the unfamiliar.
Our Cenci Tasting Menu
We began with a cup of freshly brewed “welcome tea,” quickly followed by the first course: a demi-cup of buckwheat soup (not pictured) with seasonal firefly squid. The soup’s flavors pleasantly recalled homemade Southern sausage gravy, paired with the squid, nanohana (rapeseed plant), and seaweed, all set in a pool of soba sauce.
Delicately flavored, gently salty artisanal prosciutto was served alongside a fermented rice and lentil crêpe filled with ricotta, asparagus, and cardamom. An unusual pairing, but a successful one—the creamy crêpe providing a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the prosciutto.
Horse tartare with chive, rakkyo (Chinese onion), and sansai (mountain vegetables), finished with a dollop of yogurt and lemon zest.
As a native Kentuckian, where reverence for horses—especially thoroughbreds—is woven deeply into our heritage, this was a dish that demanded a long pause. Horsemeat may be a familiar ingredient in Japan and many parts of the world, but in the U.S. it remains largely taboo, and this was not a first bite to take lightly.
In the end, trust in the chef won out, helped along by the dish’s striking colors and thoughtful composition. I took the plunge and was rewarded with a beautifully delicate sweetness, expertly seasoned with Japanese pepper and fragrant oils—subtle, balanced, and entirely unexpected. My better half couldn’t quite cross that threshold of apprehension, which meant I had the privilege of finishing her portion as well, savoring a new and memorable delicacy.
Mid-Tasting
Surf clam with noodles in a shallot, alpine garlic, tomato and almond chili oil is topped with a spring mix of greens. The clams were toothy in the al dente noodles with the added chili spice. A wonderful follow-up to the tartare.
While hiking to Fushimi Inari—the Shinto shrine famed for its thousand gates—we passed countless bamboo groves, each marked with no-trespassing signs and warnings against stealing takenoko (fresh bamboo shoots). Curious about their flavor, we finally had our answer. Prepared with sakura shrimp and seasoned with soy, kaffir lime, and sansho (Japanese pepper), this was another first taste that we both fell in love with.
This vegan composition of asparagus, spring onion, and l’aurier (laurel) served as a refreshing interlude. Its clean, green, grassy flavors reset our palate ahead of the finishing courses.
Our Mains
Our main course featured Hokkaido lamb, roasted to just beyond rare, yielding fork-tender morsels. It was perfectly paired and seasoned with a cheese-laced potato purée, cabbage, taro, soy, and sake lees.
Time to clear the palate with a ginger, strawberry, yuzu sorbet.
Sakura (spring) asparagus interleaved with egg noodles in shirako (codfish milt) prompted a cautious side-eye at first. But, it quickly revealed itself to be luxuriously creamy and very satisfying. Again, Chef Sakamoto gently led us from uncertainty into the light, expanding our understanding—and appreciation—of Japanese gastronomy.
Desserts and Coffee
Amazon cacao, banana and tonka bean with passion fruit is a delicious beginning to the end.
The final dessert brought the meal to a graceful close. Orange, chamomile and pistachio cream cheese in a delicate agar-agar wrapper, alongside smooth pistachio ice cream is pure genius.
Parting Thoughts
Dinner at Cenci is an experience we would eagerly repeat. Chef Sakamoto stretches the palate in a way that feels adventurous yet entirely comfortable, a testament to his creativity, technique, and thoughtful restraint. Warm, attentive service and genuine hospitality only heightened the pleasure. And at just $140 U.S. for a ten-plus-course tasting menu, it stands as an exceptional value by any measure.