Matsuno, Kyoto
Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto
Japan 605-0016
Tel: 81 75 561 2786
www.matsuno-co.com
Concierge.com's insider take:
A family-run restaurant near the Minamiza Kabuki Theatre, Matsuno raises eel cuisine to high art. Though the menu includes a smattering of other offerings, ignore them and order one of the set meals that includes charcoal-grilled eel served over rice, and a bowl of a delicate clear broth that contains the mildly flavored liver (you can slurp the broth and skip the liver if you're squeamish). Mrs. Matsuno, if she's on the premises, is a gracious hostess who speaks English and will teach you the finer points of eel cuisine. Already an aficionado? She may suggest two unusual house specialties: shirayaki, eel cooked and served with a lighter sauce and wasabi; and hiremaki, skewered, broiled eel fins wrapped around gobo (burdock root).
Open Mondays through Wednesdays and Fridays through Sundays noon to 9 pm.
