Ogata 緒方, Kyoto
- K
- May 31, 2023
- 5 min read
Ogata is one of the best Kaiseki restaurants in all of Japan. There are very very few restaurants in Japan that have the level of ingredients and cooking that is on display at Ogata. The worst dish I've had at Ogata was much better than the best dish I've had at many competent michelin-starred Japanese restaurants. The difference is THAT BIG.
The restaurant does two seatings, both at the main branch (this one) and at their sister branch in Higashiyama - at 4pm and 7.30pm. This was the 4pm seating.
Being a kaiseki restaurant, seasonality is very important. There are always signs of the current season throughout the restaurant, like this HUGE plant right after you step in.
Ogata-san always starts the meal of with some form of rice. This time it was rice with peas freshly picked from northern Kyoto that very morning.
The rice dishes here are always stunning. Every of his rice dish has a different texture. Every texture was interesting and matched the dish very well. This one in particular was rather slippery but still rather firm and the kicker was that the peas were almost liquid in the center. The peas popped like ikura would, and mixed amazingly with that rice. It is only at a place like Ogata where even the simplest dishes create fireworks in your mouth.
After the rice dish he placed this ponzu sauce in front. Its sashimi time! Ogata-san always serves two sashimi dishes: one traditional style and one where he does his own spin on whatever he wants.
First up was the traditional style one - okoze (stonefish) with all its innards. Every part was clean, tasty and so rich in texture or flavour. Rolling all the parts together with the slices of meat this was an extremely good sashimi dish. This was my 4th visit to Ogata and all four times I was served the same okoze but it was still amazing.
Next up was the more creative one. Grilled yari-ika (a type of squid) with onions and sesame oil. I have no idea what he put in these ingredients, but that combination was absolutely mindblowing. It really is only here where very simple, unassuming ingredients deliver a knockout blow. This was probably one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth.
A few days after my visit though I saw he was serving guji sashimi (amadai, tile fish!!) and I was SO JEALOUS but its okay, my time will come hahaha
After the squid dish was the cornerstone of any kaiseki meal - the owan. For the past three visits I have had a tamanegi (onion) owan but this time I was so happy to see something that was not onions in the bowl!
Butterbur, cut in strips in a soup dish. Owan is a very important course in a kaiseki meal because it shows the chef's skill in making dashi - the basic of any Japanese meal. It usually comprises of kombu and bonito flakes for the soup base then other ingredients may be added.
The dashi at Ogata is intensely deep, mildly sweet aftertaste, and very very flavourful. Plus that butterbur, every strip was crunchy it added so much texture to the dish. At this level it really is pointless comparing who's better - there are very very very few restaurants cooking at the level that Ogata is at hence very few people to compare with anyway.
Next was a serving of uni on seaweed tempura. There was quite abit of uni here but the star was really the nori. So much umami, so crisp, the uni was clearly the supporting actor here and that says a great deal about the quality of sourcing here!
Next was another tempura dish - green asparagus. One huge stalk, served whole, just bite it off. Every bite came off clean, flavours mildly changing as you progressed from the tip to the tail. Even a simple asparagus is not that predictable here.
This was the season for Ayu, which were still in the baby stage. Grilled perfectly, innards intact, amazing if you like Ayu to begin with.
This was THE dish I was hoping to have. Hanasansho is in season for only 1 to 2 weeks a year, hence I was definitely very lucky to have caught it given that I did not plan this trip around food seasons.
Beef, lightly cooked, with a huge serving of hanasansho. The hanasansho mildly heated up the palate, accentuating the beef and the soup flavours. This was really amazing - less is more.
There was a second serving (which I did not take a picture of) with beef that was significantly fattier. Such attention to detail, it did provide a different taste with the extra fat. This seems like a simple dish, but as with all simple dishes it is easy to do a decent version but very difficult to do it well.
After the meat course, it was time for the carb dishes. Ogata always ends the main part of the meal with 3 different carb dishes and you can choose all 3 with reduced portion.
The three carb dishes that day were:
Asari clam rice with ginger
Unagi with rice
Sakura-ebi kakiage soba
The first carb dish was a very strong opening. The batter was crisp, clams very flavourful, tender yet not chewy. Rice in perfect texture with bits of ginger that were not too spicy nor distracting.
Every aspect of the dish was thought through - including the ratio of rice to clams. Nothing short of perfect.
The next dish was unagi with rice. This was easily the single best version of unagi rice I've had. The skin was crispy, it snapped when you bit into it and the unagi itself was so meaty, tender, flavourful and just crazy good. Nothing I've had has ever come remotely close to this, but a fair disclaimer: I've never been to super popular unagi restaurants like Kabuto.
The last carb at Ogata always involves Juwari soba. Juwari soba differs from usual soba in the sense that normal soba is made from a mixture of buckwheat flour and wheat flour but Juwari soba is made from 100% buckwheat flour. This provides for a softer texture, the soba breaks more easily.
This went really well with that sakura-ebi kakiage. Sakura-ebi has a distinct smell to it but if you like sakura-ebi, this will be the best version you've had. Crisp, umami, creating fireworks with the soba and the dipping sauce.
Dessert was my favourite warabimochi. Topped with roasted kinako powder it was soft, pillowy and stretchy but not chewy. People have wildly varying ideals of the ideal warabimochi but this is mine.
A cup of gyokuro to end the meal. Quiet, satisfying, leaving the stomach feeling light but full.
An amazing meal once again.
Ogata, Kyoto
4th Visit, 2nd May 2023
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