Kanesho in Kyoto

Great unagi in an establishment that's been around over 150 years. The restaurant can be a bit hard to find. It's down a narrow alley next to the Kyoto Gion post office. There's only about half a dozen items on the menu, and the focus is Unagi (broiled eel). The Una-don is a rice bowl with half an eel. Unaju is rice with a whole eel. Kinshi-don is rice topped with half an eel and thinly sliced eggs. Beer and sake is available.

When I searched while looking at the map, I accidentally passed by and made two round trips until I finally noticed the sign.An eel shop in Dontsuki of the alley.I got a specialty Kinshi bowl. It has a very light taste.

子供の頃、ここの鰻茶漬けを家でよく食べた。母がよく買ってきてくれた。ご飯に鰻を数切れのせてお茶をかけ蓋をして蒸らして柔らかくなったササッと。落語にも出てくる鰻の茶漬け、蒲焼きと違ってこれもよし。

I am so lucky to have a superb unadon worth waiting for. 👍

The food is so delicious! And watching cooking just in front of you is excited, but need time to wait in line, better be there earlier.

Better book in advance

We must've been very lucky to not have to wait to get a seat, but we did turn up later at night. The eel was beautifully grilled, everything was well-prepared and the meal tasted so good!

Nice!

Can’t tell the difference really between super high end unagi vs just very good unagi don.

Tabelog 3.7. Came two days ago and made a booking for dinner. This place seems always booked out. We have ordered Mamushi-don, Kinshi-don, Unaju and Ochazuke-unagi. The eel is well grilled and cooked. You can put some seasonings provided onto the eel for different taste. We have also ordered Kimoni(肝煮) and Dashimaki(eel wrapped in Omellete). The taste of Kimoni(肝煮) is phenomenon. If you dine in here, this is a must try dish. The service is nice although we were seated not close to the kitchen where the cooking of eel can be viewed directly.

The location was a little hard to find in an alley you won't think there was a restaurant. The eel is fantastic, and the price is fair.

Remember to reserve 1 week in advance!

Best Unagi don I ever had!

excellent !

They start to make dishes after your order, so it takes about 40~50 minutes after you order the menu.But it was pretty taste!

It's a long wait, so it's a good idea to have some extra time. The taste is also 5 stars. The sauce is exquisitely thick and the texture is delicious. We recommend that you line up at 11:00 am.

Rated 3.7, shop run by family, good quality control, the only thing take out the point is not cooked by charcoal.

Traditional Japanese bowl of eel with rice. It tastes a bit mild (not sweet & not salty) far from what I first expected .. the soup is ok. The price is quite high. The restaurant is located in the difficult-to-find alley (if you come at night)

Better reserve if you don't wanna waste your time waiting outside the shop. Taste is not that great but reasonable and good for that price.

Unagi on rice is clean and tasty. try it.

First thingThey have two rounds (lunch 11.30 and dinner 17.30)They accept only '10 customers' per round.So, make sure that you actually make a reservation or walking in 30 mins before.Seriously... Just only ten.Btw the food is great really.

It was horrible

Small restaurant down an alleyway...can be hard to spot. The restaurant was full but the owner kindly asked us to wait as a reservation had not turned and we could have their seats 5 minutes. No English menu but with Google translate is all good :) ordered the tinsel unagi - egg with eel on rice. Each dish is prepared from scratch, which means a bit of a wait while the eel is cooked... But it's worth it! Highly recommended.

Down a long alleyway beside the Gion Post Office, this small unagi restaurant with 8 counter seats and 2 tables that seat 4 each serves reasonably-priced unagi that they grill to order.

This is a place with reasonable price for unadon or unaju and unagi. Recommend to call for booking for dinner (you should call around 11.30am) to make sure you have a seat.

very small restuarant... but worth of visit!!!

Great unagi dishes. Very very fluffy omelette. Need to reserve in advance by 1 week.

Awesome unagi. You should try it.

Absolutely worth the 1.5 hr wait in the freezing cold. The texture and flavour of the unagi was beautiful, and the service provided by the lady is warm and inviting. Lunch starts at 11:30 am. There are no reservations - arrive early if you want to make the first sitting! We just missed out (there is space for 6 diners plus two groups of up to 4) and had to wait until almost 1 pm before we were seated, as they only let the next round in after all the previous diners have left. Afterwards, there is another 30 min wait for the unagi to be cooked. The last round for lunch is at around 2:30 pm.

Wait outside (standing) for 40 mins and another 30 mins inside, i have to say it worth the wait. It was so delicious. My dish is mamushi donburi.

The real deal !! Eel rice with fluffy egg , authentic Japanese food! This place is full of history and vibe!

Very good I do recommend! Anyway there is few seats and it takes 30 mins for food, better to make a reservation

I ordered a 5000 yen course.I also smoked white oysters and enjoyed the liver grilled eel.It's small, but I'm glad I was able to eat a very delicious unagi.It's an old shop, so it's a pity that the toilet is dirty, so there are four.

Waiting is long but taste is very very goodCombination of rice, egg, unagi is perfect

Very nice and clean restaurant. Reservation needed. Staff speaks English and also English menu available. Delicious food. Highly reccomended.

An unagi (fresh water eel) restaurant with space for around 10 people. Everything is prepared after ordering so expect a long wait if there's no open tables when you arrive.I had the unadon and my wife the kinshidon. Portions are on the small side but very good. At around 1500 yen it's good value considering the attention the owner puts into each dish.

Closed on Thursday.

Absolutely loved it. Very small and difficult to find in a small back alley... but the food was well worth it. The staff is friendly and speak english. Do not forget to make a reservation because this place is always fully booked. Probably the best unadon we had in Kyoto.

I really wanted to have meals in there. so I tried again and again. but this restaurant was always fully booking.

Very good and value for money place to eat unagi. Friendly to tourists even though they are usually fully booked by locals. My wife and I were the first 2 to be in line and we're lucky to get a seat. The third person after us did not even get a chance to go in because they were fully booked right after. They have an English menu and you get served properly just like everyone else. But do go early and be first in line.

It's almost a ritual, watching the whole cooking processes. The unagi has a little burnt texture, which I like. The rice is not sweet. Eating them with the sliced egg gave a comfortable texture, and you'd likely order「Kinshi-don」as everyone sitting with you say kinshidon kinshidon~ I was only the second batch of customers (I arrived at 11.2ish), and I've really waited for over 1 hour, but believe me, it really worths it. Prepare something to kill time in the queue, it'd be much reasonably less painful. English is more than welcome here.

It’s just an exceptional experience! The food was absolutely great and I really liked the authentic atmosphere! Highly recommend this place for dinner.

No.1

Best Unagi Don I've ever had.

It’s not easy to find the shop, located at some dark and wet back alley. The food is so overrated, seriously, there are more better options for unagi around Kyoto area than here.

Worth eating quite cheep than my expectation

Very tiny and hidden Unagi place. It was a little difficult to find the place even with Google Map as the place locates at the end of dark and narrow aisle. They grill fresh unagi after you order and the chef takes very good care of it. We went there right after they opened at 5:30 pm and there were already 4 groups sitting, so better go there early!