Tempura Matsu, Arashiyama, Kyoto

I never would have discovered Tempura Matsu in Kyoto if it weren’t for chef Takashi Yagahashi in Chicago (of Slurping Turtle and the now-retired Takashi).  Definitely a stellar recommendation – not only because of the fantastic food, but also because of the warm, welcoming hospitality.

Matsu is on the western side of Kyoto, in Arashiyama.  It’s a lovely, scenic part of the city close to the mountains and the Katsura River; from the counter seating inside, there’s a view of the river and the hills beyond.

The whole Matsuno family is involved in the restaurant – Toshio Matsuno, the current chef, studied in Chicago with Chef Takashi and at Alinea.  His father opened the restaurant and still cooks there; his mother and sister run the front of house.  As soon as we stepped inside, we were greeted by Mrs. Matsuno, who was thrilled to hear that we were there on Takashi’s recommendation (as was the whole family!).

As is so common in Japan, this is a tiny restaurant – a counter facing the open kitchen with about 10 seats, plus two booths for larger parties.  Menus are set by price; we had the larger option at 13,000JPY.

While the restaurant name is officially “Tempura Matsu”, it’s really kaiseki rather than tempura – and quite inventive kaiseki at that.

Fish grilled on charcoal (this dish was prepared right next to us, on the counter)

Grilled sawara with radish soup

Shellfish soup – the broth was incredibly rich and flavorful

Sashimi

Tempura oyster – the shell is bigger than my hand!

Tempura oyster revealed

Layered dish with toro rice on top…

…And grilled octopus rice beneath.  Delicious!

Toshio-san prepared a soup with bamboo shoot and abalone

One of the standout dishes, which I think of as “onsen uni” – uni served in warm yuba

Two of several tempura pieces cooked à la minute

Salted cherry blossom with cold homemade udon noodles

After eating the noodles, we were encouraged to drink the sauce straight from the ice block!

Dessert of black sugarcane syrup with toasted soybean powder

Toshio-san, his father, and the other chefs are jovial as they cook and happy to chat and interact with diners, so we quickly felt like regulars rather than visitors.  The other diners were similarly friendly – we met a mother and her young daughter from Australia, plus three women from different parts of Japan having a mini-reunion, one of whom took it upon herself to tutor me in key Japanese restaurant phrases.  Most important: Oishi-katta desu!  (“That was delicious!”)

We had several different varieties of sake that Toshio-san’s mother and sister selected for us at our request, decanted from the usual 1.8L bottles into carafes made from lengths of bamboo.

Matsu seems a bit under the radar, but I can’t imagine it will stay that way much longer!

Reservations:  Definitely recommended.  We made ours via our concierge in Osaka.  Note that Tempura Matsu is cash only.

There’s plenty to see and do in the Arashiyama area before a meal at Matsu.  We walked through the bamboo forest, which was a bit smaller than I’d expected (really just a short path through the grove) but very atmospheric.  I also noticed a large Malebranche shop nearby, which we didn’t visit but which I’m sure would be worth a stop next time.

We also climbed up to the monkey park, on top of a mountain with a great panoramic view of Kyoto, 20 minutes up steep trails and stairs.  At the top, the monkeys were obligingly monkeyish!  “Park” is a bit of a misnomer – there are some benches and a small structure where you can feed the monkeys (you’re inside, they’re outside), but the monkeys are completely free and come and go as they please.  I had fun watching them.