Cenci (チェンチ)

Cenci (チェンチ)

Restaurant Cenci seamlessly melds Italian heritage cuisine with Japanese precision. Located near Kyoto’s Heian Shrine, the restaurant’s entrance has a clandestine air about it, reached via a red-brick tunnel built by chef-owner Ken Sakamoto and his team using earth displaced during the venue’s 2014 construction.

Ken Sakamoto, the owner and chef at this stylish Italian restaurant near Heian Shrine in Kyoto, is meticulous about craftsmanship, believing that drawing out the best in each ingredient is a tribute to the producers and the land that brought it forth. Born and raised in Kyoto, Sakamoto takes exceptional local produce as the inspiration for his hyper-seasonal 10-course tasting menu. Dishes surprise with unexpected pairings—and how well they work: Kyoto pork with porcini mushrooms and Tasmanian grain mustard; matsutake mushroom spaghetti; Hokkaido oyster on a bed of rice risotto; and a superb chestnut ice-cream dessert.

The high-octane kitchen is elevated above the refined dining area, allowing guests to watch Sakamoto and his cutting-edge team at work.

• Video: https://youtu.be/2y_bi8luEmM
• Video: https://youtu.be/WYkoOqeiD60

Restaurant Information

• Style: Luxury Italian Restaurant
• Address: 44-7 Shogoin entomi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8323
• Telephone: 075-708-5307

Opening Hours

• Lunch: 12:00–13:30 (last order), 15:30 (close)
• Dinner: 18:00–20:00 (last order), 23:00 (close)
• Closing days: Mondays, and closed irregularly on Sundays

Interior Design

The restaurant’s stylish interior creates a hidden “cave house” effect through handmade bricks. The knives used are Ryusen wooden-handle steak knives, each engraved with the “cenci” logo. The warmth of the wooden handles matches the atmosphere of the restaurant perfectly.

Seating is available at tables, the counter, and in a private room. Reservations can be made up to 2 months in advance. It is a mature Kyoto-Italian restaurant to visit on a special day.

Menus

The dishes showcase the best of Japan’s oceans and forests, presented in unmistakably Italian styles, including:

• Clam chowder with cauliflower and mussels
• Charcoal-grilled duck with duck gravy and almond sauce
• Cabbage and oyster risotto

Chef

Ken Sakamoto is the owner and chef of the Italian restaurant cenci. He opened the restaurant in December 2014 right by Heian Shrine, Kyoto. Born and raised in Kyoto, he also trained at Italian restaurants in Kyoto.

He expresses “Kyoto Cuisine” with an unconventional twist of Italian flavor. His top priority is using ingredients produced in Kyoto, Japan. He also chooses cutlery and plates made in Japan as much as possible, delivering messages from food-industry creators along with his cuisine.

His devotion can be seen throughout the restaurant. One example is the “Nejirimanpo,” a twisted tunnel built from handmade bricks by the staff and Mr. Sakamoto—made using soil dug up during the construction of the restaurant.

Social Media

• Website: https://cenci-kyoto.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cenci.kyoto/

• Video: https://youtu.be/-W5G7zFmYxw

• Video: https://youtu.be/Uh-jW_hoagE

• Map: Cenci (Google Maps)