For our last night in Kyoto we took the advice of a friend/guide in New Zealand whom I met 2 years ago and then had as a guide (by chance) again this year. It turns out that Mark lives in Kyoto part-time and said we would love INUI which is a modern-fusion take using traditional Japanese ingredients with Mediterranean influences. It was indeed ingenious.
The location is just across the river from the Ritz-Carlton where we stayed and down a small corridor and seemed impossible to find (what isn't in Japan?) and we entered a very intimate space with only two tables for four or so at one end and a large raised wooden butcher block table at the center for about 11 people. The metal stools were not super comfy, but I persevered as the ambience and food were well worth it. The lone chef was at the end of the block table in a small prep area piled high with bowls between us and him and the kitchen to his side was smaller than ours here in France and way smaller than in DC! The server went from the tables to the kitchen to assist alternating back and forth and handling everyone as well as the food and drink orders. Oh, did I mention we were the only westerners in the place!
The menu was a selection of five starters and six mains, so more of a Western menu style than Japanese where everything seems to be at once. The plates were larger than tapas and wonderful to share. Will and I each chose one course and that was indeed more than enough.
Will tried the Iwatekura Beer which was an herbal ale which he liked, and I adored the Tamaza Kura Sake from Shimane that the server poured tableside from a magnum bottle. We had multiple refills as they were delicious and very flavorful. When our main course arrived, we tried their "house" red wine which was a French Gamay from the Loire called Les Grain de Seneve, which was an amazing $7US a glass! There were some sours as cocktails, but we loved the sake, beer and wine!
Before we ordered we did watch the various plates arriving and tried to guess which dishes they were before settling on our favorite local seasonal specialty FIREFLY SQUID here with Nduja & Mushroom and served on a beetroot waffle. It was a divine preparation of this treat and while a Japanese ingredient the dish was wildly modern and different with a nice kick of spice. Next came SCALLOPS with stracciatella, kumquat, "calm" (which should have been "clam") broth and horseradish (all photos on FB). I am always wary of things like kumquat, but these were fresh and tasty and sour and really an amazing addition to a scallop dish which is so refined but spiced up with the horseradish...and in Japan, there are dozens of kinds of wasabi making each flavor so different.
We had a nice rest before the mains (it should be noted that save for a couple of places where diners were gone soon after we arrived at 7pm, each section or table was for one sitting) and the first was Grilled Veal Tongue with Sansho pepper and a Chimichurri sauce that rocked. It was not ily and indeed so refined I would have not called it chimichurri; let's say the Japanese version might just be the best! The other dish of Grilled Duck Breast with five-spice powder in a Tamarind and Caper sauce was easily one of the best duck dishes ever..yes EVER! we ate every last slice with a yen for wanting more, but were alas so full by the end, we knew we could not even think of ordering another dish, or another plate of the duck, which was indeed tempting us!
There is no dessert at INUI so we headed back to the hotel bar and settled in for a Japanese whisky tasting which was another crazy experience we loved. It was eight tastes of dessert in bottles!!
