Kioi Nadaman — Traditional Kaiseki With a View

Kioi Nadaman is one of the best places to enjoy traditional kaiseki cuisine in Tokyo. Sit down to a multi-course feast in a private tatami room, overlooking a beautiful Japanese garden. It’s a dining experience fit for a king — and indeed, presidents have eaten here.

Kioi Nadaman is part of the Nadaman group of Japanese restaurants, which have a reputation for serving up excellent kaiseki. Here’s what you can expect at their branch in the New Otani Hotel in Chiyoda.

Price range

The price of a meal at Kioi Nadaman differs significantly depending on what time of day you go — and what you order.

A simple seasonal lunch course starts from around ¥6,000, while you’re looking at ¥17,000 and up for a proper kaiseki dinner. However, if you’re thinking of going to this restaurant, we recommend splurging and ordering one of the high-end options, like this dinner available on Headout. It will set you back about ¥29,095, which is actually quite reasonable for what you get.

How to make a reservation at Kioi Nadaman

You can make a course-meal reservation on Headout, or book via the official website. Both options are available in English.

Food

When they say multiple courses, they mean it. Over a timespan of approximately two hours, a seemingly endless parade of dishes will dance across the table — taking you on a culinary adventure across Japan.

The menu changes with the seasons, but when we visited, our meal started with an appetizer of rich milk tofu and roe. This was followed by a generous platter of sashimi, featuring various cuts and condiments. The server recommended we try both the regular soy sauce and one infused with citrus — both of which complemented the fresh cuts of tuna and other fish.

Two notable inclusions were pike conger (hamo) — this popular summer food made a memorable appearance with pickled plum, and the satisfyingly slippery water vegetable junsai, which was served with sea urchin.

Next up was a soup of simmered unagi and vegetables. It was full to the brim with umami, which was counterbalanced with lashings of daikon and ginger.

Editor’s note: We don’t normally eat freshwater eel, due to sustainability concerns.

By now, we had had to loosen our belts, but more was on the way. In came a small platter of tempura vegetables and fish — this included the best tempura shrimp we have ever had. The mark of quality tempura is the shrimp, really; the rest is background information.

Next up was a small serving of sirloin with a fig and white miso sauce — that sauce was, quite simply, amazing.

We took a break to watch the wind moving through the trees outside — the restaurant is on the sixth floor of the hotel, so you are at eye level with the leaves. The sound of water somewhere and the classical music playing in the background made us want to drift off — but we were not finished yet.

In floated a huge pot of rice with truffle and super-sweet Hokkaidō corn. The rice — sourced from Saga Prefecture, which is rather non-standard for the Japanese staple grain — had been cooked in the pot, making it extra delicious. Suddenly we were hungry again. Served alongside the rice was an assortment of pickles, and a red miso soup.

Finally, the server brought in a slice of melon from Shizuoka Prefecture, and a cup of green tea, to send us on our merry way.

Drinks

Depending on what you order, drinks might not be included in the price — so check beforehand. On the menu is a selection of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, including all the usual suspects — beer, wine, Japanese sake and shochu, cola, and the like. Budget around ¥700 – ¥1,400 for a glass.

Ambience

Kioi Nadaman is as posh as you can get without going all the way to Kyoto. Think peaceful, private dining, subdued lighting, wooden panelling, and waitrons who look like they’ve stepped straight out of the Edo period. It’s all wonderfully calming.

In addition to the tatami dining rooms, there is a general dining area too — this feels more like a regular restaurant, though some of the tables offer views over the Japanese garden below. The restaurant also has a dedicated tempura counter.

Our review of Kioi Nadaman

We found our meal at Kioi Nadaman to be a very relaxing one. We were fed what can only be described as a sumptuous feast, in a quiet, almost Zen-like room, with top-class service from an elegant waitron in a kimono.

Everything was beautifully presented, fresh, and delicious — with the perfect balance of flavors and textures. By the end of the meal, we were well and truly stuffed, but the sweet melon and green tea provided a refreshing way to round things off.

Kioi Nadaman is good for:

Those looking to experience kaiseki in Tokyo, in a relaxing, upmarket setting. The restaurant is ideal for special occasions, such as a big date or a family celebration.

Kioi Nadaman is one of the few restaurants to offer both halal kaiseki and vegetarian kaiseki — you just need to make the requisite reservation at least two business days in advance. More notice is preferred, though.

by Carey Finn