Gion Maruyama

My visit to Gion Maruyama, a beautifully calm kaiseki place with eight counter seats and five tatami rooms, was in April of 2005. It was during the cherry blossom season, but the counter on that particular rainy evening was only filled with one other diner besides my dining companion and myself.

The cherry blossom season is also bamboo shoots and kinome (baby leaf of Japanese pepper) season in Japanese cuisine. The delicate sweetness of bamboo shoots and the awakening freshness of kinome announce the full-on arrival of spring. For many Westerners, the combination of these two seasonal ingredients can be too tame; my dining companion is disappointed that we are served this dish once again; we had it in Tokyo two nights ago, he claims. He likes more powerful flavors and rich textures: uni, seared toro, foie gras, caviar. You cannot enjoy bamboo shoots and kinome in the same frame of mind, I try to explain.

In order to really taste this spring dish, you have to have endured the long damp cold winter of Kyoto and warmed yourself with winter dishes of daikon, nappa, monkfish and fugu, feeling the heat of the food from within spreading through your limbs. (If you are from Palm Springs, it's OK, just imagine that you went through a hard winter. We are not jealous.) Only in spring when you have finally shed your layers, are you prepared to calmly taste the delicate flavors and enjoy the fragrance of of bamboo shoots and kinome.

On our visit to the restaurant, Maruyama Junior (Chef Maruyama's son) grills a whole bamboo shoot on bincho-tan charcoal with its skin on and reveals the tender inside for us to enjoy. It is fragrant and fresh: just the taste of spring.

I'm going out of order, but had to mention the bamboo shoots first. Let's go back to the previous dishes.

On the Hassun plate there is a cherry tomato from Tottori prefecture that was grown in the desert. The desert climate turns on the tomato's survival mode, making it retain as much sugar and water as possible in its fruit. The final product is the sweetest juiciest cherry tomato I have ever tasted.

The sashimi is plated beautifully. I always want to linger on during the sashimi course, sipping sake, trying out different combinations of flavors with dashi gelee, wasabi, soy, peppery tade... But my dining companion eats too fast :(

Oshokuji, the rice dish, is a snapper rice pot and home-made pickles. Kaiseki makes me enjoy sake a bit too much sometimes, so I'm thankful for the stomach-filling rice to settle me down. My companion has a second bowlful.

This particular evening the service is provided by Maruyama Junior. He personally cooks and serves us everything we eat and clears our dishes. We have a pleasant chat, too. Although he is enthusiastic about foreign visitors, he is humble and feels shy speaking in English. He is young, maybe in his early- to mid-thirties. We speak of music, him expressing that he wishes had more time to go to orchestra concerts.

It was a very pleasant meal representative of Kyoto hospitality. Some comments from Japanese reviews claim that service in private tatami rooms can be off at times. Maruyama Jr.'s service to us over the counter, however, was just wonderful. Other comments I have seen criticize the restaurant for not being extravagant enough with its ingredients and presentations. It's true; you don't get as many "wow"-factors here as you may at more dynamic places like Sasaki or Mizai (which I will write about later). What is beautiful about Maruyama, however, is, at least for me, in the restrained presentation and interpretation of the dishes and hospitality; nothing smacks you in the face to wake you up, but rather, flavors, textures and fragrances penetrate through you in the course of the meal, just like Maruyama Jr.'s service did to us.

(Note on room arrangement: Although the counter and the private rooms have chairs, you will take your shoes off upon entering. The counter and private room chairs and tables are directly placed on top of tatami mats. I made the mistake of wearing shoes on bare feet this particular evening: an embarrassing act when you go to an upscale tatami place. Please make sure you carry socks with you even in the summer.)

Gion Maruyama*

075-525-0009

Kyoto City, Higashiyama-ku, Gion Machi Minami

7-minute walk from Keihan Shijo Station

Lunch: 11 am - 1:30 pm Dinner: 5:00 - 7:30 (Last Order)

Budget: Lunch 6,000-8,000 yen; Dinner 20,000 - 40,000 yen

Closed Wednesdays

Newer Sister Restaurant:

Kenniji Gion Maruyama*

075-561-9990

Kyoto City, Higashiyama-ku, Kenniji Seimon Higashi Hairu Minami Gawa

* The original restaurant takes reservations from one diner; the second restaurant near Kenniji only takes reservations from two persons.