In beautiful Maruyama Park near the geisha district of Kyoto, Mizai is considered by many to be the finest restaurant in Japan. It serves the kaiseki cuisine of Kyoto, but at a counter rather than in private dining rooms, as happens at many of the more traditional establishments here. The ingredients that you encounter will be ultra-seasonal, but might include beautifully presented fish including conger eel or barracuda, followed by gloriously flavored Japanese beef with pepper sauce. Service is welcoming and charming, but you need to pay in cash.

See Andy Hayler's blog post: http://tinyurl.com/z3npwq4