01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Nikenchaya is a welcome stop for a meal as well as for sweets. Its sea bream ochazuke comes with pieces of sea bream, rice crackers, mitsuba, wasabi and nori, served with dashi, and includes obanzai side dishes. The other meal option is sea bream udon, with sea bream, Kujo spring onion, fresh yuba and nori. Choose between rice and noodles for lunch during a walk around Yasaka Shrine.
The restaurant’s signature Gion tofu is dengaku tofu topped with kinome miso. The menu describes it as a dish that lets the flavour of blended miso and the tofu’s soft texture shine; it costs ¥880. Said to have been loved through 480 years of history, this house speciality makes a satisfying addition to a meal or a savoury bite before dessert.
For something sweet, the anmitsu is generously topped with kuromitsu and brings together agar jelly, mitsumame, smooth red bean paste, matcha ice cream, shiratama dumplings and apricot. Pouring on the syrup yourself is part of the experience, and the toppings make for a mix of flavours and textures in each spoonful. The house-made warabi mochi is served with smooth red bean paste and kinako. Choose the kuromitsu-kinako version for an extra drizzle of house-made black sugar syrup, right down to the last bite.
The seasonal strawberry offerings include an Amaou strawberry parfait and Amaou strawberry daifuku served with matcha ousu. One visitor described the parfait as packed with strawberries, and said the strawberry sauce and milky ice cream stood out. Go for the parfait to make a fuller occasion of seasonal sweets, or choose the daifuku for a lighter treat alongside matcha.
Drinks include matcha ousu, matcha au lait and sweet green tea; coffee comes with a seasonal sweet. One visitor who ordered the matcha au lait noted that the ice was made from the same drink, so it stayed flavourful as it melted. Nikenchaya is inside the torii gate of Yasaka Shrine. It is closed on Wednesdays and open from 11:00 to 17:00 on other days.
