Tanabeso

For a meal built around pickles, the Kyoto Pickled-Vegetable Sushi and Saikyo-Yaki Set at Tanabeso stands out. It comes with 7 pieces of Kyoto pickled-vegetable sushi and a salted rice ball, the day’s Saikyo-yaki, sea urchin yuba, 7 kinds of pickles and miso, pickled tomato, chilled tofu and miso soup. It suits diners who want grilled fish alongside the pickles. Some visitors recall the sushi—white rice topped with pickles—as a highlight; others enjoyed its colourful presentation with the Saikyo-yaki. One diner who tried the Saikyo-grilled mackerel praised its rich fattiness and miso flavour.

The day’s Saikyo-yaki set is another fish-focused choice, alongside the Saikyo-grilled silver cod set and the salmon-and-white-miso rice-in-broth set. The latter combines Saikyo-grilled salmon, salmon marinated in moromi, and salmon roe marinated in soy sauce with rice, white miso broth and condiments. One diner who ordered it particularly enjoyed pouring the broth over the rice after tasting the salmon, moromi-marinated salmon and roe. There is also a set featuring 9 kinds of Kyoto pickles for those who would rather focus on pickles and miso; it is put together differently from the fish sets. Several diners said they enjoyed trying the different pickles and found them a good match for rice. One also liked the spicy miso so much that they took some home.

For a set with a broader spread, the Saikyo-Yaki and Fried Nama-fu Set includes the day’s Saikyo-yaki, fried nama-fu (wheat-gluten cake), sea urchin yuba and 7 kinds of pickles and miso. A diner who ordered a set with both pickled-vegetable sushi and fried nama-fu was pleased to try such a variety of dishes. After the meal, visitors can also look for miso and pickles they enjoyed in the shop. One diner, for example, bought the spicy miso and pickles they had liked at the meal from the shop on the first floor.