Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima Head Shop

Kyoto is also famous for gyoza (Chinese dumplings), and the annual consumption of gyoza by the residents of Kyoto Prefecture ranks among the highest every year.

In Kyoto, the gyoza capital of Japan, there is a gyoza restaurant that has recently been attracting increasing attention. This is the restaurant I visited this time, Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima. As of March 2024, there are a total of four affiliated gyoza restaurants, including the main one in Marutamachi. It operates a hotel, a public bath, and a sauna in addition to its restaurants.

Is this Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima a novelty that is only a topic of conversation? Or is it an attractive dumpling restaurant as well? I had been curious about it for a long time, so one day after work, I went to Nishinotoin Ebisugawa, where the main restaurant is located. I arrived at the restaurant around 6:00 p.m., but the restaurant was quite crowded as rumored…

Similar atmosphere to that popular restaurant in Osaka? This is what kind of restaurant is the main restaurant of Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima

The main branch of Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima was opened on February 8, 2019, and is a relatively new restaurant. However, once we enter the restaurant, there is a somewhat faded retro atmosphere, which probably gives a sense of nostalgia to the Showa era generation. Yes, I was just thinking, don’t stores like this come with an image of being “inexpensive”? Of course, this may be a strategy of the restaurant, but the prices are in the same range as the atmosphere, so young people can use the restaurant without any hesitation.

The space of the restaurant stretches from the entrance to the back, and there are 24 seats in total, including counter seats for one person. Perhaps because of the location of the restaurant, there were no tourists when I visited, and everyone seemed to be either a local or someone stopping by on their way home from work.

Sitting at the counter in the back of the restaurant and looking at the menu, I found that in addition to gyoza, there was a reasonable selection of food items on the menu, mainly snacks. In that sense, this is not a “gyoza specialty restaurant” but a “izakaya (Japanese-style pub) with gyoza as its main dish”. However, I saw some familiar names on the menu, such as “Vice” and “Chashu Eggs”, which reminded me of a popular izakaya in Osaka, Stand Sonda. I thought to myself, “Is this restaurant affiliated with Stand Sonoda by any chance?” (Apparently not). It has just the right retro feel, similar in some ways to Stand Sonoda and its affiliate Typhoon Restaurant, so people from Osaka may find it familiar in a different way.

I compared 5 kinds of gyoza of the signature menu at the main branch of Nakajima Gyoza, the famous gyoza restaurant in Kyoto… How are they different from the famous gyoza in Kyoto?

This time, I decided to compare 5 kinds of gyoza on the menu at the main branch of Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima. Here are the five types of gyoza on the menu…

• Gyoza Deep (with garlic): 5 pieces, 380 yen
• Gyoza French (without garlic): 380 yen for 5 pieces
• Gyoza Super Deep (with 1.5 times garlic): 430 yen for 5 pieces (limited to 20 servings)
• Boiled gyoza (with pak choi): 5 pieces, 490 yen
• Fried gyoza: 5 pieces, 490 yen

Boiled gyoza and deep-fried gyoza are rarely seen at restaurants in Kyoto, so that alone seems to give gyoza lovers a reason to visit the restaurant. But still, is the garlic-less gyoza “French”…is there any other twist to it besides the removal of garlic?

Three types of grilled dumplings (deep, French, and super deep)

Let’s start with Gyoza Deep and French. In the image above, the top row is Gyoza Deep with garlic and the bottom row is Gyoza French without garlic. The size of each gyoza is about the same as the gyoza at Sukemasa Gyoza Restaurant…I think they are rather large in Kyoto.

When I tore the skin off, the ratio of pork is quite high. This filling is made mainly from “Kyoto Pork”, a brand name pork in Kyoto, and cabbage grown in Kyoto. Local production for local consumption is a good thing…

Six kinds of seasonings are available on the table: soy sauce, vinegar, black vinegar, pepper, homemade chili oil, and hot pepper. The restaurant recommends “vinegar: soy sauce: black vinegar = 1:1:1”. Of course, we can arrange it as we like.

Now, let’s try it… The skin does not feel so thin even though it is called “thin skin”. It has a normal thickness, and I like the fact that it is not torn by sticking to the neighboring gyoza. When you bite into it, it is quite chewy, or rather, the texture is as if the bean paste is tightly packed. In particular, the cabbage is cut into large pieces, so we can enjoy the crunchy texture. This is in contrast to the finely detailed filling of gyoza at Gyoza Hohei and Senmonten.

Comparing the Gyoza Deep and the Gyoza French, the only difference is really the presence or absence of garlic. Although they are named “French,” they are not arranged in the same way as the Motoi Gyoza. However, the garlic on the gyoza deep-fried one is quite intense. In fact, I had the Gyoza Super Deep with 1.5 times the amount of garlic after this…

To be honest, I thought that the amount of garlic in the deep version was enough… The garlic flavor of this gyoza deep is very nice and salty, and my nose gets hit in a good way and I can’t stop the chopsticks. Especially paired with the “Baisu”, it is the best. If you are in a situation where garlic is okay, please try the combination of Gyoza Deep and Baisu…

Boiled and deep-fried gyoza

Next, let me introduce boiled gyoza and deep-fried gyoza, which are not easily found in Kyoto…

Let’s start with boiled gyoza. The gyoza seems to be made from Gyoza French. There is no garlic aroma at all when eating it. The skin is nice and pulled, and the soup tastes like Khao Mangai’s accompanying soup, which is easily eaten together with the soup.

The boiled dumplings come with a spicy sauce called “Chojang sauce”, but personally, I felt it was better to eat them as they are without it. Cilantro is included by default, but if you ask for it when you order, they will remove it, so don’t worry if you don’t like it…

And finally, the deep-fried gyoza. The surface of the gyoza is a bit powdery and has a fried feel to it, but the oil is drained off thoroughly, so it is not greasy. The mayonnaise is not as spicy as I thought it would be, though it is supposed to be served with spicy mayonnaise. The gyoza is also garlic-free, so it lacks a little impact… It is not bad as a snack with beer, but the gyoza deep-fried gyoza is very good as a snack with alcohol, so personally, I don’t think this fried gyoza will have a place…

This is how I paid for my bill after comparing all five items on the gyoza menu at the main branch of Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima. In Kyoto, where garlic-free gyoza and small gyoza for geiko are favored, Nakajima has a strong presence as a popular gyoza restaurant. It is more like a community-based restaurant than a restaurant that attracts customers from far away. However, the quality of the gyoza is definitely good, so if you have a chance to go near the restaurant, please give it a try. Incidentally, the dumplings at Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima are also available for take-out…

The Nakajima Special Gyoza set meal on the lunch menu is quite destructive… To get to the Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima main branch, walk 7 minutes from the nearest station, Marutamachi Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line.

The main branch of Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima offers three kinds of set menus at lunch time…

• Daily special set meal: 880 yen
• Nakajima special gyoza set meal: 990 yen
• Fried rice set meal (black or white) 990 yen

Of these, the Nakajima Special Gyoza Set Meal is quite destructive. It includes 8 gyoza (can be changed to no garlic), rice, miso soup, and 5 small dishes such as stir-fried meat with miso, potato salad, and bean sprout namul, etc. In addition, a large serving of rice and refills are free. With this kind of price for this kind of content, I think it can compete with other gazillion-dollar lunch restaurants. If you are looking for a gutsy Chinese lunch near Nijo Castle, please consider the main branch of Ebisugawa Gyoza Nakajima as one of your candidates.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

From Nijojo-mae Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line, it is an 8-minute walk.

P.S. If you are looking for delicious gyoza in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…