Grill Seiken Kaikan

On the first floor of the building of the Institute of Production and Development Science, a research facility located on the west side of the Tadasunomori Forest of Shimogamo Shrine, there is a Western-style restaurant with an unusual name , Grill Seiken Kaikan. Founded in 1958, the restaurant boasts a history of more than 60 years, and has long been a favorite of the locals. The restaurant is now run by the third generation of owners, and is highly regarded among Kyoto’s gourmet lovers for the fact that the menu and taste have not changed since the restaurant’s founding.

Well, I was more on the side of those who were interested in the unusual name of the restaurant, but I was curious to know what kind of Western food they serve at such a restaurant, so I visited the restaurant during lunch time on a Monday. It was a weekday, and the location was not downtown, so I honestly thought, “I’ll be able to enter the restaurant with ease…” But the reality was not so optimistic…

It is also famous as a location for the TV drama “Chokotto Kyoto ni Ittemita (I Lived in Kyoto for a Little While)”… Grill Seiken Kaikan is a restaurant like this…

I arrived at Grill Seiken Kaikan around 12:30 p.m., but the restaurant was already full, with four customers waiting to be shown to their seats in the waiting area. There was a name book at the entrance…

The rule is to wait outside the restaurant except for the first group, so I went outside once and waited. While I was waiting, there were local madams, families with small children, and other local customers who seemed to be gathering one after another, not tourists in style. I thought to myself, “This restaurant must be pretty amazing that so many people, not businessmen or students, but just locals, gather here during lunch time on a weekday…”. After writing our names in the name book, it took about 10 minutes before we were ushered into the restaurant. According to the Tabelog, there are 27 seats in total. Light shines through the large glass block windows, and the red tablecloths on the tables shine brightly, creating a sophisticated atmosphere. And on the counter with the cash register is a snapshot of the third chef and actress Fumino Kimura together… In fact, Grill Seiken Kaikan is also known as the filming location for the TV drama “Chokotto Kyoto ni Ittemita” (I Lived in Kyoto for a Little While).

As a person with ties to Kyoto, I am happy to see a restaurant that has been working so hard in Kyoto being introduced to the rest of the country via TV. I hope you will stop by the restaurant on your way to Shimogamo Shrine and enjoy the taste of a Western-style restaurant that has been in Kyoto for more than 60 years.

Lunch hamburger steak: How does the signature dish that has been served at Grill Seiken Kaikan for over 60 years taste?

Well, what I ordered this time at Grill Seiken Kaikan was a lunch hamburger steak (price: 1,300 yen including tax, with rice), which I chose from the “Today’s Recommendation” menu. I was torn between the hamburger steak with fried shrimp and the hamburger steak with fried shrimp, but I was sad to know that the hamburger steak would be reduced in size from 200g to 140g when fried shrimp was added…

After about 15 minutes of waiting after ordering, the lunch hamburger steak arrived in front of me. The dark brown demi-glace sauce poured generously over the hamburger steak is very appetizing, but from a visual sense, it does not seem to be as large as 200g of meat.

Well, that aside, let’s try it… The surface feels a bit hard when you hit it with chopsticks. It is not as juicy as the hamburger steak at Tokura’s main restaurant in Katsura, but the juices are constantly oozing out from the cross section of it. When you put it in your mouth, the minced meat has a coarse, lumpy, meaty texture, and you can taste the sweetness of the onions as well as the flavor of the juices. On the other hand, the demi-glace sauce on the hamburger steak is rich in beef and red wine flavors, and although it is not acidic or bitter, it has a very mature taste.

The hamburger steak at Grill Seiken Kaikan is one rank higher than the hamburger steak you would find at a Western-style restaurant in town. If you can eat this for 1,300 yen including tax, it is quite a bargain. This hamburger has been available in Kyoto for more than 60 years…when I think about it, I can understand why this restaurant has always been special to the locals.

Other lunch menu items at Grill Seiken Kaikan (prices include tax)

• Special Lunch (hamburger steak, fried shrimp, crab cream croquette) 1900 yen
• Hamburger steak & fried shrimp 1,500 yen
• Children’s Lunch 1200 yen
• Children’s hamburger steak 1000 yen
• Beef Curry 1000 yen

At night, you can order Western-style dishes other than hamburgers… Grill Seiken Kaikan is a 13-minute walk from Demachiyanagi Station on the Keihan Electric Railway (Eizan Electric Railway), the closest station to the restaurant.

At night, Grill Seiken Kaikan offers a Western-style menu other than hamburgers, such as pork chap, crab cream croquettes, and tongue stew…

The evening menu is not as varied as this, but you can enjoy the main popular western dishes at reasonable prices. This is a great place for a slightly more elaborate family dinner. However, reservations are required at night and the restaurant closes at 6:30 p.m.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

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