Motsunabe Kyogame

One lunchtime in December 2024, I had an uncontrollable craving for motsunabe, so I went to Motsunabe Kyogame, a motsunabe specialty restaurant along Imadegawa Dori. In Kyoto, most popular motsunabe restaurants are located in the downtown area between Shijo-Kawaramachi and Karasuma, but Kyogame is a popular restaurant in the Hyakumanben area, a little further away from the Kawaramachi area, and is known by those in the know. I had been checking out this restaurant for a while, and since I was just in the area, I decided to have lunch there…

Stretch out your legs and relax in the rustic atmosphere…Motsunabe Kyogame is a restaurant like this…

Walking down Imadegawa Dori from Demachiyanagi Station in the direction of Ginkakuji Temple, you will see a historic machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse) on the left. That is the target of this visit, Motsunabe Kyogame. There are not many machiya houses left in this area, so it is not so difficult to find the restaurant without a map. A machiya that stands alone along a main street stands out….

I arrived at Motsunabe Kyogame around midnight on a weekend. Recently, many restaurants are renovating machiya houses with modern interiors and using them as stores, but this restaurant seems to have kept its original form without making any major changes to the interior. So, I personally feel the atmosphere is somewhat like that of a simple, popular izakaya (Japanese-style pub). According to the restaurant’s Tabelog information, there are 40 seats inside. There are also some seats on tatami mats where you can stretch out your legs, so it is quite comfortable and relaxing…

One person needs to order two servings of this dish… What was it like to try Kyogame’s signature dish, motsunabe with white miso flavor?

Let me introduce you to the signature dish I ordered that day at Kyogame: motsunabe with white miso flavor (there are also soy sauce and salt flavors). The price is 1,750 yen per person including tax. Please note that you need to order two servings even if you are alone…

After finishing the order, a gas stove and a pot are brought to the table to start cooking. 2 servings is quite impressive, isn’t it? Ten minutes after the pot is heated…

Is it almost cooked? Yes, the waiter at this restaurant does not check the heat level of the pot, so you are responsible for cooking the pot on your own. Be sure to keep an eye on the pot frequently while it is on the fire, because if you are not careful, the pot could end up spilling.

Now let’s get on with it… I counted 14 pieces of motsu, which is enough for 2 servings of motsunabe. Of course, they are plump without any odor. When chewing, the fat and soup stock together with the high quality broth comes out in a big gulp.

The broth is so thick that it feels light and coarse on the tongue, and the sweetness unique to white miso and the aroma of garlic can be felt. The garlic aroma in particular is probably stronger than that of Toraya or Kamehachi‘s motsunabe. The broth is irresistible to garlic lovers and makes you want to drink it all the time.

However, the amount of dashi broth is a bit small…or maybe it is the volume of vegetables. In any case, since the amount of dashi broth was relatively small, it took a little time to cook the vegetables thoroughly, and some of them got burnt…that was a little disappointing. There were only a few vegetables: cabbage, burdock root, and leek, but anyway, there was a lot of cabbage. The crispy cabbage alone is enough to fill one’s stomach, so this dish is sure to be a delight for cabbage lovers.

Like this, I slowly finished off the white miso-flavored motsunabe at Kyogame in about 20 minutes. This time, I did not add zosui (rice porridge) or chanpon noodles for the end of the meal, as I made it for two people. Perhaps due to the atmosphere of the restaurant, the white miso motsu nabe here is somewhat rustic and homey. I think this is a great place to enjoy nabe with a few friends, just like at an izakaya.

Examples of additional toppings menu for Motsunabe Kyogame’s motsu nabe (prices include tax)

• Hormone 200g 1200yen
• 3 kinds of vegetables 900yen
• Grated garlic 300 yen
• Mochi (rice cake) 250 yen
• Additional soup 100 yen
• Porridge set 450 yen
• Champon noodles 350 yen

The restaurant offers Hormone Ramen at lunch time… To get to Motsunabe Kyogame, walk from Demachiyanagi Station on the Keihan Electric Railway (Eizan Electric Railway), the closest station to the restaurant.

Motsunabe Kyogame offers a lunchtime menu called Hormone Ramen. As of December 2024, the price of Hormone Ramen is 850 yen including tax. From the sample image above, the flavor is probably spicy. And it says “morimori cabbage” here as well. This restaurant is a definite “cabbage lover’s paradise” in my mind. Whenever you are in the mood for cabbage, eat your fill of cabbage at Kyogame.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

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