KOGA

The story

KOGA Kyoto: French Restaurant in Kamigyo-ku with Michelin Recommended 2026

KOGA is a French restaurant at 230 Nakaogawacho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, recognised with a Michelin Guide Recommended distinction in 2026. The kitchen works as a French-style omakase, with set menus built around ingredients from Japanese producers.

Chef and cooking

Chef Ryuji Koga trained in Tokyo at Joël Robuchon before working in France. He later became the first Japanese deputy head chef and menu developer at Le Cinq in Paris, then led the kitchen at the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto before opening KOGA. He describes the cooking as blending ingredients the way a perfumer blends scents, with each producer's work carried onto the plate.

The menus and rooms

Lunch is a set course of about eight to ten dishes, and dinner runs to roughly ten to twelve, dessert included. Private rooms can be arranged for four to sixteen guests.