We went in with high expectations and left slightly disappointed. Gion Manzara is a highly popular izakaya amongst both locals and tourists serving Obanzai(Kyoto-style home cooking) . We reached there around 8pm without any reservations and were told to return in 20 minutes as it was full house. What little we glimpsed inside - a small, dimly lit restaurant teeming with activity and wondrous smells - only served to heighten our anticipation and hunger.

For ¥5500, we expected more in terms of both quantity and quality. Most of the food was middling - overcooked and tough black cod, an uninspired sashimi course, bland and tiny pieces of mushy pumpkin, eggplant and radish curiously paired with a single slice of smoked duck and a crushingly boring cube of tamago(and I love eggs). The ultimate betrayal was the rice course, which came across as Yoshinoya-esque with dry, chewy beef and rice falling short of the high standards I've come across so far in Kyoto.

A few silver linings lifted the dark cloud of mediocre food - 2 teensy slices of perfectly seared medium rare marbled wagyu beef, and a refreshing dessert of kinako and matcha mochi with black soybean ice cream.

Gionmachiminamigawa 570-128, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, 605-0074

Taste: 3/5