La Locanda

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Italian Cuisine on the Banks of the Kamo River

La Locanda sits on the first floor of The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, overlooking the stretch of the Kamo River where Heian-period aristocrats once built villas to admire the moon and the Thirty-Six Peaks of Higashiyama. The setting alone carries a particular weight, but the restaurant earns its place in the city's dining landscape on its own terms — as one of Kyoto's most considered Italian restaurants, recognized by Wine Spectator with its Award of Excellence in 2025 for the quality of its cellar.

A Private Room Unlike Any Other

What separates La Locanda from other fine Italian restaurants in Kyoto is the Ebisugawa-tei, a private dining room with a genuinely remarkable origin. Originally the townhouse of Denzaburo Fujita, founder of the Fujita industrial group, the 1907 structure was carefully disassembled and rebuilt within the restaurant as a wood-panelled private dining space. Some of the timber used in its construction is over 700 years old. The room seats up to eight guests in the Goten-no-ma and six in the Chidori-no-ma, offering an atmosphere that is impossible to replicate — traditional Japanese architecture as the backdrop for an Italian dinner.

The Menus

The kitchen works across several set menus at both lunch and dinner, with dishes that follow market availability and lean on local Japanese produce alongside Italian technique. A signature Risotto "Carnaroli" with caviar and seaweed butter bridges the two culinary traditions with quiet confidence. Cold tagliolini with sea urchin and asparagus, homemade spaghetti with shellfish and fruit tomato, and charcoal-grilled Tokachi herb beef with Parmigiano Reggiano and honey vinaigrette are among the recurring anchors of the menu. For those who want to go further, Wagyu sirloin and tenderloin are available as upgrades across most courses.

Desserts are the work of Pierre Hermé Paris pastry chefs, crafted in the open La Vetrina Della Boutique kitchen space. The Tiramisu — built from chocolate sablé, coffee jelly and mascarpone cream — and the Baba alla Grappa soaked in citrus grappa syrup with pistachio and ricotta are both listed as signature dishes. The Infiniment Citron, with lemon biscotti, confit, gelato and crunchy meringue, closes the dinner menus with precision.

Vegetarian and gluten-free courses are available, as are à la carte options across every category. Wine pairings are offered alongside the dinner tasting menus, with bottles such as the 2020 Solaia by Tenuta Tignanello available by the glass or bottle from the à la carte list — a reflection of the wine program that earned the restaurant its Wine Spectator recognition.

The Room

The main dining area holds 44 seats; a group dining area accommodates 16. The dress code is casual elegance. The combination of a riverside location, a centuries-old private dining room, and Italian cooking that draws on Kyoto's own produce makes La Locanda a rare and specific kind of restaurant — one where the context and the plate are equally considered.