Taihou is the kind of place where everybody gets to know your name. On a recent visit for Sunday lunch I stayed well past last orders, past dessert, past an impromptu cheese course, only leaving before chef Kouki Watanabe and his staff sat down for their meal and a power nap before gearing up for the evening dinner rush.
Kouki¡¯s father started Taihou in 1974, and while he¡¯s still involved, it¡¯s the younger Watanabe who wears the toque (which he does). Besides being a family-run restaurant, Taihou feels like a family restaurant: It¡¯s busy, informal and home to some of the best Sichuan cuisine in Kyoto, which explains the line of people, round the clock.
Watanabe has assembled a great team. There aren¡¯t many family-run restaurants with a sommelier, but Misa Nakamura ¡ª who spent half the meal speaking Italian with my guest ¡ª introduced us to a sweet Chinese rice wine, and we nearly started on a bottle of Bulgarian red wine. Assisting Kouki in the kitchen is Irish chef Joshua Plunkett, who came from New York at the start of 2017 to join the team.
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