Aman Kyoto (Kita-ku, Kyoto; General Manager Yasuo Mizobuchi) is serving a summer-only lunch and dinner course at The Living Pavilion by Aman from Wednesday, July 8 through Tuesday, September 15, 2026. An afternoon tea depicting scenes of summer is also being held through Monday, August 31, 2026. Amid the height of Kyoto's summer, the resort's forest garden offers a dining setting cooler than the city center, with seasonal flavors meant to nourish both body and spirit.
Summer-Only Lunch & Dinner Course
With Kyoto's natural surroundings and Aman Kyoto's forest garden in mind, the kitchen built its lunch and dinner courses around local, seasonal ingredients, weaving in smoking, fermentation, and aging techniques to express the forest and the land.
The lunch course, offered as five or seven dishes, opens with a refreshingly cool starter of fragrantly seared kuma ebi shrimp paired with a frozen powder of new ginger and yogurt. Next comes hamo (pike conger), a signature flavor of the Kyoto summer, grilled over charcoal and served with slow-cooked Kamo eggplant, along with a consommé soup concentrated with the flavor of the hamo.
The fish course features charcoal-grilled managatsuo (silver pomfret), its delicate texture brought out by a sauce that combines the richness of concentrated tomato and fermented butter. The main course is Kyoto-grown venison loin, grilled over an open wood fire and paired with a poivrade sauce made with sansho pepper harvested on the property. Dessert closes the meal with a riz au lait of juicy peaches and goat's milk from Rurikei Yagi Farm, its gentle sweetness and light aftertaste rounding off the lunch.
The eight-course dinner opens with an appetizer of marinated maaji (Japanese horse mackerel) paired with fermented watermelon and cucumber, its fresh summer flavor and fermented notes drawing out the fish's richness. Next is a ravioli filled with fried eggplant and ricotta made from Tamba milk, served in a consommé of Kamigamo tomato whose clear sweetness gently wraps around the rich flavor of summer vegetables.
The fish course is amadai (tilefish) grilled with its scales left on for a crisp texture, served with a sauce made from Manganji peppers to express the taste of a Kyoto summer. The main course is sustainably raised Kuroge Wagyu beef, grilled over an open wood fire and finished with a sauce made from herbs picked at Aman Kyoto, along with chimaki (bamboo-leaf-wrapped rice cakes) that bring in the flavor of a Kyoto summer. Dessert closes with a blancmange of Shine Muscat grapes and a Tamba wine jelly, its juicy fruit and rich aroma providing an elegant, cooling finish to the dinner.
Venue: The Living Pavilion by Aman, Aman Kyoto
Period: July 8 (Wed) through September 15 (Tue), 2026
Price:
- Chef's Recommended Menu (five-course lunch): ¥15,000
- Tasting Menu (seven-course lunch): ¥18,000
- Omakase Menu (eight-course dinner): ¥24,000
Website: https://www.aman.com/ja-jp/resorts/aman-kyoto/dining/seasonal-dining-living-pavilion-aman
Summer Afternoon Tea
The welcome drink is a housemade soda using red shiso from Ohara, Kyoto, served alongside a bite-sized monaka filled with fresh mango, its vivid color and juicy flavor setting a cool tone for the summer afternoon.
The first tier box, prepared by Executive Chef Tatsuya Ozawa, features savory bites that reflect the season and the land. Highlights include an inari-zushi made with delicately bone-cut hamo and a gratin of tender Kamo eggplant layered with the richness of white miso, both capturing a taste of the Kyoto summer.
The second tier features sweets created by Executive Pastry Chef Hiroyuki Matsuo, expressing scenes of summer. Griotte cherry wrapped in pistachio and matcha forms a mousse shaped like a moss ball reminiscent of the cool, shaded forest garden at Aman Kyoto; a cool yokan captures goldfish swimming gracefully; and a mousse balances the gentle sweetness of Kyoto-grown honey with the freshness of muscat grapes, rounding out a visually cooling selection.
The finale is housemade warabi mochi, delivered by cart service. Guests can choose from four condiments — Tamba black soybean, unrefined white sugar syrup, matcha kudzu, and Tamba kinako — finished tableside to order. It's a cool, elegant way to spend a summer afternoon while taking in the shaded garden.
Period: Through August 31 (Mon), 2026
Time: From 3:00 PM
Price: ¥12,000, includes a glass of champagne
Website: https://www.aman.com/ja-jp/resorts/aman-kyoto/dining/seasonal-afternoon-tea-aman-kyoto
Tatsuya Ozawa, Executive Chef and Director of Food & Beverage, Aman Kyoto
Ozawa moved to Italy at age 23 and trained under top chefs at restaurants including a two-Michelin-starred establishment. In 2015, he placed in one of Japan's largest culinary competitions dedicated to discovering new-generation talent. From 2017, he served as head chef of an Italian restaurant at a Kyoto luxury hotel, then joined Aman Kyoto as head chef in 2020 before being named executive chef in 2023. Surrounded by Aman Kyoto's natural setting, he aims to offer a dining experience that draws on local ingredients and is simple yet deep, shaped by a sense of place.
Hiroyuki Matsuo, Executive Pastry Chef
Matsuo trained at luxury hotels in the Kansai region, drawing on more than 40 years of technique and sensibility to create numerous original desserts. He has also devoted himself to mentoring the next generation, and many of his students now work across Japan. As a confectionery artisan, he is also recognized for his work in sugar and pastry display and craft, with a number of awards to his name. His afternoon tea at Aman Kyoto pairs Western-style sweets styled after delicate, seasonal wagashi for a visually distinctive experience.
