Just came from one of the best meals I've ever had at LITTLE-HEAVEN in Kyoto, near Arashiyama. It's very close to 2 different public transit lines and I cannot express how much I would encourage folks to splurge on the vegan meal set. It's elevated shojin ryori cuisine - and it's maybe one of the best meals I've ever had? Certainly the best meal of my trip and worth the money. I made a reservation about 1 month in advance, but you could make it maybe 1 or 2 weeks in advance and be fine I think. I had the best soup of my entire life - I've never experienced that utterly perfect velvet texture. The fruits used were to die for. The service was immaculate, and the chef was so kind.

Yes, it is slightly outside of the city center (about half of the way to Arishiyama bamboo forest, which everyone is going to anyway) and took maybe 30 min to get to. Yes it was pricier than the other meals I've booked, but it was an entire gourmet experience and I just need to vouch that it was worth it. I booked for 2 people - my husband got incredibly sick the day before and they were unable to refund his pre-paid meal - I dined completely alone in the restaurant - and I'm STILL vouching for how incredible the food was. It's an absolute must.

Reservations are required (they need to prepare, so you can't do walk-ups), but I've seen several reviews of people saying they called day-of and were able to come, still. Dont let the reservation process stop you from coming.

info about the restaurant:

https://ikuranet.chu.jp/heaven/

their reservation request page: https://littleheaven.ikuranet.com/sp/form2.html

or you can use this link from jpneazy like I did: https://jpneazy.com/restaurants/30087