Omen

This elegant noodle shop is named after the thick white noodles that are served in a hot broth with a selection of seven fresh vegetables. Just say ‘omen’ and you’ll be given your choice of hot or cold noodles, a bowl of soup to dip them in and a plate of vegetables (you put these into the soup along with some sesame seeds). It’s a great bowl of noodles but that’s not the end of the story: everything on the frequently changing menu is delicious. You can get a fine salad here, brilliant tori sansho yaki (chicken cooked with Japanese mountain spice), good tempura and occasionally a nice plate of sashimi. Best of all, there’s a menu in English. It’s about five minutes’ walk from Ginkaku-ji in a traditional Japanese house with a lantern outside. Highly recommended.