i. Biography
Stephan Pantel’s cooking is built on French country technique, then sharpened by years of service in Kyoto, Japan. The line from Nice to Kyoto gives the work its shape: familiar rural French flavors, handled with restraint, and adjusted to a city where precision and seasonality are part of the daily pace. Before Ryoriya Stephan Pantel, KEZAKO in Gion marked an early point in that exchange, placing Stephan Pantel in one of Kyoto’s most established districts and setting the terms for a career that has kept French technique in steady conversation with Japanese place.
Coming Up
Since 2014, Ryoriya Stephan Pantel has been the center of Stephan Pantel’s work in Kyoto, and the role has carried both continuity and authorship. French country cooking remains the base, but in this kitchen it is kept free of decoration and allowed to stand on its own terms: warmth, depth, and clarity rather than display. That approach suits Kyoto, where seasonality and exactness are everyday standards, and it gives the restaurant a voice that is rooted in France while being shaped by long practice in Japan. KEZAKO in Gion sits within that same trajectory, as an earlier chapter in the development of a style tied to place as much as to technique.
Where They Are Now
At Ryoriya Stephan Pantel in Kyoto, the signature dish makes the method legible in one plate: foie gras wrapped in daikon radish pickled in sake lees, served on a custom-designed plate. The construction is about balance rather than emphasis, with the richness of the foie gras set against the clean line of the daikon and the measured depth of the sake lees. The custom plate is part of the point as well, because the presentation reflects the same discipline as the cooking. Taken together, the dish shows how Stephan Pantel works: French at the base, Kyoto in the rhythm, and careful about how each element meets the next.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Stephan
What recognition has Stephan Pantel received?
Michelin Plate (2025).
What is Stephan Pantel known for?
Traditional French country cooking.
