Capella Kyoto is many things: the long-awaited Japan debut of the Singapore luxury hospitality brand, Kengo Kuma’s reimagining of a former elementary school as a contemporary machiya, and now the home of SingleThread’s first international outpost. It’s a fitting homecoming for owners Kyle and Katina Connaughton, who spent years living and working in Japan before opening their acclaimed three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Healdsburg, California.
Wallpaper* dines at Sonoma by SingleThread, Kyoto
The mood: foliage and flowers
Like the hotel itself, SoNoMa by SingleThread was designed by Hong Kong and Singapore-based Brewin Design Office. Here, the journey begins long before the first course arrives. Beyond a white noren curtain lies a residential-style lounge furnished with antiques and objects sourced from Kyoto’s auction houses and vintage shops, where a seasonal welcome drink and amuse-bouche ease diners into the evening before a sliding screen reveals the chef’s counter beyond.
The 14-seat dining room overlooks the hotel’s tsuboniwa courtyard garden through a floor-to-ceiling wall of glass. Cherry blossom, camellias, stone and still water form a living backdrop that shifts subtly as daylight fades, reinforcing the restaurant’s connection to seasonality. Custom tables and seating by Brewin Design Office are paired with table mats crafted by Tajiri-san of Lether Kyoto, while floral arrangements by Katina Connaughton and Capella’s flower team bring seasonal softness to the room. Timber, plaster and stone create a space that feels warm, tactile and distinctly Kyotoite.
Pay attention to the tabletop too. Handcrafted vessels by Hasu Yoshitaka, Nagatani, Kojima Kenji and Kojima Yosuke transform each course into a study of materiality, while cutlery by Yuichi Takemata, Kyo Amahare and Marunao sits alongside glassware from Sus Gallery, Kimura Glass and Austrian crystal specialist Zalto.
The food: ‘The story of the day’
Head chef Keita Tominaga grew up in Sonoma County, the region from which the restaurant takes its name. The title is also a play on the Japanese characters for imagination (so), possession (no) and space (ma). The resulting omakase reflects both worlds, weaving Kyoto’s seasonal produce together with ingredients from SingleThread Farm.
Spring announces itself through white asparagus with sweet shrimp and young burdock, before a sequence of beautifully judged small plates arrives: fava beans with Hokkaido sea urchin, spring sea bream sushi over matcha vinegar rice, and firefly squid sharpened with chrysanthemum chimichurri and aonori.
A standout dish of bamboo shoots, harvested each morning from a private grove outside Kyoto, captures the season’s fleeting nature, paired with tofu, lemon, and a finishing drizzle of SingleThread’s estate olive oil. Seafood is a particular strength. Kinmedai and sakura buri are dressed simply with shiranui ponzu and kohlrabi, while smoked silver cherry salmon balances delicate richness with plum and flower pepper. A silky clam chawanmushi, meanwhile, demonstrates the kitchen’s inventive twists.
The meal deepens with Nanatani duck, one of Kyoto’s most prized heritage breeds, slow-grilled over coals and served alongside spring cabbage, kumquat and seasonal Honda Miso. It is followed by one of the evening’s highlights: hairy crab rice enriched with herb butter and dashi. Desserts are equally assured, from satsuma mandarin scented with California bay leaf to Hokkaido milk and local honey.
The 440-bottle cellar leans heavily towards California but leaves room for discovery, including a thoughtful selection of Japanese wines, such as Pinot Noir from Hokkaido, and a sake programme that highlights Kyoto’s distinctive brewing culture.
SoNoMa by SingleThread is located at Capella Kyoto, 130 Komatsucho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0811, Japan
