Restaurants in Kyoto
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Manzara Honten
Located in a converted machiya (traditional Japanese town house), Manzara represents a pleasing fusion of traditional and modern Japanese culture. The fare here is creative modern Japanese and the surroundings are decidedly stylish. The omakase (chef’s recommendation) course is good value, with eight dishes for ¥4000, and à la carte dishes are available from ¥500. Last orders are at 11.30pm.
reviewed
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Capricciosa
For heaped portions of pasta at rock-bottom prices you won’t do much better than this longtime student favourite. Pasta dishes start at around ¥800 and you can choose from pizzas, salads, and various meat and fish dishes. It will definitely not be the best Italian you’ve ever had, but you’ll probably leave full and happy. It’s near the Sanjō-Kawaramachi crossing; look for the red-brick steps and the green awning. There’s an English menu and an English sign.
reviewed
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Honyaradō
This woodsy place overlooking the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park is an institution. It was something of a gathering spot for Kyoto’s countercultural elite during the hippy days. It has the lived-in feeling of an eccentric friend’s house, with stacks of books and magazines and interesting decorations. The lunch deal (a daily stew set) is good value. Surprisingly, considering the ambience, there aren’t many veggie options. It’s a good place to relax over coffee.
reviewed
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Uosue
Uosue is one of the best value Japanese places in town. It’s a traditional Kyoto-style restaurant with a clean interior and friendly proprietors. For lunch, try the wonderful nijū bentō for ¥1000. At dinner, the omakase ryōri kōsu is a great way to sample kaiseki ryōri without breaking the bank: it costs just ¥3800. It’s next to a tiny shrine – keep an eye out for the sake barrels out the front.
reviewed
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Cocohana
This place is one of a kind: a Korean café in a converted old Japanese house. Dishes here include bibimbap (a Korean rice dish) and kimchi (Korean pickles). A full range of coffee and tea is also available. It’s a woody, rustic place with both table and tatami seating. There is no English menu but the friendly young staff will help with ordering. This makes a great stop while exploring southeastern Kyoto.
reviewed
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Aunbo
Aunbo serves elegant, creative Japanese cooking in traditional Gion surroundings. The last time we were here we started with sublime sashimi, moved on to fried yuba pockets and went from there. We recommend asking for the set and leaving the difficult decisions to the master. Aunbo takes reservations in the evening. There is an English menu but no English sign; look for the traditional Japanese façade.
reviewed
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Fujino-Ya
This is one of the easiest places for non-Japanese to enter on Pontochō, a street where many of the other restaurants turn down even unfamiliar Japanese diners. Here you can feast on tempura, okonomiyaki, yaki-soba and kushikatsu in tatami rooms overlooking the Kamo-gawa.
reviewed
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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 minu…
reviewed
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Ganko Zushi
This giant four-storey dining hall is part of Kansai’s biggest sushi chain. The ground floor is the sushi area (you can order nonsushi dishes here as well); it has a long sushi counter and plenty of tables. Despite the fact that it’s a giant plebeian dining hall, it’s actually one of the most convenient spots in Downtown Kyoto for travellers to dine in, and the extensive English/picture menu makes ordering a breeze. The set meals are good value. Downstairs is an izakaya and upstairs has rooms for parties. This place may have the most plastic-looking food models out of any restaurant window in Kyoto. It’s near the Sanjō-Ōhashi bridge.
reviewed
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Sunny Place
Sunny Place is a fine little organic vegetarian eatery not far from the Hyakumamben intersection (within walking distance of Ginkaku-ji ). It has a long wooden counter at which everyone tends to chat with both their neighbour and the friendly owner. The standard set includes a nonmeat protein dish (such as tempeh), three vegetable sides, rice and miso soup. Sunny Place is a bit tricky to find. Starting from the Hyakumamben crossing, walk west on Imadegawa-dōri to the first set of traffic lights; turn right and walk about 200m (you’ll cross one fairly large street). It will be on the right; there’s usually an English sign out the front.
reviewed
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Santōka
The young chefs at this sleek restaurant dish out some seriously good Hokkaidō-style rāmen. You will be given a choice of three kinds of soup when you order: shio (salt), shōyu or miso – we highly recommend you go for the miso soup. For something totally decadent, try the tokusen toroniku rāmen, which is made from pork cheeks, of which only 200g can be obtained from one animal. The pork will come on a separate plate from the rāmen – just shovel it all into your bowl. The restaurant is located on the east side and ground floor of the new Kyōen restaurant and shopping complex.
reviewed
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Kanei
A small traditional place not far from Funaoka Onsen, Kanei is the place to go if you’re a soba connoisseur – the noodles are made by hand here and are delicious. The owners don’t speak much English, so here’s what to order: zaru soba (¥850) or kake soba ( soba in a broth; ¥900). Note that handmade soba quickly loses its taste and texture, so we recommend that you eat it quickly. The servings are small and the dishes are only likely to please real soba fans. Kanei is on the corner, a few metres west of Saraca Nishijin.
reviewed
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Anji
This smoky izakaya -style fish specialist is a great place to sample a wide variety of sashimi, cooked fish and standard izakaya dishes. You can sit on the tatami mats in the zashiki (communal room), but you’ll have to have a high tolerance for cigarette smoke. If you don’t smoke, and don’t want to be smoked, we recommend the counter. There is no English menu, so you’ll have to bring a Japanese-speaking friend or point at what your neighbours are eating. Anji is on the 2nd floor, up a flight of steps festooned with signs (in Japanese) advertising the menu; you’ll know the place when you see it.
reviewed
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Musashi Sushi
If you’ve never tried kaiten-zushi, don’t miss this place – all the dishes are a mere ¥130. It’s not the best sushi in the world, but it’s a heckuva lot better than most ‘sushi trains’ outside Japan. Needless to say, it’s easy to eat here: you just grab what you want off the conveyor belt. If you can’t find what you want on the belt, there’s also an English menu. Musashi is just outside the entrance to the Sanjō covered arcade; look for the miniature sushi conveyor belt in the window.
reviewed
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Prinz
Behind the blank white façade of Prinz, you’ll find a café-restaurant, gallery, bookshop, garden and library – a chic island of coolness in an otherwise bland residential neighbourhood. You can sit at the counter and request music from the CDs that line the walls. The lunch set usually includes a light assortment of Western and Japanese dishes, generally on the healthy side of things. Coffee starts at ¥300. All in all, this is a very interesting stop while you’re in the northeast part of town. Note that last orders are at 11.30pm.
reviewed
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Ayatori
Very close to the Hyakumamben intersection, this place is your classic shokudō. It’s a friendly spot that is popular with local workers, resident foreigners and university students. A variety of standard fish and meat set dishes are served, which average around ¥800. In winter, the kaki furai teishoku (fried oyster set meal; ¥1100) is lovely. Strangely, considering this is a Japanese restaurant, Ayatori also serves a wonderful potato salad. English menus are available. To find this place, look for the big red-and-black sign.
reviewed
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Kagizen Yoshifusa
This Gion institution is one of Kyoto’s oldest and best-known okashi-ya (sweet shops). It sells a variety of traditional sweets and has a lovely tea room out the back where you can sample cold kuzukiri (transparent arrowroot noodles) served with a kuro-mitsu (sweet black sugar) dipping sauce, or just a nice cup of matcha and a sweet. All in all, it’s one of the best spots in Gion for a rest. Look for the sweets in the window, the wide front and the noren (curtains in the window of a Japanese restaurant).
reviewed
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Hiranoya
Located next to the Atago Torii (Shintō shrine gate), this thatched-roof restaurant is about as atmospheric as they get. While you can sample full-course kaiseki meals here from ¥15,000 (by telephone reservation in Japanese only), we prefer to soak up the atmosphere over a simple cup of matcha for a relatively modest ¥840 (it comes with a traditional sweet). It’s the perfect way to cool off after a long slog around the temples of Arashiyama and Sagano. Just ask for ‘ o-cha ’ and you’re away.
reviewed
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Yōshūji
Yōshūji serves superb shōjin ryōri in a delightful old Japanese farmhouse with an irori (open hearth). The house special, a sumptuous selection of vegetarian dishes served in red lacquered bowls, is called kurama-yama shōjin zen (¥2500). If you’re just wanting a quick bite, try the uzu-soba ( soba topped with mountain vegetables; ¥1050). It’s halfway up the steps leading to the main gate of Kurama-dera; look for the orange lanterns out the front.
reviewed
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Torito
This is part of the new wave of yakitori restaurants in Kyoto that are updating the old standards in interesting and tasty ways. It’s a crowded spot, with a counter and a few small tables. The food is very good and will likely appeal to non-Japanese palates. Dishes include kamo rōsu (duck roast; ¥1050), negima (long onions and chicken; ¥294 for two sticks) and tsukune (chicken meatballs; ¥482). It’s near the corner of Marutamachi and Kawabata-dōri; you can see inside to the counter.
reviewed
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Wabiya Korekidō
This slick restaurant on Gion’s atmospheric Hanami-kōji serves what, for lack of a better term, we will call ‘haute yakitori’. It’s the nicest yakitori we’ve had, and the setting is a lot more elegant than your typical yakitori joint. At dinner, the shunsaiwabiya kōsu (full chicken course; ¥3675) is excellent. At lunch, choose from one of the meals on the picture menu outside. The name of the place is written in English in tiny letters on the black-and-white sign.
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Mikatzuki
There are several shokudō on the main drag in Arashiyama and this is one of them. The thing that distinguishes this place is its English menu and the fact that it is a little more spacious than the others. Dishes include the typical shokudō noodle and rice classics. The tempura teishoku (¥1600) gives value for money and should power you through a few hours of Arashiyama sightseeing. The sign is in Japanese; it’s black-and-white and one of the Japanese characters looks like a bullseye.
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Den Shichi
This is our favourite sushi restaurant in Kyoto. It’s a classic – long counter, bellowing sushi chefs and great fresh fish. The lunch sets are unbelievable value and the glass sushi cases make ordering a little easier than at some other places. It’s almost always hopping and doesn’t take reservations, so you may have to give your name and wait – but it will definitely be worth it. Look for the black-and-white sign about 100m west of Saiin Station on Shijō-dōri.
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Senmonten
This place serves one thing only: crisp fried gyōza, which come in lots of 10 and are washed down with beer or Chinese raoshu (rice wine). If you can break the record for the most gyōza eaten in one sitting, your meal will be free and you’ll receive – guess what? – more gyōza to take home. The last time we were here, the men’s record was around 150 gyōza. Look for the red-and-white sign and the glass door.
reviewed
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Tōsuirō
We really like this tofu specialist. It’s got great traditional Japanese décor and in summer you can sit on the yuka (dining platform) outside with a view of the Kamo-gawa. You will most probably be amazed by the incredible variety of dishes that can be created with tofu. At lunch, the machiya-zen (tofu set; ¥2100) is highly recommended. At dinner, we suggest the Higashiyama tofu set (¥3675). Tōsuirō is at the end of an alley on the north side.
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