Café Liberté (French)

Went to Gosho to enjoy the weather and forgot your picnic? Don’t want yet another conbini onigiri?

Café Liberté (Teramachi/Nijo) is here to liberate you with simple yet authentic French food – and for excellent value too.

Lunch consists of 5 – 6 starters and main courses, featuring French classics such as quiche and confit de canard. For best value, choose one of the two plats du jour, which include a main, a salad, and bread, for a reasonable 1000 yen.

There is also a selection of baguettes which can be combined with a soup and salad or a pommes-frites and drink set. The baguette is really authentic and all the fillings are fresh and tasty. Furthermore, they’re not drowning in mayonnaise or a suspiciously sweet sauce, as so often found in Japanese sandwiches.

For those who want take-away, there’s a bakery which offers a variety of sandwiches and pastries, including some crisp pain au chocolat.

On my last visit, I took the hamburger-steak cooked in a red wine sauce. I’ll let you judge from the photo. But yes, it was very good. 

P. Amoroso

Very Berry Café (Cafe)

It’s 30 degrees and 120% humidity. After all those hours in an office, you decided that you had to make the most of the weather. But after sitting in Gosho and poaching yourself in your own sweat, you’re not quite sure you made the right decision.

Have no fear. A short walk southwards down Kawaramachi Dori will take you to the cool Very Berry Café (Kawaramachi/Nijo). The café gets little direct sunlight, which means it’s cool.  But it’s also cool. There are low-slung leather sofas, eclectic tables interspersed with American paraphernalia – from Star Wars to rows of Mr Potato Heads, and from Popeye to Hawaiian themed goods, including what looks like a surfboard shrine. Which makes paying 900+ yen for an ice-cream sundae seem like a great idea.

Fortunately, their sundaes are really tasty. And you’re not going to deny yourself one on a day like that. 

P. Amoroso

Banda no Hana (Cafe)

Spam. Rice. Match made in heaven. Go to Banda no Handa (Kitashirawaka/Kuramaguchi) for supersize spam onigiri. Perfect way to finish your meal! 

Akatsuki Ramen (Ramen)

Akatsuki ramen (Kitashirakawa/Mikage)... kara-age set was a bit too much to eat. Definitely can't do the rice + ramen combo. But great ramen!

Tsubame Hall (Bar)

Tsubame Hall (Hyakumanben) - Open late and full of people who drink and smoke. This egg was really really good.

Senryu (Chinese)

Senryu (Horikawa/Nakadachiuri). Chinese food in Kyoto can be pretty bad, but this isn't. No fuss -- and cheap.

ETW (Cafe / Gallery)

A question I often hear is, "Where is a good club in Kyoto?" While the Japanese government seems to be hellbent on closing down all kinds of night life with their recent law that prevents dancing after 1am (no joke), the clubs have been closing down one by one in Kyoto. One that remains is Metro, located inside Keihan Marutamachi station. So you've just spent a long night dancing to obscure UK music, breathing in second hand smoke, and you just want a place to chill out and have a drink. Easy. Just go to the second floor, where ETW is (pronounced E-TOW-WA). 

 Atmosphere is very chill out and decor is impeccable. Drinks of all varieties are available, as well as food. Beer on tap is Suntory Malts, a nice choice. Try the sauteed enoki mushrooms on bagette. Very nice. Main dishes to satisfy any appetite can also be ordered. 

 Most of the art in the cafe is by manager Ryo-chan, a talent illustrator/artist. They also sell select goods by other artists. Open late, ETW is a perfect place to hang out after the after-after party or before dinner. 

 Manager Ryo-chan

What is wine without water?

Taste of Thai (Thai food)

South of Kawaramachi-Gojo is not normally where you would expect to go for dinner, but Ban Thai was a pleasant surprise. Perfect for lunch, sets go for 850 yen. The pho noodles pictured below was pretty authentic, even with real BBQ pork (yes). The menu is extensive, and I'll definitely be back for the soft shell crab dishes. Soft shell crab in Kyoto! Imagine that. The restaurant is spacious and has a distinctive Bangkok feel. All the staff are Thai as well. While Thai restaurants in Kyoto have tended to be a bit formal with proper cutlery, a boom in casual "food stall" type restaurants is taking place. Asian food as it should be - good and cheap!  

Going Old School (Japanese)

Sometimes you just need good, old-school Japanese food. And understatement is the norm. Kashin (佳辰) just south of Kyoto sta (Hachijo exit) looks like a private home from the outside. Inside, there is a private room, counter seating and  a couple of tables , nothing special. The other customers all look like regulars. But the food is straight up great kyo-ryori (Kyoto cuisine). A 5,000 yen course includes: sashimi, raw tofu, grilled fish, tempura, a boiled dish, and rice. The tastes are subtle and it's not cheap, but sometimes you just need to reset your palate. 

Oldest Restaurant in Kyoto! (Kaiseki)

It's not everyday that you visit a restaurant that dates from the 8th century (yes, that's 1,300 years ago), but apparently the Heihachi Tea House 平八茶屋 in northeastern Kyoto traces its history back to the Heian period. Located between Mt. Hiei and the Takano river, the tea house served as a resting point and lodging for those traveling to Kyoto. This is the reason it is famous for its kama-buro sauna, known for its medicinal benefits.  It now also features a strolling garden, accommodation and dining facilities. 

View of garden

View of pond under sauna

Sauna entrance

The kama-buro is a small ceramic "chamber" where 3-4 people can lie down. The heat (traditionally from burning pine wood) comes from beneath the floor. It isn't extremely hot, so the your body gradually loosens with the gradual warmth. This is only kama-buro left of its kind in Kyoto and can be still experienced before or after your meal. 

With such a long history, there are plenty of stories to tell. Rai Sanyo, the famous poet-scholar left a poem describing the pleasure of the inn in 1820, while the location served as a secret headquarter for Imperial loyalists at the end of the Edo period. Attacks by the Shinsengumi (samurai) have left sword cuts on some pillars that are still visible today. The inn was also frequented by writer Soseki Natsume. 

While the inn was famous for its tea and tororo (ground mountain potato), it now serves traditional Kyoto cuisine and nabe (hot pots). There are both Japanese-style and table seating in private dining rooms. With views of the Takano river, it really is an elegant way to enjoy your lunch. Lunch sets start from 3,000 yen while full course dinners are priced up to 26,000 yen. 

Puff, puff, puffer fish! (Fugu)

Big Macs may get you over time, but there are few dishes that can kill you in one go. Welcome to Japan. Welcome to fugu (puffer fish). Fugu has been a delicacy that requires its poisonous liver to be removed by a professional before consumption. Every year amateur fisherman catch fugu and, in their excitement, try to prepare the fish themselves, often with tragic results.

But enough of the doom and gloom. Fugu is delicious. But it's an acquired taste. The meat is clear, almost transparent and has a subtle taste that may require years of living in Japan to appreciate. It's most often eaten raw, grilled, deep fried or in a hot pot (nabe)

Recently, the annual "fugu fest" at Wakamatsu shuten（若松酒店）was held, a wonderful alcohol shop during the day turned fugu restaurant at night. Course features fugu sashimi (tessa), grill fugu, fugu nabe (tecchiri) and finishes with rice porridge and hira-sake (fugu fin in hot sake). Fugu is best in winter and certainly something to look forward to after the new year festivities. We love fugu.

Good Relations (French)

Add another to the great-French-but-reasonable-and-not-snobby list. French bistro Relation is located near Kyoto city hall and serves no-nonsense French bistro cooking with generous portions. A dinner course starts at 3,100 yen and includes your choice of appetizer, main dish, dessert and tea/coffee. Can't complain there! Pictured below are foie gras with scallops and duck on salad.

A Good Walk Ruined .. Kind of. (Golf food)

If you have golfed in Japan, you'll know it's a different kind of animal than that in the West. Namely, the "posh" element is magnified ten fold here. Most golf courses feature a long roadway to the club house ala Augusta. When you enter, you're required to "sign in", filling out a form with private details such as address and phone number. This isn't a hotel! But it looks like one. And it also tastes like one. After 9 holes (sometimes with a caddie who reads your putts and gives you yardages), you take a nice 40 some odd minute break for lunch. This is eaten not at a hotdog stand, but a full-fledged restaurant. You can choose anything from ramen noodles to steak to sashimi. Everything is immaculate, including the service. There are no beverage vans on the course in Japan. People drink in style at lunch, real draft beer or wine. No wonder my back nine score is always worst. But there is always the hot bath to look forward to (they don't do showers here) (photos: above BBQ pork ramen set / below: anago tempura on rice set)