Heian Shrine area
[ Open 10:30am-6:30pm. Closed Mondays. ]
Cafe Cube, inside the Hosomi Museum, serves nice Italian food at lunchtime, with a Y1500 set menu that includes appetizer, salad, pasta, bread and tea or coffee. The museum itself houses a private...
[ Open 10:30am-6:30pm. Closed Mondays. ]
[ Open 5-10:30pm (LO). Closed Tuesdays. ]
Seven craft beers on tap and good food at this neighborhood craft-beer bar.
[ Open 5-10:30pm (LO). Closed Tuesdays. ]
[ Open noon-5pm. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays. ]
Black tea from Uji, the renowned tea-growing region south of Kyoto, is served in an array of pots and cups from throughout Japan. It's serious pleasure at a leisurely pace. A double pleasure is to...
[ Open noon-5pm. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays. ]
[ Open 5:30-11pm (LO) daily. ]
The charcoal-grilled chicken here is first-rate, as are the extremely fresh vegetable starters. Heirloom-breed chicken is featured prominently on the menu (along with top-grade pork), and although a...
[ Open 5:30-11pm (LO) daily. ]
[ Open 5-10:30pm. Closed Mondays. ]
The owner-chef of this rustic izakaya is also a hunter who bags much of the game served here. The menu includes unusual meats like wild boar (barbecued or stewed), bear stew, and sashimi of...
[ Open 5-10:30pm. Closed Mondays. ]
Gion
[ Open 2pm-midnight. Closed Sundays. ]
A wine specialty shop. The big selection here is strongest in French and Italian wines.
[ Open 2pm-midnight. Closed Sundays. ]
[ Open 5pm-midnight (Sat, Sun noon-midnight) daily. ]
Dozens of varieties of craft sake are ready for tasting at this small sake bar and cafe attached to the Jam Hostel. They also offer umeshu (ake "plum wine") and several other sake-based fruit...
[ Open 5pm-midnight (Sat, Sun noon-midnight) daily. ]
[ Open 11:30am-8:30pm (LO). Closed Thursdays. ]
Accessible Kyoto-style grilled unagi, in a popular little shop just east of the Minamiza kabuki theater. Unagi seiro-mushi (steamed eel) is one of their specialties. Eel over rice starts at Y1785,...
[ Open 11:30am-8:30pm (LO). Closed Thursdays. ]
[ Open 11:30am-8pm. Closed Wednesdays. ]
This 100-year-old shop specializes in saba-zushi (mackeral pressed onto squares of rice), although they have other seasonal fish as well. A six-piece assortment of saba and inari-zushi is Y1340.
[ Open 11:30am-8pm. Closed Wednesdays. ]
[ Open 6-9:30pm. Closed Wednesdays. ]
This no-frills counter shop has been here for more than 100 years, devoting themselves generation after generation to the mysterious art of gourmet oden preparation. Swimming in the konbu broth are...
[ Open 6-9:30pm. Closed Wednesdays. ]
[ Open noon-midnight. Closed Wednesdays. ]
This lively dining bar specializes in smoked foods and smoky cocktails, and stocks a good selection of whiskies. Homemade smoked items like bacon, cheese, chicken wings and quail eggs are...
[ Open noon-midnight. Closed Wednesdays. ]
[ Open noon-9:30pm (LO). Closed Mondays, Tuesdays. ]
If you're wandering around Kyoto's Gion district near Yasaka Shrine and find yourself in need of a cold drink, this cozy brewpub offers craft beers and ciders for here or to go, and even has a...
[ Open noon-9:30pm (LO). Closed Mondays, Tuesdays. ]
Kodaiji Temple area
[ Open 11:30am-2, 5-10pm. Closed Sundays. ]
This venerable old traditional ryotei has three branches around town, but this is the most luxurious, with a gorgeous setting and world-class food. Lunch starts at Y15,000, dinners from Y25,000.
[ Open 11:30am-2, 5-10pm. Closed Sundays. ]
[ Open 5-10:30pm (LO) daily. ]
The setting looks a lot like a typical traditional Japanese restaurant, with a gorgeous interior courtyard, but the food is first-rate Korean - high-grade yakiniku plus side dishes like tripe...
[ Open 5-10:30pm (LO) daily. ]
[ Open noon-2, 5-8pm daily. ]
Chef Yoshihiro Murata is well known in Japan for his frequent TV appearances and his innovative cooking style, incorporating European influences for a new approach to traditional Kyoto-style kaiseki....
[ Open noon-2, 5-8pm daily. ]
Doi - Kaiseki: Kodaiji Temple
[ Open noon-3:30, 4-8pm daily. ]
First-rate kaiseki in a gorgeous traditional ryotei setting. One unusual feature is their "table kaiseki," where you get to sit in a regular chair instead of on a floor cushion and save a lot of...
[ Open noon-3:30, 4-8pm daily. ]
[ Open noon-2:30, 6-9:30pm (LO). Closed Tuesdays. ]
The original, very modern Italian cuisine here takes full advantage of the high-quality vegetables and seafood that are locally available. Dinners average around Y5000 a la carte for food, while the...
[ Open noon-2:30, 6-9:30pm (LO). Closed Tuesdays. ]
Bordering neighborhoods:
- West of Gion: Shijo
- West of Sanjo Keihan: Karasuma-Oike, City Hall
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