Pontocho has a mysterious atmosphere. Quaint shops line the narrow alleyways where two people can barely pass each other. This is the only place in Kyoto for dinner. The atmosphere is stylish and the izakaya is clean and not too formal. The first floor has a counter, and on the second floor, there were lively voices of people enjoying a party. I made a reservation on the 27th of the previous month as instructed, and luckily got a table during a not-so-busy time. Despite it being a weekday night, it was fully booked and some groups were turned away, including many foreigners. The clientele is calm and the stay time is about an hour and a half. The service is provided by young staff, with the owners working in the kitchen. The menu offers a variety of dishes such as sashimi, fish dishes, vegetable dishes, fried foods, rice dishes, and a wide selection of sake and fruit wine. There is no parking available. Every dish was delicious and I was impressed. I wish I could have drunk more if I hadn't been injured! I will definitely come back next time I visit Kyoto!

It had been 10 years since I last visited Pontocho, and I decided to have a drink there. As I walked down from the city hall, I noticed that Pontocho had changed a lot with many foreign tourists around. The restaurant was located quite far down from the main street. I found it by entering a narrow alley with the address number. The appetizers were water eggplant with ginger soy sauce, pickled turnip and yam with mozuku vinegar, and marinated cheese. The sashimi of conger eel was incredibly tender and delicious. The tempura corn, tofu skin sashimi, beef steak, pickled mackerel over rice, and a few glasses of bottle beer and black mist on the rocks made up my meal. I was pleasantly surprised by the reasonable prices and the excellent service from the waitress on the second floor. The food was delicious, and I left feeling very satisfied. I would love to visit again on a cold day. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

After finishing work, I took a stroll around Kyoto at night! I wandered from the bustling streets popular with inbound tourists to even narrower alleyways where it would be difficult to find without information online. Despite the inconspicuous exterior, the restaurant was almost full inside. Luckily, I was guided to the second-floor seating just as a table opened up! The menu was also quite elaborate. I started with a Sapporo Black Label draft beer and a complimentary dish. For my order, I chose bonito sashimi, Awaji Island onion butter soy sauce grilled fish, and a tempura dish with conger eel and plum shiso. Everything was delicious, and it made me crave some sake! I tried both the "Tasuke" and "Tamagawa" sake, both of which seemed to be limited editions with intricate labels. It was a great place to enjoy tasty food and drinks in a calm atmosphere! Overall, it was a fantastic experience.

I sat at the counter twice and enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant. I was able to walk in on a Sunday evening without a reservation. The staff were attentive and provided good service. The Kyoto-style oden with flavorful broth was delicious. I also enjoyed tasty dishes and local Kyoto sake.

A hidden izakaya in the alleyways of Pontocho. The menu is filled with sashimi, grilled dishes, fried foods, and oden. Particularly delicious this time were the raw baby conger eel, firefly squid tempura, and oden.

Luckily, I was able to make a reservation at the counter 3 days ago, but early booking is essential. There are many menu options to choose from, starting with appetizers (grilled eggplant, kazunoko, etc.), followed by seasonal yellowtail sashimi, hokke fish, grilled chicken with salt, delicious cod milt tempura, oyster and egg yolk rice bowl, chicken noodles, a selection of 3 types of oden (served divided for 3 people), and finishing with mackerel minced meat tea-soaked rice. After a glass of draft beer, I enjoyed various types of Japanese sake, including local Kyoto sake (from Fushimi, Jonan, and Maizuru), but I particularly enjoyed the sweet and refreshing sakes from Tohoku (Fukushima, Yamagata, Akita). All the dishes were delicious and paired perfectly with the sake. I would definitely like to visit this restaurant again.

It was my first time visiting this restaurant, and I was impressed by the attentive service of the staff! It was our second stop, so we couldn't eat much, but the yellowtail sashimi was fresh and delicious. I would like to come back again and enjoy a leisurely meal next time.

On Christmas night, I met with my daughter's husband's parents at this restaurant during their winter trip to Kyoto. Unfortunately, it started drizzling in the evening, but it was my second visit since April to this hidden gem located slightly off the main street in Pontocho. The restaurant was fully booked for the day, as indicated by the sign. We toasted with the recommended hot sake by the waiter. The fish was fresh and the Kyoto-style "oden" we ordered was subtly flavored but delicious with a rich broth. The oyster fry was juicy, and the grilled onions were tasty with their natural sweetness. The alcohol went down smoothly. Lastly, we had a commemorative photo taken by the waiter. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

I wanted to enjoy Japanese sake slowly, so I searched on this site and made a reservation. The reservation time was 7:30 PM. I visited alone, so I sat at the end of the counter. Surprisingly comfortable. I was thirsty, so I started with beer. The dishes all had a touch of elegance, making it difficult to choose. They only accepted orders for one type of oden, which was convenient for a solo drinker! When I simply requested a "dry and refreshing" sake, I was served "Matsumoto" (Gohyakumangoku), which was exactly to my liking and I was impressed. If I hadn't drunk too much during the day, I would have wanted to stay another hour. The next day, I bought a 1.8L bottle of sake at a liquor store, haha. The service was simple, they left me alone which was nice, but as someone who likes to interact with locals, I was a little disappointed. Still, it's worth revisiting! It was truly delicious. Thank you for the meal.

I made a reservation for 19:00 but arrived at 18:00. However, they kindly let me in and seated me on the second floor. I ordered a lot of food, as each dish is on the smaller side. It might be a good idea to order one dish per person. Personally, the properly seasoned Shirako (cod milt) and the conger eel tempura were the best. There were no disappointing dishes, and the lineup of sake was extensive. With great value and deliciousness, I give this place a high rating.

The simplicity of enjoying seasonal ingredients at their best! It had been a while since I last visited, but this restaurant still excels in showcasing the quality of their ingredients through delicious cooking! Even a simple dish like broad beans is seasoned perfectly! Personally, I loved the crispy exterior and well-seasoned interior of the chicken! Both the fish, meat, and vegetables were all cooked deliciously at this great restaurant!

Atmosphere: Very nice, a combination of the excellent location in Pontocho and the traditional Japanese ambiance inside the restaurant. There are counter seats on the first floor and about three table seats on the second floor. Taste: Excellent, a variety of dishes that go well with sake, from sashimi to appetizers, everything is top-notch. Discovered a pun involving the elevator and fried tofu. Personally, I like the Matsumoto sake. Price: 5,000 yen per person, ate to my heart's content, had 2 bottles of Akaboshi sake and 2 cups of Japanese sake. Note: Reservations are a must.

On April 23rd (Saturday), today, we met up with our son-in-law's parents for the first time in 20 years for their "Kyoto trip." My husband and I got off at Keihan Gion Shijo station and crossed the Shijo Ohashi bridge. Along the Kamogawa River at dusk, couples were gradually appearing with some distance between them. We entered a small alley in Pontocho and found a hidden gem of a restaurant in a truly inconspicuous location. I chose this restaurant because all the reviews were extremely positive! It's located in a corner of Pontocho, a very Kyoto-like setting. The restaurant is not very spacious, with a counter seat on the first floor and table seats on the second floor. We started with a toast with draft beer. The appetizers were three tastefully prepared dishes, including firefly squid tsukudani, which I had never tried before! The waiter also recommended dishes and drinks promptly and in a friendly manner. The simmered young bamboo shoots had a delicate seasoning that brought out the natural flavor of the Kyoto-like ingredient. The tempura bamboo shoots were incredibly fresh and tender. The sake recommended was smooth and easy to drink, making it seem like you could keep drinking more! The yuba (tofu skin) and nama-fu (wheat gluten) were also very Kyoto-like. The sashimi assortment was a surprise, with several types of sashimi in small portions. The sweetfish also came with its liver, and all the fish were fresh and delicious! The conversation flowed, and the drinks kept coming. The grilled sea bream was also delicious! Finally, we had a commemorative photo taken by the staff and then settled the bill. I was pleasantly surprised by how reasonable the total amount was considering how much we had eaten and drunk! I was truly satisfied and grateful. Thank you for the wonderful meal. It seems that the father-in-law wanted to finish off with ramen, but since you walked 15,000 steps today, please rest well and enjoy Kyoto again tomorrow.

I had been curious about this restaurant around Shijo for a while. It was quite crowded, probably because it was a Friday. The interior was clean, elegant, and had a nice atmosphere. The menu was a bit hard to read. I ordered daikon and fu oden, maguro saketoba, grilled chicken thigh with salt, okoze sashimi, and cream cheese. The fu oden and okoze were new to me. The fu oden was like a mixture of satsuma-age and hanpen, and it became my favorite. The okoze had a light and delicate taste, which was good but not my favorite. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was nice, the service was good, and the towels and water glasses were nice. Overall, the food was tasty and the ambiance was pleasant, but the value for money was not that great. So, I probably won't go there again on purpose.

Visited the popular izakaya "Bankara" in Pontocho. The bonito tataki (¥1210) had a moist and tender texture with no fishy taste, and the fried garlic topping was a nice touch. The oden had a variety of unique ingredients like burdock root, konjac, yellowtail rolled in kelp, Jerusalem artichoke, and green onion with tuna. The Jerusalem artichoke had a soft and moist texture similar to turnip, and the green onion with tuna was tender and flavorful. The light Kyoto-style broth was delicious. The eggplant with white miso dengaku (¥770) was the MVP, with the oily texture of the fried eggplant complementing the sweet and tender inside, along with the richness of the white miso. The wakame and bamboo shoot stew (¥990) had slightly overcooked wakame, but the bamboo shoot was tender and had a delicious seasonal taste. The cherry trout (¥1100) had a firm texture packed with umami. Overall, everything was consistently delicious. The atmosphere was calm, and I will definitely visit again.

Today, I decided to have a meal at this restaurant in Pontocho after a long time. I made a reservation and visited. I sat at a table on the second floor. There were many other customers on the second floor as well. First, I toasted with a glass of draft beer (＾∀＾) The draft beer here was Amber Ebisu. The appetizers were served with three dishes, all of which were elegantly seasoned and sized. Let's order some food. - Amberjack sashimi (1,210 yen) - Konbu seaweed and rape blossom ohitashi (825 yen) - Daikon radish and dried young sardines tempura (each 220 yen) - Simmered egg (176 yen) The sashimi assortment looked good, but the staff said it would take quite a while. They seemed to prefer individual orders, so I chose the amberjack. It was thick and had a good texture with a rich flavor. I also like the crunchy texture of the konbu seaweed with the rape blossoms. For the tempura, they were out of thick fried tofu and round fish cakes. It was still early, but perhaps they hadn't prepared them yet. I opted for dried young sardines tempura and simmered egg instead. Of course, daikon radish is a must-have. The flavor is well-infused. I added a few more dishes. - Homemade miso-marinated cream cheese (385 yen) - Oyster Matsumae-yaki (990 yen) - Butterbur sprout tempura (968 yen) Cream cheese is perfect for sake. I enjoyed sake with Aosora, Denshin, and Tamagawa that day. Aosora is still my favorite (＾∀＾) The oyster was plump and had a bouncy texture. The butterbur sprouts had a slightly bitter taste, a taste of spring. It was busy throughout, and the staff seemed rushed, so it wasn't very relaxing, but all the dishes were delicious. Thank you for the meal.

A few minutes' walk from Gion-Shijo Station, down a small path and then a side street where people can barely pass each other, you will find this restaurant. It falls under the category of izakaya, but has a genuine feel of a small Kyoto cuisine eatery. Each dish is carefully prepared, with a base of dashi. The oden is a must-try, as well as local specialties like yuba and ebiimo. The drink menu includes Kyoto's local sake, as well as a variety of sake and shochu from around Japan. We had 10 dishes and a few cups of sake for about 12,000 yen for two people. Considering the quality, the cost performance is excellent, averaging around 4,000 yen per person. It's a charming spot where you can also enjoy dining alone at the counter.

A small restaurant in a narrow alley in Pontocho. It has a location that exudes the elegance of Kyoto. I called ahead before visiting. Upon entering, we were guided to the second floor to a table. It was my first dinner in Kyoto in a while. First, I ordered a beer. For dishes, we had "Tender Octopus Simmered," "Deep-Fried Fresh Wheat Gluten," "Persimmon and Fig White Miso Salad," and "Grilled Miso-Marinated Smelt Fish." We started with four appetizers. They were light and Kyoto-style. Next was the tender octopus simmered, also light and subtly flavored. The persimmon and fig white miso salad was delicious, with the fig complementing the white miso well. Then, the deep-fried fresh wheat gluten. It was also light, or rather, lacked any broth flavor. My companion also felt that it lacked flavor. I don't think having a weak taste is typical of Kyoto-style cuisine, but we couldn't find the good part of the broth. It was probably just a one-off. The variety of alcohol options, the good atmosphere of the restaurant, and the positive reviews make it a great place. We must have been mistaken, as it was delicious. Thank you for the meal.