I stayed at a hotel nearby and came with anticipation after doing some research. The restaurant is located in a narrow alleyway. Even though it's easy to miss from the main street, once you enter the alley, you'll find many delicious-looking restaurants lined up. I decided to go to Taro-ya today and luckily got the last available seat without a reservation. The menu had a lot of options and everything looked delicious. Here are the dishes I tried: - Chicken Karaage: Juicy chicken fried crispy with salt. The skin was delicious too. The quality of the meat was excellent. - Stir-fried Green Vegetables and Tofu: The broth was exactly to my liking, light in color but with a deep flavor. I really liked it. - Croquette: A hot and crispy croquette with a delicious demiglace sauce. The sauce was gentle and brought out the sweetness of the sweet potato. - Squid Tempura: Soft and tender squid with the umami flavor concentrated in the batter. I could eat this forever. - Shoutoku Sake: Sake from Kyoto, fruity and easy to drink, light and not too sweet aftertaste. A good choice for those new to sake. Everything was delicious and I left very satisfied. This experience has given me another reason to visit Kyoto again. It was so delicious. Thank you for the meal.

From the first visit to the interior of the store, there is a wonderful atmosphere that is somehow Kyoto-like (the toilet is super clean and modern!). The food ranges from side dishes, obanzai, oden, fried foods, sashimi, etc... everything is delicious! The drinks are also abundant, from draft beer to sake, shochu, and more! This is a great place to bring friends and have a good time!

This shop offers a set meal for one person only at the counter, and most dishes can be served in half sizes, which is great. For 2500 yen, you get a set of 5 side dishes, half-size whitebait tempura, half-size deep-fried fresh wheat gluten, and an oolong highball. The counter is cozy, and the staff's friendly greetings create a lovely atmosphere. I would love to visit again.

A wonderful shop located in a narrow alley in Karasuma. I made a reservation for 6:00 pm and arrived at the shop. Customers kept coming one after another. There were about 10 counter seats and table seats in the back. There were three adult female staff members and maybe two young male staff members. I ordered sake first. I also ordered squid tempura, which was so addictive! I took a photo of the cucumber with plum sauce. It's a simple photo, but it was the most delicious dish! So, with love, I will post it here.

This is a smoking allowed establishment, but smoking is prohibited from 17:00 to 20:00. They accept cash, cards, and PayPay. The menu and prices have been updated, so I will provide the latest menu here. A friend visiting from Tokyo requested to go to Kyoto. For dinner, they wanted to go to an izakaya. I found this restaurant on Tabelog based on the following criteria: - Not a chain izakaya - Non-smoking - Lightly seasoned dishes - Not too bland We made a reservation for 18:00 on a weekday and visited with 3 people. [Items ordered]: - Okara (soy pulp) - 450 yen - Boiled sardines with ginger - 500 yen - Simmered herring and eggplant - 600 yen - Raw squid sashimi - 980 yen - Fried shirako (milt) - 880 yen - Rolled omelette - 600 yen - Grilled ginkgo nuts - 600 yen - Boiled tofu skin and greens - 450 yen - Grilled eggplant - 500 yen - Ume (plum) tea rice - 600 yen We also had drinks like fresh lemon highball for 550 yen and yuzu sake soda for 700 yen, totaling 8,210 yen for 3 people. The restaurant was constantly busy with customers. There is also a 2nd floor seating area. We were seated in a tatami room, but it was cold as the courtyard was nearby. However, they provided a heater in the hallway, making it comfortable for us to stay for about 2 hours. The seasoning was on the stronger side, with a strong dashi flavor rather than saltiness. The theme seemed to be "home-cooked dishes," offering a variety from elaborate dishes like simmered fish and okara salad to simple seasonal items like sashimi and ginkgo nuts. It was exactly what we were looking for and we were satisfied. However, due to the crowd, the pace of serving our orders slowed down. It took almost 20 minutes for the ochazuke to arrive, and looking back, the hot tea we requested at the end never came. We didn't remind them and left the restaurant, understanding that it was a popular place. My friend really liked the traditional Kyoto atmosphere and simple dishes, and even took a shop card as a souvenir. I would like to visit again on another occasion. Thank you for the meal!

It is a calm atmosphere izakaya with a single diner at the counter. The food is delicious, although there are some unique dishes. The main drinks are sake and shochu. Highballs are a bit pricey. There are counter seats, tables, and tatami rooms, making it enjoyable for solo diners and groups alike.

Basically, I like Japanese food. Grilling, simmering, boiling, mixing, frying. Japanese food is great, right? I believe the most enjoyable place to experience Japanese food is at a drinking establishment with a counter where large plates of side dishes are lined up. I usually want to go to such places in Tokyo, but I may not know any... So, when I go to Kyoto, I look for an obanzai restaurant. This restaurant is well-known on various websites, so I had high expectations. However, I think it's because of the coronavirus, on this day there were no large plates on the counter. A bit disappointing. However, the menu had words that sounded delicious. I like these kinds of small dishes menus. Not too fancy. Fried, boiled, mixed dishes... sounds good, right? I ordered dishes like braised bell peppers and dried baby sardines, simmered eggplant and herring, young sweetfish tempura, and simmered sardines with plum. Each dish was served in appropriate portions and they were delicious. Just satisfying flavors. I wanted to eat proper, normal side dishes like this. Satisfied. My companion also said they were looking forward to obanzai. At first, we each chose two dishes we wanted to eat and shared them. Then we decided to add more dishes. And what he ordered was potato salad, kinpira burdock... they are classic and perfect for drinking, but since it's an obanzai restaurant, couldn't he have ordered something different? It was delicious so I'll let it slide, but next time, you won't have the ordering privilege! We also enjoyed dishes like fried corn and simmered wheat gluten. We had a fun time eating and drinking. More and more customers came in. I thought you probably need a reservation to get in. I want to try other obanzai restaurants, but I think this one will always be on my list.

On the last night of my stay in Kyoto, I visited this restaurant for some traditional home-style dishes. I sat at the counter and ordered a hot dish to warm myself up. I chose a hot sake from Toyama, called Kikumasamune, to accompany my meal. I started with two dishes: simmered herring and eggplant, and simmered greens with fried tofu. The seared mackerel was incredibly delicious, followed by crispy fried oysters. I also tried some potato salad and shrimp chili, enjoying them with a cold beer. To finish off, I had a delicious fried rice with pickled vegetables and miso soup. This restaurant is definitely loved by the locals, as most of the customers were from the area. It's worth visiting a place that is cherished by the locals.

On this day, by the time we returned to the hotel, it had started snowing, so we decided to look for dinner around Shijo-Karasuma area. After a quick search within walking distance, we headed to a restaurant we had in mind, but unfortunately it was closed for the New Year holidays. So we had to find another place. We found a few alleyways with restaurants on Google Maps and headed towards one. We were drawn to a traditional house-like place and luckily there was one table available, so we were able to sit down just in time. Despite the bad conditions of the year-end due to the coronavirus and the snowy day, the restaurant was almost full, which was a testament to the loyalty of the local regular customers. We ordered a few dishes from the menu, and they were all delicious, which explained the crowded restaurant. In particular, the rolled omelette with broth left a lasting impression. My wife has been inspired to make rolled omelette with broth more often since returning from Kyoto, so she must have really liked it. Thank you for the meal. We would love to come back again.

On a long autumn evening, I stopped by casually and saw the scene from the counter where the previous customer was leisurely enjoying their drinks. Perhaps due to COVID-19, there were no large dishes of side dishes displayed, but every side dish on the menu is irresistible to drinkers. I ordered shime saba, dashimaki, corn and kujo negi tempura, celery and squid snack salad, etc. Since I was alone, I asked for half-size portions for items like tempura. Everything is perfect as a side dish for alcohol, carefully made. The customers are all people who know how to enjoy their drinks, making it a great place to relax and have a drink alone.

At the end of the rainy season, I visited a traditional Japanese pub located in a narrow alley near Shijo Karasuma in Kyoto on the first day of my trip. It was quite popular and the place was packed, so I made a reservation and sat at the counter. Unfortunately, due to the impact of COVID-19, the dishes were not being served directly at the counter this time. Nevertheless, I ordered a selection of traditional Japanese dishes, including deep-fried tofu with natto, grilled salmon belly, and fried chicken, which I enjoyed with beer and sake. Overall, the food was delicious and I couldn't stop drinking. I will definitely come back again. Thank you for the meal!

For lunch today, I visited a small traditional Japanese izakaya that recently started serving lunch. They had a take-out menu and a lunch menu displayed outside, but I decided to sit at the counter inside. Although I was tempted by the "fried chicken set meal" that I love, I ended up choosing the "daily special set meal (900 yen)" which was only available that day. They first served me a plate of 4 assorted side dishes. It looked like enough to go with a cup of sake in the evening... Then, they quickly brought out the main plate with rice and miso soup. It consisted of sweet and sour pork (sour pork) with vinegar sauce, spring rolls with cabbage and shrimp, and a salad. Everything was freshly fried and delicious. The simple salted cabbage and shrimp spring rolls were also good. The variety of dishes, the balance of ingredients, and the taste were all excellent. The service was also very pleasant. I'm sure this place is popular in the evening as well. Thank you for the meal.

Visited around 6 pm on a weekday. Mostly reservation customers, but managed to get in with a time limit of 1.5 hours. The dishes were delicious, although the portion sizes were not large. The atmosphere was cozy and not too formal. They also had obanzai dishes and the prices were reasonable. It had a bit of a Kyoto vibe. Quite nice!

We didn't feel like making a reservation to eat at a fancy place, so we wandered around near our hotel and stumbled upon a charming alley. It had a very inviting atmosphere, and we felt like we would find something delicious there. My daughter and I have a good sense of smell, so we were confident. This is the Kyoto we were looking for today.

One of the enjoyable things to do on a trip to Kyoto is to visit Taro-ya, where you can casually enjoy small dishes at the counter while having a light drink. It's a small but clean and well-organized shop, and most importantly, everything you eat there is delicious. They only serve one-person customers at the counter, and they give you small portions, so you can try a variety of dishes. Although they always seem busy, I can't help but think about how they could improve their operations a bit, given my job, but the service is very pleasant. I recommend spending a leisurely and enjoyable time there.

A cozy Kyoto-style restaurant with a small garden in the back, but it's a bit cramped. The seating area has tables, but it's not suitable for four adult men to sit comfortably for a long time. The food is well-prepared and delicious, with traditional Kyoto dishes. The bill came out to 7500 yen per person this time, mostly due to drinking too much sake. Even without excessive drinking, it would probably cost around 5000 yen per person. Overall, it's a very Kyoto-style restaurant, so visitors from the Kanto region might enjoy it.

Taro-ya is located in a narrow alley near Machikado Street where kimono shops are lined up. They offer a variety of dishes including amberjack, squid, okara, green vegetables and fried tofu stew, Amela tomato, asparagus and myoga wrapped in meat fry, fried tofu with natto, pork tempura, shrimp chili, and sweet potato tempura. The landlady's cooking is very delicious, making it a popular restaurant that requires reservations.

I found a lively and atmospheric drinking alley off Shinmachi Street on the night of the Gion Festival. Despite being fully booked, I decided to visit without a reservation later in the evening. I was informed that some dishes were unavailable, but I was still able to visit as desired. However, I was ultimately disappointed as the dishes, such as oyster fry, fried daikon and aburaage, deep-fried eggplant and chili peppers, assorted oden, and cucumber with spicy miso, did not meet my expectations. Each dish seemed homemade with a delicious broth and quality ingredients, but the long wait time for food (about an hour) was understandable. What was disappointing, however, was that some of our orders were not processed promptly and there was no apology for the delay. The overall service left much to be desired, not just for me but for other customers as well. It's always disappointing when expectations are not met.

When I went to Kyoto for work and stopped by at Shijo-Karasuma after work with my colleagues. We had draft beer, Kyoto-style appetizers, and then ordered motsunabe as well. It was a great opportunity to have appetizers after work. We finished off with champon after motsunabe!

Drinking and dining in Kyoto. The first stop is a shop located down a side street, offering sesame sweets. The dishes include simmered dishes with tofu, conger eel, corn, and kakiage with Kujo green onions. I want to eat more, but there's another place to go next. Stay tuned for the second stop.

I wanted to eat obanzai, so I decided to visit a restaurant that was featured in a magazine. When I arrived, I found many similar small shops in a narrow alley. It was a very charming area. I thought I wouldn't be able to get a reservation because it's cherry blossom season, but due to the impact of the coronavirus, I was able to make a same-day reservation. There were not only tourists but also many locals, creating a pleasant atmosphere with a variety of people. The place didn't feel too formal, more like a local tavern where you can casually drop by. The dishes were mostly seasonal and delicious. It's recommended to arrive early at obanzai restaurants as the popular items tend to sell out quickly.