On the second day of my business trip to Kansai, I went out for drinks in Kyoto at night with an acquaintance. We chose this place because they have a happy hour and it's conveniently located near Kyoto Station. It seemed like a casual izakaya where you could easily relax and have a good time. When we entered the restaurant, we took off our shoes and placed them in the shoe rack before being seated. I was about to order when a female staff member explained their ordering system to us. While I would have preferred to order our first drink right away, we were instructed to use our smartphones to scan a QR code and place our orders online. I started with a Super Dry beer for 400 yen due to the happy hour deal. It felt like a decent price, but I would have expected a happier hour price if it were around 300 yen. I then ordered a Highball for 330 yen as my second drink. We ended up only having drinks without ordering any food, but it was a good spot for a pre-drinks gathering. I wonder if I'll come back again.

I went there because it was listed in the Amakara notebook. They have a counter, so it's easy to use even for solo diners. The oden was delicious with rich flavors. They have a system where you can order with your phone. It's a shoe-free shop.

Travel Journal: Avanti Kyoto Store. Located about a 5-minute walk from Kyoto Station, this izakaya is nestled in the basement of Avanti. Enjoy a variety of dishes such as Kyoto-style nama-fu dengaku, sashimi, oden, and skewers. The interior is a calm space perfect for leisurely enjoying drinks. 💫

I went to "Kenmonroku Kyoto Avanti Store" in Minami Ward, Kyoto City. It is located on the basement 1st floor of Avanti, right near JR Kyoto Station. It is a Japanese-style izakaya with counter and tatami seating, where smoking is allowed. We had various dishes including appetizers, ham cutlet, deep-fried chicken, grilled eggplant, grilled sandfish, tempura squid, avocado with wasabi soy sauce, horse mackerel marinated in vinegar, grated yam, and medium and large jockeys of beer, as well as plum wine. The total bill was just under 7000 yen. Overall, the food was a mix of hits and misses, and the service was good. The only downside was that it was a bit pricey, probably due to its location near Kyoto Station. Thank you for the meal.

It's comfortable even when alone! I visited for lunch. It was my first time, so I chose the daily lunch special. The staff was polite and the lunch set included fried chicken and octopus. The fried chicken was crispy, the octopus was good, and it also came with bamboo shoots. You can also get a large portion of rice! I enjoyed it. I think the coffee is instant. It's a tough time due to COVID, but I hope they keep up the good work!

It's raining outside, so I decided to quickly grab lunch before heading out and ended up at Avanti Shokudo, a casual dining izakaya. The daily special set meal for 600 yen included simmered mackerel with miso and amberjack sashimi, served with rice and soup with free refills! I immediately decided to try it out. I arrived at 11:15 am and there were already two customers at the counter seats. As a solo diner, I opted for the daily special set meal and was asked if I wanted hot or cold coffee. I chose iced coffee. The food arrived in just a few minutes, and I was pleasantly surprised by the generous portion of mackerel. The miso flavor was delicate and paired well with the scallions. The amberjack sashimi was fresh, but the soy sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste. The macaroni salad had a curry flavor, which was a nice touch. The rice portion was quite large, so I didn't need a refill, but the option was available. Overall, for 600 yen with free rice and soup refills, it was a great deal. The only downside was that smoking was allowed in the restaurant, so I decided to leave when smoke started bothering me from nearby tables. Thank you for the meal!

Today's lunch destination was decided to be Mikikibiki located at Avanti Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit underground. The deciding factor was the free coffee voucher casually placed in front of the store (laughs), although there were plenty of them so anyone could take it, I thought they could just write "free coffee" on the menu instead. It's a bit pitiful for those who didn't notice it and entered the store... Now, I ordered the Tonkatsu set meal for 780 yen, and there was furikake on the table, quite generous (laughs), but it seemed a bit moist as no matter how much I shook it, it wouldn't come out. And finally, the Tonkatsu arrived, looking much less substantial than the menu photo... but at this price, I guess the store wouldn't want to hear complaints (laughs). However, the sauce was not original, almost like regular sauce, and the pork was tough... I had high hopes for a lunch at an izakaya, but it was a bit disappointing. Thanks for the meal.

(Start) Grilled mackerel 450 yen Fresh cucumber 290 yen Oyster fry 580 yen Hot sake 360 yen x 3 [Total] 2,808 yen It was delicious in a normal way. They are open from 11:00 am, so it's good for day drinking. They also have a lunch menu, so it's good for lunch as well. I might come back on a Wednesday. (End)

I visited for lunch and ordered the seafood bowl and daily special. They offer free extra rice, which is nice. Today's special was chicken cutlet and sashimi, but it was more like chicken nuggets (lol). Well, for 650 yen, I guess it's okay. The sashimi in the seafood bowl was delicious. However, the rice was too soft and clumped together. I wonder how it ended up like that... Overall, it might be a good place for a casual lunch drink.

An unremarkable restaurant found in the station building of any city, with a concept that is not apparent. Well, the concept is there. It is to provide food and drinks that are cheap and not so tasty to customers who don't care about the difference in taste, in order to make a profit. This time, we ended up going in because we were in a large group and others had made a reservation. It's a bit sad to think that in a city like Kyoto, known for its excellent gastronomy, we had to end up in a place like this. However, as long as you have a highball in hand, you'll be fine. We ordered yakitori, kushikatsu, edamame, and other snacks just to fill our stomachs. The service was very indifferent, or rather, in Kyoto, there seems to be a demand for service industry workers that is not being met, so you can see such service situations.

After enjoying Tororaku, we went to a second restaurant with one more person joining us, making it a group of four.

Low prices. Course meals and all-you-can-drink options available. Friendly to salarymen.

The happy hour for daytime drinking is a good deal, but this time I entered at 6:30 pm. The appetizers were priced at 216 yen, a medium-sized draft beer at 470 yen, a lime shochu highball at 380 yen, octopus karaage at 550 yen, Kyoto-style green onion rolled omelette at 490 yen, eggplant dengaku at 350 yen, cucumber at 290 yen, avocado tempura at 480 yen, sweet shrimp karaage at 650 yen, and corn butter at 290 yen. All the dishes that came out were not bad, but there was nothing particularly outstanding. Considering the prices, it's a reasonable balance. It's conveniently located near the station, so I use it often.

During lunchtime, I went to a restaurant that allows smoking throughout, which I didn't know beforehand. It was a short time so it was tolerable. It's actually an izakaya that serves lunch. It's located in the basement of a building with a shopping mall and a hotel. The front of the restaurant and the entrance to the kitchen were quite messy and lacked cleanliness, giving off a somewhat shady alley vibe. I thought being in the basement of a hotel, it would be cleaner. I was seated at a sunken kotatsu-style counter and saw a nearby man order the daily special. I asked about it and ended up ordering the octopus sashimi and croquette special. It wasn't listed on the menu but it was reasonably priced at around 600 yen. The portion size was good, and the miso soup was hearty with lots of ingredients. It was nice that they serve lunch even on holidays and it wasn't too crowded. I probably won't go back though.

JR Kyoto Station was bathed in a warm, sunny weather, neither too hot nor too cold. I met my friend of 20 years for the first time in a while, and she had found a place near the station where we could drink during the day. Despite my serious hangover, I managed to gulp down a pint of beer with K-chan. Now that I'm starting to get hungry, let's order some food as well. We went for the classic izakaya menu items: yakitori, chicken karaage, teppanyaki sandfish, and dashimaki tamago. My daughter had oyakodon, but I realized that we had ordered nothing but chicken dishes... We finished off with a dish of beef tongue and had about 5 or 6 more beers each. Since we still have plenty of time, let's move on to the next place. Check out my blog for more details.

On the way to Kansai Airport, I visited a restaurant area located in the basement of a building across from the Shinkansen exit of Kyoto Station, which I was visiting for the first time. There are about 10 different shops in this restaurant area. The upstairs of this restaurant area is where the airport bus stop for Kansai Airport is located, so it's perfect for killing time after buying your bus ticket. This time, I had about 45 minutes to spare, so I decided to have lunch here. I ordered the pork steak set with a draft beer since it's an izakaya, the menu is quite extensive. The customers next to me ordered various dishes, and they all looked delicious, so I assume you can also order from the regular menu starting from lunchtime. The pork steak set arrived in about 10 minutes, and I finished my first beer quickly, so I ordered another one. The portion of the meat was smaller than I expected, and I thought it would come in a more saucy presentation, but it looked pretty ordinary. The meat was a bit tough, just as it appeared. After having two draft beers, I was quite full. There were many other lunch set menus available, so I might try something different next time.

Today, I decided to have a lunch drink near Kyoto Station. I wanted to go to "Juunikika Kanki," a place I have frequented before, but they close at 3 pm for lunch, and the discount coupons from a gourmet website that I used to use for lunch are no longer valid. Also, they require reservations for course meals or a la carte dishes the day before, and it seems like they only offer set meals for lunch, so I was disappointed. Instead, I considered "Kenmonroku" across the street. I have been there a couple of times before, and although the appetizers are served and it gives an overall impression of being expensive, they are open from lunch to dinner, all seats allow smoking, and all tatami rooms are sunken kotatsu style, which seemed nice. First, I toasted with a beer, as until 6 pm, there is a happy hour where draft beer is 330 yen (excluding tax) and highball is 250 yen, which is quite cheap and appreciated. The appetizer of shirasu and seaweed salad for 200 yen was really good. For the food, I ordered the Chicken Nanban for 580 yen from the Kyushu Fair menu, and from the regular menu, I ordered the shrimp senbei for 190 yen and the mentaiko tofu gratin for 490 yen. The Chicken Nanban came with cabbage and was quite delicious, and the tofu gratin had a good portion size. The freshly fried shrimp senbei was also tasty. I was a bit surprised around this point as it felt like the menu had changed from before, and overall, it seemed like the prices had become cheaper. It might just be my imagination, but this time, I had a really good impression, and I felt like choosing "Kenmonroku" was a great decision. After that, I also ordered the octopus wasabi for 290 yen and the salad with prosciutto and avocado for 650 yen, enjoying more beer and highballs. It was a very relaxing time, and when I want to have a lunch drink around Kyoto Station again, I will definitely visit "Kenmonroku."

A Japanese dining restaurant located in the Avanti underground mall in front of Kyoto Station. They are open all day, so it's convenient for those who want to drink alcohol during the day. Today, I used it while waiting for the highway bus! They have a happy hour from 11:00 to 18:00, with cheap beer and highballs which is great. The highball was 250 yen! I ordered ham cutlet and cheese in dashimaki as a side dish, which came out quickly. It was decently tasty and enjoyable! (º̻∇º̻)

Returning to Kyoto from a business trip, I decided to have lunch at a restaurant in the basement of Avanti near Kyoto Station. The prices were quite reasonable, with rice bowls starting at 500 yen and set meals starting at 680 yen. I chose the ginger pork set meal for 680 yen (tax included), which came with unlimited rice and miso soup. The ginger pork was made with small cuts of pork, and while the soy sauce flavor dominated over the ginger, the sautéed onions added a nice texture. However, the portion of pork and onions seemed a bit uneven. The staff's lackluster service was a bit disappointing, with minimal energy and no smiles. Their response to orders was also quite dull, leaving me unsure if my order had been received. Despite these shortcomings, I finished my lunch with mixed feelings and headed home. Thank you for the meal.