Located in Gion, this bar is more of a casual spot for sweets and coffee rather than a traditional bar. The service was friendly and I ordered a double espresso today. It was rich and flavorful, truly enjoyable. They also seem to have a variety of delicious sweets (which look amazing!) so I am already looking forward to my next visit to this place!

What a mysterious little shop. From the outside, it looks like a café, but once you step inside, you're surrounded by the aroma of espresso and a wide selection of alcohol. Is it a bar? A café? And then there's their specialty, the "choco strawberry." Is it a dessert shop? It's hard to define, but the concept is intriguing. The shop is small, with only a counter. It has a cozy atmosphere that makes you want to come in alone for some espresso or a drink. The lovely owner is always ready to chat with you. It's a mysterious shop where you can enjoy both espresso and strawberry sweets. They source strawberries from contracted farmers all over the country, so the taste is always changing. The secret base vibe and cool sense of style make you want to keep coming back.

Fork and knife to enjoy strawberries. Recently, I have been using Gion's "Born•sai" cafe as a place to relax during my occasional lunch breaks. One of their specialties is the Gion Chocolate Strawberry, which is absolutely mesmerizing. They use seasonal strawberries, and this time it was the "Yotsuboshi" variety from Kyoto, known for its exceptional sweetness. The strawberries are red all the way through, with a sugar content exceeding 20 degrees. Even when coated in chocolate, the strawberries maintain their sweetness. It's quite a unique experience to have strawberries sweeter than the chocolate itself! Normally, I enjoy a fragrant espresso, but this time I tried the Coffee Jelly Ole, which perfectly balanced sweetness and bitterness. The cafe is open from 3:00 PM to 1:00 AM, serving alcohol as well. It's a great spot for pre-meal meetups or post-dinner drinks. A perfect place with a great menu for adding a special touch to your hospitality. I look forward to visiting again soon. #bornsai #cafe #bar #Kyoto gourmet #Gion gourmet #Kansai gourmet #Kyoto cafe #Gion cafe #Kansai cafe #foodie #foodstagram #foodtour #foodlover #strawberries #Yotsuboshi #strawberry sweets #Shiga news

I wanted to take a quick break and visited this place for the first time. Is this a cafe? It looks like there's also a bar here. The mama-san is young and beautiful, so it seems popular. The banana juice espresso was a new experience for me. The strawberry looks like it would be popular on Instagram, showing good business sense.

After eating, I crossed Shijo Street and headed to Gion North. This area has a lot of bars. In one corner of this area, there is a compact shop called BORN・SAI that opened at the end of last year. The interior is small, with two male customers already there. They offer sweets, fruit drinks, coffee, and espresso, and you can also use it as a bar. Although they only have chocolate-covered strawberries (\600) for sweets, you can try different strawberry varieties for comparison. On this day, they had "Oi C Berry" and "Ookimi". The Ookimi had a strong contrast of sweetness and acidity, making a bold statement against the chocolate. The Oi C Berry was sweeter, so the strawberry's flavor was slightly overshadowed by the chocolate. Personally, I preferred the Ookimi with chocolate and the Oi C Berry on its own (although this may vary depending on personal preferences). I had a hot Americano (\650) for my drink, made from Ethiopian beans roasted in the morning, sourced from Kannon-do in Shijo Karasuma. It had a pronounced acidity, so it was probably a washed bean. The female owner was friendly, and although smoking is allowed (due to the bar-like atmosphere), there were no smokers present, so I had a pleasant time there.

Espresso affogato ==========