Japan Guide
Kyoto
Central Kyoto
1 Ashoka 3F, Kikusui Building, Teramachi Shijō-agaru 
075/241-1318 Give your taste buds a workout at Kyoto's first and most popular Indian restaurant. It's a smart place, but their lunchtime sets offer reasonable value Price: Mon– Fri ¥900–2000, Sat & Sun ¥1200–2000
2 Bio-tei 2F, Higashinotōin Sanjō 075/255-0086 Laidback Japanese-style health food restaurant with an appetizing range of vegetarian daily specials, plus some meat dishes, all served with genmai (brown) rice. Price: Around ¥1000 at lunchtime, ¥2000 in the evening Opening time: Tues– Fri 11.30am–2pm; Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat 5–8.30pm
3 C. Coquet Teramachi Marutamachi-agaru 
www.cafe-ccoquet.com Next to the Imperial Palace, this stylish café offers tasty lunch sets and free Internet access. Breakfast sets are also available, including French-style (¥700) and Japanese-style (¥1000). Price: Lunch sets ¥900 Opening time: Closed Thurs
4 Chikyu-ya Kawaramachi Shijō-sagaru 075/344-6159 There's a faintly hippy air to this bustling, student izakaya, with its shared wooden tables and rug-covered ceiling. Prices are low and the food's not bad, with standard izakaya small dishes ranging from tofu to tuna salad, some listed on their limited English menu. Opening time: Daily 5pm– midnight
5 Chinchikurin Kiyamachi Shijō-sagaru 075/351-9205 Moderately priced country-style restaurant specializing in kamameshi – kettle-steamed rice with a whole range of toppings. In winter, nabe stews or zōsui rice gruel make a good choice. Located behind the Hankyu department store on the street parallel to Kawaramachi-dōri. Opening time: Closed Wed
6 
Fujino-ya Pontochō Shijō-agaru 075/221-2446 One of Pontochō's more affordable restaurants, with the added attraction of a river view. The simple menu (in English) offers either tempura or kushi-katsu (deep-fried pork skewers). In the summer you can eat on the yuka riverside terrace, but the price of dinner increases to ¥3800, for the minimum set. Price: Standard sets from around ¥2800 Opening time: Daily except Wed 5–10pm
7 Gontaro Fuyachō Shijō-agaru 075/221-5810 Home-made noodles are the order of the day at this welcoming little restaurant just north of busy Shijō-dōri. Despite the elegant entrance, prices are reasonable. Price: Dishes ¥1000– ¥4000 Opening time: Daily except Wed
8 Hale Nishiki-koji Fuyachō-iru 075/231-2516 In an old machiya with a garden, in Nishiki-ichiba food market, this vegetarian restaurant is a good place to stop for a healthy meal. Lunch sets are very reasonable, and six-course dinner sets, with deliciously fresh tofu and steamed vegetables, can be shared between two. Price: Lunch sets ¥1000, dinner sets ¥2200 Opening time: Daily except Tues 11.30am–2pm & 6–9pm
9 Honyaradō Teramachi Imadegawa nishi-iru 075/222-1574 Just northeast of the Imperial Palace, this cluttered café-restaurant is great for a long coffee break – especially upstairs, where you can read a book or magazine for a while – or even a satisfying meal. The food's wholesome – don't miss their home-made bread – and excellent value. English menu available. Price: Set meals around ¥600–700 for lunch or dinner
10 Merry Island Kiyamachi-dōri 075/213-0214 Very good Asian-themed café-restaurant serving a range of ever-changing fusion dishes that are a definite cut above the norm, especially the spicy Thai soups and Malay fish curries. Also has outside seating, an English menu, attentive staff and great music.
11 Musashi Kawaramachi Sanjō-agaru 075/222-0634 The original branch of the excellent, region-wide kaitenzushi (conveyor-belt sushi) chain. Located right on the junction, it also does a brisk trade in takeaway bentō with nearby office workers. Unless you're ravenous, lunch – or dinner – shouldn't set you back more than ¥1000, and the cheapest dishes are just ¥120.
12 Obanzai Koromonotana Oike-agaru 075/223-6623 It's well worth searching out this nicely designed and very popular buffet-style restaurant east of Nijō-jō for their excellent-value vegetarian buffets. Opening time: Daily 11am–2pm & 5–8.30pm, closed Wed evePrice: ¥840–1050 for lunch, ¥2100 in the evening
13 Ratna Cafe Takoyakushi-sagaru, Iwagami-dōri 075/812-5862 www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~ratna/index.html Delicious south Indian cuisine in an award-winning machiya restoration, which hasn't lost any of its traditional Kyoto character. The café is north of Shijō, one street west of Horikawa. Price: Curry lunch sets from ¥800 Opening time: Daily except Tues and first and third Wed of each month 11.30am–8.30pm
14 Sarasa Wood Inn, Tominokoji Sanjō-sagaru www.café-sarasa.com The first Sarasa (there are now four others in Kyoto) is a friendly haven in the midst of central Kyoto with high ceilings and big wooden tables. It's difficult to define – a restaurant, café, bar and record shop all in one, with a bicycle shop on the first floor. The menu is eclectic – tofu with tuna and spicy miso, sandwiches, preservative-free wine and home-made cheesecake. English menu. Opening time: Daily except Wed
15 Sarashina Ōmiya Aneyakoji-agaru 075/841-5933 If you're feeling peckish out near Nijō-jō, join the locals for a hearty bowl of handmade soba or udon. Prices are very reasonable and there's an English menu. Opening time: Daily except Sun and every second Sat, 10.30am–7.30pm
16 Sunshine Café 5F Izumi Biru, Sanjō-dori, Termachi-nishi-iru 075/251-1678 sunshinecafe.cool.be.jp High above the Sanjō shopping street, this light and breezy organic café serves generous portions of tasty, innovative variations on Western-style cooking using Japanese vegetables such as burdock root and mountain yam. There's a daily lunch set, a longer evening menu (around ¥800 for a main dish), plus curry, doria (macaroni cheese), sandwiches, salads, herbal teas and organic beer. Price: Lunch set ¥790
17 Tagoto Shijō, Teramachi Higashi-iru 075/221-6286 www.kyoto-tagoto.co.jp Just off Shijō-dōri, up a tiny alley next to the Takano jewellery shop, near the Central Hotel, this welcoming little restaurant is a good place to sample kyō-ryōri without breaking the bank. Try their beautiful kōetsu-mizusashi-bentō (¥3150) or, at lunchtime only, choose between a smaller bentō (¥1575) and a mini-kaiseki (¥3150). Reservations are required for an evening kaiseki meal. Price: Evening meals from ¥6300
18 Yamatomi Pontochō Shijō-agaru 075/221-3268 Another unpretentious, Pontochō restaurant a few doors down from Fujino-ya. There's plenty of good, wholesome food on offer (English menu available), such as sashimi, oden and okonomiyaki. In summer you can eat on their riverside terrace. Price: About ¥4000 for dinner including drinks Opening time: Closed Tues
19 Inoda Sakaimachi Sanjō-sagaru 075/221-0507 www.inoda-coffee.co.jp The delicious aroma of roasting coffee is enough to tempt anyone inside this well-known coffee shop, which was established over one hundred years ago. They have a range of coffees (from ¥450), plus sandwiches, cakes and other snacks, served in a 1920s Western-style tearoom overlooking a small Japanese garden. There are six other branches around Kyoto (including one in the Daimaru department store), though they are not as atmospheric as the original, but the coffee tastes as good. Opening time: Daily 7am–8pm
20 Rakushō Washiyo-chō Kōdai-ji-mae 075/561-6892 While in eastern Kyoto, stop off at this charming old teashop for a cup of green tea and warabi mochi (green-tea rice cake; ¥900). They also serve coffee, ice cream, cakes and other light snacks – and don't miss their tiny pond filled with enormous carp. Opening time: Open 9am–5pm; closed one day each week
21 Somushi Tea House Karasuma Sanjō Nishi-iru www.somushi.com In the busy downtown area, Somushi is an oasis of rustic sophistication, serving medicinal Korean teas and delicious meals; try the Korean spicy pickle rice bowl or vegetable curry (from ¥1000). Opening time: Daily except Wed 10am–8pm