Eat your way through Kyoto with Japan's best (a roundup of 10 old Kyoto restaurants)

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🤗 01 Nishijin Bird's Nest: Old-fashioned family bowl

When it comes to food in the Kinkakuji neighborhood, Nishijin Toriwa-ro, which is tucked away in a residential area, is the best. In this quaint wooden building, the restaurant uses freshly slaughtered chicken and fresh eggs in the morning, along with flavorful sauces, to make a family donburi every day, which is so rich that you'll fall in love with it after eating it once! It's only available during the lunch hour from 12pm to 2pm. In the evening, the restaurant transforms into a high-class restaurant serving premium chicken mizutaki (hot pot) and sukiyaki, a Kansai-style dish made with wagyu beef.

Nishijin Toranokoro (Nishijin Toranokoro) Address: 75 Gojimachi, West Entrance, Gojimachi, Gojimachi, Jyoukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Opening hours: 11:30～15:00, closed every Thursday

🤗 02 Genmyeonzo: Highly Rated Udon Noodles

Kyoto's udon noodle restaurant Yamamoto Mizo is famous both in Japan and abroad. The restaurant serves handmade udon noodles and tempura, with more than 20 flavors of hot and cold udon: hot for the rich broth, cold for the bouncy noodles. The most recommended signature dish is the Kyoto-style curry udon noodles, and feel free to add Japanese seasoning powders such as sansho and shichimi powder to the table to add more layers of flavor!

Yamamoto Noodle Shop Address: 34 Okazaki Minami Gosho-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Hours: 11:00 - while supplies last (closed on Thursdays)

🤗 03 Honjia-Ojiya: Classic soba noodles

Soba is one of Japan's most famous noodle dishes, and this soba store is located near the Kyoto International Manga Museum, and is one of the most famous in Japan, with a history of more than 550 years. The exterior of the store has a traditional Japanese-style building, which stands out even more against the neighboring high-rise buildings. The popular soba menu includes five layers of buckwheat noodles, a plate full of medicinal flavors, and a dipping sauce with just the right ratio of sweet to salty, so it's worth a try for a variety of ways to enjoy the dish!

Honke Owariya Main Store Address：322,Ni,Shimo,Dori,Cheya-machi,Nakagyo-ku,Kyoto Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed on January 1 and 2)

🤗 04 Grill Kodakara: Super Healing Omelet Rice

Seen in many Japanese movies and TV shows, omurice is one of Japan's national dishes, and Grill Kodakara, located near the Heian Jingu Shrine, is an old favorite for its Japanese and Western fusion cuisine. The signature dish, omurice, has no glamorous exterior, but is a thin egg crust wrapped around fried rice in a sweet and sour tomato sauce and topped with a beef sauce that is healing at first bite! The omelet rice is also available in 350 grams, 700 grams, and 1,200 grams to satisfy people with different amounts of food. Lines are always forming during lunchtime, so travelers who want to try this delicious dish are advised to line up early!

Grill Kodakara (Grill Kobo) Address: 46 Okazaki Kita Gosho-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Hours: 11:30-20:30 ※Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

🤗 05 Kyogoku Stand: an izakaya that opens at noon

Generally speaking, izakaya in Japan are open at night, but Kyoto Stand (京极スタンド), located near the Nishiki Market, is unusual in that it opens at noon, which is quite a rarity in the Kansai region. The handwritten menu on the walls of the restaurant features more than 60 types of Kyoto home cooking, ranging from kanto boiled food, marinated beef tendon, coleslaw pancakes, and tofu in soup, and is reasonably priced, making it perfect for a drink. Of course, even if you don't drink, you can feel the life of Kyoto just by entering the restaurant, making it a great place for those who want to experience the joys of Japanese food culture.

Kyogoku Stand (Kyogoku Stain) Address: 546 Kaminonakanomachi, Shinkyoku-dori Shijo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Hours: 12:00-21:00, closed on Tuesdays

🤗 06 Sagano: Tofu in Japanese Style Soup

Tofu in soup is one of the many representative dishes of Kyoto. Because the water quality in Kyoto is so good, the tofu is perfect for cooking. Located in Arashiyama, Sagano, a tofu restaurant with a Japanese-style garden, offers a set menu that includes a variety of tofu dishes made by deep-frying, boiling, or mixing with cold water, etc. Each dish has a different taste and texture, but each bite is filled with the aroma of soybeans, making it both healthy and tasty. If you want to try tofu dishes like you've never seen before, don't miss this restaurant.

Soup Tofu Sagano Location: 45 Saga Tenryuji Munnoibaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Hours: 11:00-16:30

🤗 07 Hifuen Tempura Tenchu

Kyoto is full of long-standing restaurants and queues are commonplace, and one of the most famous is the Gion Tempura Tenchou (ぎおん天ぷら「天周」) in the Gion neighborhood! At lunchtime, they offer a tempura rice bowl with moray eel, prawns, and vegetables, and the juicy ingredients are wrapped in a crispy coating of tempura and dipped in a special sauce that makes it really good for dinner! For dinner, the restaurant offers a set menu that includes steamed eel, eel sushi, and 13 types of tempura. Although the price is high, there is still a line, so it's recommended to plan your trip in advance to try the dishes!

Gion Tempura Tenchu (ぎおん天ぷら天周)

Address: 244 Gion-cho Kita-side, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto (North side of Shijo Nawa Higashi-in) Hours: 11:00-14:00, 17:30-21:30

🤗 08 Tori Sei: a famous yakitori restaurant

Want to eat chicken skewers? Tori Sei (Tori Sei Honten), a former sake brewery converted into a yakitori restaurant, is one of the best in the yakitori world. With affordable prices, a bite of skewer, a mouthful of rice, and a glass of sake, which the restaurant boasts is sweet and robust, is a great lunchtime treat for Kyoto residents! Of course, if you like sake, you can also buy it at the store!

Tori Sei (Tori Sei Honten) Location: 186 Kamiyukacho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Hours: 11:00-22:00, closed Mondays

🤗 09 Wagyu Ryo-men: Wagyu barbecue and ramen go best together!

Sugari (和醸良麺すがり) is a traditional Japanese townhouse that has been remodeled and has a great atmosphere just by looking at the décor. The restaurant uses whole grain flour for the noodles, which is more nutritious than regular wheat flour. The menu includes a choice of dipping noodles and ramen. The noodles are chewy and perfectly coated with the soup, so you can't help but take one bite after another. Regardless of which type of ramen you order, it's recommended to add some sizzling wagyu beef, which is lightly seared with a torch, giving it a tantalizingly fiery flavor that greatly enhances the freshness of the whole bowl of ramen!

Wagyu Ryo-men Sugari Address: 471-1 Kannondo-machi, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan Hours: 11:30-15:00, 18:00-22:00

🤗 10 Smart Coffee: Kyoto's old-school foreign coffee

The wooden décor of Smart Coffee shows the long history of the store. Walking into Smart Coffee is like taking a time machine back to the Showa era in Japan. A mix of Western and Japanese styles, the quiet and elegant atmosphere will quickly relax your tired mind. The store opens at 8:00 a.m. and serves food for breakfast and Japanese food for lunch. We recommend trying the muffin, which is simply a slice of cream and beeswax, and no one will be able to resist the classic goodness of the muffin. In addition to muffins, sandwiches and omelettes are also available, and with the restaurant's signature coffee, you'll be able to enjoy your meal with a smile on your face!

Smart Coffee Address: 537 Kamitenjimae-cho, Teramachi-dori Sanjo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Opening hours: 8:00-19:00

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After reading the above 10 Kyoto gourmet restaurants, don't you want to hurry up and try them one by one?

Actually, old restaurants are quite special in Kyoto. Although there are old restaurants in other areas, there are few places that have as many as Kyoto! In addition, you can enjoy the unique atmosphere of Kyoto's ancient capital in addition to tasting these cuisines! Food lovers should not miss it!