deep kyoto

Since moving into the city centre last year, Mewby and I have been searching for an Indian curry restaurant to take the place in our culinary affections of the Raju restaurant up on Imadegawa. We had high hopes for the new branch of Raju on Shichijo that opened up late last year, until upon our second visit some twit put chicken in my Vegetarian Dinner Set and then made the worst apology ever; grinning and constantly repeating “Don’t mind”. Thilaga near Oomiya station was in the running too for a while, but eating their admittedly tasty curries is like playing a game of Indian curry roulette; sometimes disappointingly mild and on other occasions hell-fire spicy. Now perhaps, though we have only visited once so far, the Sharma restaurant on Sanjo will turn out to be a favorite.

We ordered a couple of starters to begin with. I cannot eat Indian food without eating samosas and these did not disappoint.

This Fish Tikka (made with Sea Bass) though, was really delicious.

I followed this up with a sweet tasting Shitafal, Sharma’s very own original pumpkin curry.

The Kaju Nan (with cashew nuts) accompanied it nicely.

Mewby went for a Mugal Chicken. Curiously she reported that it tasted very much like the pumpkin curry above… It kind of looks like it too, eh?

After that feast we went home and had a bit of a lie down. To sum up, after only one visit it’s hard to judge, but the food seems nice (the fish tikka being a highlight) and the staff most courteous and professional. We shall definitely be giving Sharma another try.

Sharma sits on the north side of Sanjo between Kiyamachi and Kawaramachi. Here is a handy map.

Opening hours: 11：00～15：00 & 17：00～23：00 (Last orders at 22：00）
Closed: Wednesdays.
Tel: 075-231-3677

Right then! I’m off to Bali for a week and will be resolutely offline during the interval so there’ll be no more posts for a wee while, but before I go a short word of explanation. The astute among you may have noticed the appearance of a black box on the upper right of this page which proudly bears the name “Tadg’s”.

It looks like this (only smaller):

I’m pleased to announce that Tadg Mc Loughlin has agreed to become Deep Kyoto’s first official sponsor! Fond as I am of good food and tasty beverages, I don’t think I could have found a better partner. Tadg’s Irish bar and restaurant has a phenomenal selection of craft beers on tap (just check out the list on his site! go on click it!), and a fantastic menu. As I don’t eat meat myself, I’m particularly keen on the vegan selection. Take a look at Tadg’s legendary vegan pizza :

Mediterranean veggies, cheeseless pizza with organic Ise Miso

I ate that you know – and it was gorgeous! I ate this Tuscan bean and vegetable stew too (not at the same time though – that would be silly).

Tadg & Mika

Look at those colours! That’s not just food you know, it’s a beautiful piece of art. It’s poetry – in a bowl.

So there you have it; Tadg’s has great food, great beers, beautiful views over the Kamo river and super friendly staff and (I might be courting controversy here but), it’s also the only real Irish bar in town (in the sense of you know, actually having someone Irish in the place). That’s why I’m more than happy to have Tadg as my sponsor – I’m delighted!
To find Tadg’s walk straight up Kiyamachi from Sanjo, before you get to Oike you should see the Empire building on your right. Tadg’s is on the 8th floor. Click here for a most convenient map.

To my mind the best fish ‘n’ chips in town are at the 海と空 (Umi to Sora or Sea and Sky) Okinawan restaurant on Shijo.

Strictly speaking they don’t actually have “fish ‘n’ chips on the menu, but what you do is; you order the ぐるくんのスイートチリソース (That’s gurukun, a kind of Okinawan whitefish, with sweet chili sauce) and a portion of fried potatoes and you’re away! Bob’s your ojisan; the best fish ‘n’ chips in town!

ぐるくんのスイートチリソース

Basically I order this and a few glasses of Orion on draft every time. However, the last time I went there it was with my poetic pal Jeffrey Angles. Jeffrey is more adventurous than I am; he also likes to share. Read the rest of this entry »

The Home of Craft Beer in Kyoto

Meet the family: Jimmy, Tadg, Mika, and Ben.

Four years since it first opened, the Irish pub formerly known as Mc Loughlin’s has been renamed as Tadg’s. Not a big change really, as I think everyone was calling it that anyway. I’ve written previously about this pub; its friendly hospitality and the fantastic views over the river and city. And Tadg’s cooking is also justifiably renowned; he uses locally grown organic vegetables in his many fine creations and the menu features an impressive vegan section. All that aside though, this bar’s most impressive feature is the selection of craft beers: Rogue, Ise Kadoya, Minoh, Yeti Imperial Oak and Victory at Sea… I had a snifter of the latter last night; a fine coffee flavored porter with hints of bitter chocolate like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. Absolutely gorgeous. Read the rest of this entry »

JJ O’Donoghue writes…

On Nishinotoin-dori, one of the quieter arteries that connects the cathedral-like Kyoto Station with the centre of the city, lies one of my favourite ramen shops. Granted there are probably many other fine ramen joints about town, but this one I keep returning to for one reason; tsukemen.

Kubota Honten speciality is tsukemen; there are a few other ramen dishes as well as karaage and rice on the menu, but I’ve only ever had the tsukemen, which is capital “D” Delicious. Call me staid, but I consider Kubota’s tsukemen as my desert island dish. Read the rest of this entry »

Mewby found this place one night on the net when she was really craving curry. The first thing that struck me was “They can’t spell Indian”. But somehow that only made me like them all the more. It gave the place an air of earnest innocence and besides spelling is not important in an Indian restaurant. Curry is. Curry is everything.

However, I’m not quite sure what to say about Thilaga‘s curry. The food is obviously excellent tastewise (or I wouldn’t bother blogging it) but the spice levels are dramatically inconsistent. Read the rest of this entry »

Apollo has become one of our favorite places to eat over the last year or so. It’s an izakaya style restaurant, but the food is just a little bit nicer and the atmosphere just a little bit quieter and calmer than some of the bigger chain izakayas around the  Kiyamachi/Kawaramachi area (where you might have to scream to make yourself heard). Even so the prices are pretty reasonable. Apollo is a friendly place too. I get a strong impression when I go there, that the staff really enjoy working there and with each other. Happy staff of course means a happy atmosphere and excellent service! We usually get a seat at the counter when we go…

…but last Sunday we had a snug little second floor box room all to ourselves. Read the rest of this entry »

Vanilla is a stylish location for lunch, dinner or just a simple coffee. They do a very good coffee.

The interior is decorated with cool, mellow Scandinavian furnishings. Presumably there is some connection with the “Nordic Countries” store downstairs. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Wednesday was the anniversary of the day Mewby and I first started dating… Time for a big posh swanky dinner! I let Mewby choose the venue this time and she chose Guest House Cono. Contrary to the name it’s not a guesthouse. It is in fact a big posh swanky restaurant. The interior is simple, soft-lighted, elegant comfort and the only decoration is occasional Buddhist statuary. I’m not sure why. Maybe the Buddha’s presence is meant to have a calming effect. Anyway, we had a private room which was very comfy.

Now, the food was gorgeous. We chose the Awase course which consists of the following:

A selection of tasty hors d'oeuvres.

Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE!! JUNE 14th 2010: Hankering for a gluten burger and onion rings yesterday, I went along to the Karasuma branch of Speak Easy only to be deeply disappointed. It’s not there any more. Presumably the Shugakuin branch is still intact though. Mewby and I intend to venture north next weekend and find out.

Every now and again I am overcome by a terrible yearning for junk food. But not just any old chain-store-Big-Mac-style-mass-produced junk food. I want junk food with character. I want junk food of superior quality. I want to eat it in some comfort and away from the common horde. And I want to wash it down with beer too. In all these respects Speak Easy satiates all my more sordid culinary desires. They have burgers of every description (even vegetarian), and mexican food,  and bagel sandwiches, and really unhealthy but oh so tasty looking American breakfasts with bacon and eggs and french toast and hash browns and all that jazz. And booze. They got booze too. (Hence the name, eh?)

On our last visit Mewby opted for a cheese burger. She likes her cheese burger with bacon and guacamole.

Cheese Burger (￥750) + Bacon (￥80) + Guacamole (￥100)

I on the other hand declined the meat options and had myself a big old greasy slab of gluten.

The vegetarian Gluten Burger (￥750)

It goes down really nicely with a glass of Sapporo draft beer (￥600).

The Speak Easy we frequent is on the north side  of Nishikikoji doori between Takakura and Higashinotoin. There’s a much older one up on Kitayama by Shuugakuin though. You can find maps to both locations here and take a look at the menu here.

Speak Easy on Nishikikoji is open Monday to Wednesday from 11:00～20:00
and Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 11:00~23:00
Closed on Thursdays
Tel:075-241-9388