日本語はこちら さるぅ屋 is a cafe/bar/diner in a lovely old renovated machiya on Imadegawa. The food menu concentrates on burgers, sandwiches and curries and is generally pretty meaty. As I don't do the meat thing, I settled for an advocado and cottage cheese sandwich, expecting something bland and was surprised by its sweet deliciosity. And the bread! That was something else. I … [Read more...] about Salut Ya
Bars
Craft Beers at Kyoto Brewing Company Taproom
Here's a pleasant way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. Head down to Kyoto Brewing Company's Taproom and enjoy the very freshest craft beers in a super relaxed and casual space. If the weather is good you can sit outside, and if not, you can chat to the friendly brewery staff indoors as they pull your pints. In the colder months they will also set up a tent outside with … [Read more...] about Craft Beers at Kyoto Brewing Company Taproom
Craft Beer in Kyoto
Craft beer is trending in Kyoto with craft beer festivals twice a year, many bars stocking varieties and some bars dedicating their business completely to promoting craft beer culture. There are two craft beer breweries in Kyoto, and another starting next year. Here I talk to Tadg McLoughlin who runs the eponymous Tadg's: a craft beer specialty bar in Kyoto, about being on the … [Read more...] about Craft Beer in Kyoto
The Legend of UrBANGUILD
Let me tell you a story, about a place called UrBANGUILD... It's a kind of fairytale, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. And it all began in another place. A place that I like to call cafe underpants. Once upon a time there was an honest carpenter named Jiro. One day, Jiro was hired by a man of property to design and build a cafe. Jiro was a very fine carpenter and … [Read more...] about The Legend of UrBANGUILD
Alphabet Ave.
Here's a place I've been meaning to write up for the longest time. As regular readers may be aware, of a weekend my friends and I tend to gather at the wonderful music bar Joao.* However, Joao tends to close relatively early (around 11 pm), so if we still have a thirst upon us (and we invariably do) the bar of choice is Alphabet Ave. on Pontocho. Alphabet Ave. is a … [Read more...] about Alphabet Ave.
Kanso
Sean Roe invited me out to this place ages ago. "￥380 a beer," he said. Very hard to resist. So I went. And here's what I found: Kanso is a bar, and an art installation combined. Its concept can be roughly summarized as drink x cans = fun The art here is nothing precious, consisting as it does of cans. Big cans that you sit at like tables and walls of cans to dazzle … [Read more...] about Kanso
Yoramu
Last Thursday Nick Coldicott, was in town and invited me out to sake bar Yoramu. Nick is the editor of Time Out Shortlist Kyoto and also writes a drinks column for the Japan Times, so when he said that Yoramu was his favorite bar, I was naturally intrigued. Yoramu lived up to his promise. The master, Yoram, a quietly spoken Israeli perfectly fluent in English and Japanese, … [Read more...] about Yoramu
Blue Note
A couple of weeks ago, jazz singer Allison Adams Tucker invited me to Blue Note to see her live performance there. It was a great show but also an excellent opportunity to check out this legendary live music venue. I spoke to the current master Ohigashi-san. A mild-mannered chap, he goes by the nickname of Chooper-san (after blues musician Al Kooper), and is as Allison put it … [Read more...] about Blue Note
Kiyamachi Bar Crawl
Update 2025: Back in 2009, accompanied by my old drinking buddy David Ewen, I set out to explore some of the bar culture in the Kiyamachi area armed with my copy of 京都穴BAR (a Japanese pocket guide to Kyoto's hole-in-the-wall bars). In one evening we visited eight bars, of which, sad to say, 16 years later, just three remain. My original reviews of those three bars are posted … [Read more...] about Kiyamachi Bar Crawl
antighseinnse
There's a Scottish pub in north Kyoto named antighseinnse (a.k.a. Horie's Bar). The name (pronounced "an ti shayn jay" I think) is Gaelic and means simply "Inn". The owner Toshiyuki Horie named it after a favored pub on the isle of Islay in Scotland and still proudly wears a T-shirt celebrating "The best pub in Portnahaven". Horie-san, a self-described whisky otaku or … [Read more...] about antighseinnse
Sheep’s
Sheep's Public Cafe is a place I have been meaning to check out for a while. I kept seeing it as I cycled home from work and thinking to myself "Sheep's. Why Sheep's?" The signboard outside says "Fish & Chips", "Guinness" and looking at the exterior I imagined just another foreign style pub. Once inside though I was impressed by how bright and cheerful it is. The owners … [Read more...] about Sheep’s
