Kei's Cafe Oggi - Deep Kyoto

Our Mewby was very pleased with her lunch yesterday.

We ate at Kei’s Cafe Oggi on Gojozaka. It’s famous for its antique furniture and for its light and fluffy rice-filled omelettes. Neither of us was in an オムライス mood though. I went for the vegan option and got myself a fantastic vegetable sandwich instead. Just look at the way the colours of those fresh vegetables leap out at you. The dressing was lovely too.

Mewby ordered a hearty meal of hashed beef and rice.

Set in the heart of tourist country, (it’s on the approach to Kiyomizu Temple), this cafe is naturally pretty foreigner friendly. The menu is in both English and Japanese and they’ll give you a local tourist map if you want one (also bi-lingual). Be sure to check out the card on each table (Japanese on one side, English on the other) that tells you all about the various antiques in the shop. Basically all of the furniture is antique, and all of it in superb condition. This Seiko clock dates from 1921.

The register, of a type nicknamed Daruma after the roly-poly dolls, dates from 1918 and is apparently the only working model of its kind. If you’re lucky, when you pay the bill they might let you wind the handle that makes the receipt pop out.

It’s fun to look about you and admire all this fine furniture, some of it from the mid-19th century or even earlier. It’s also a very tasty spot to eat and the coffee is very good too. To find Kei’s Cafe Oggi, walk east up Gojo away from Higashioji and towards Kiyomizu Temple. You’ll soon see a small parking area with some shops behind it on your left and that’s where it is. Here is a map.