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BAR F.S.N.

June 11, 2010 By dk-admin89 4 Comments

UPDATE: BAR F.S.N. has moved and is now located here.

Recently I heard that an old friend Philippe Goulier, had opened up his own bar. I was curious to see it. Philippe had always talked about running his own little cafe, or tea house, or restaurant… or something, but it always seemed like it was just talk. It’s awfully nice when people exceed your expectations. Philippe has created a really nice little place. The name F.S.N. stands for Frontieres San Nations. I’ll let you puzzle over what exactly that might mean yourselves…

Burgundian, Philippe Goulier – a man of many talents.

Philippe decorates F.S.N. with his own art.

It’s a cosy little joint, that seats about ten people. Philippe being a man of many talents, decorates it with his own art and changes the paintings every two months. He also did all the interior woodwork and decorating himself, and he put in a new window so that you have a lovely view of the Takasegawa canal. He’s also a great cook and will prepare something for you, if you’re hungry, from the ingredients to hand. There’s no menu, so just tell him how much you want to pay, (a minimum of 500 yen) and he will prepare something accordingly. Philippe hails from Burgundy in France, so I suppose there is a French influence to his cuisine, but it’s mostly original: salads, curries, pates, soups, omlettes etc. And everything is largely vegan or vegetarian, except for the cheese.

Though most of the art is Philippe’s, this painting is a portrait of Philippe by his friend Florent Maussion. “He painted it when he was drunk,” says Philippe.

I asked Philippe what had inspired him to open up his own bar. He gave me three reasons. “One reason,” he said, “is that I like to talk to people and meet new people every day.

Another reason, is when I go to bars, I never like the music and I can’t eat, because I’m vegetarian. So, ok! I open my own place, I like the music – and it’s vegetarian!”

“And also, and this is important, I don’t want to work for someone else!”

I asked Philippe what kind of music he plays.
“It’s not easy to describe,” he told me. “Mostly underground, or independant, not that famous; reggae, ska, punk, sometimes jazz, sometimes hip-hop but mainly rock and French music… It depends on the customers and the time. At 6 o’clock, if I have a 60 years old customer, I will not play Metallica! If it’s quiet, then something slow. If people look like they are ready to dance, then something groovy.”

Mewby and I enjoying the cool vibe. The window overlooks the tree-lined Takasegawa canal.

Food and music aside though, what Philippe has created here is a pleasant little spot for a quiet drink and a chat. Bravo Philippe, on putting all your talents to such good use!  Bar F.S.N. is in the building directly opposite the popular izakaya A-bar.  Now I always find this area to the west of Kiyamachi confusing, but I think you can find it if you go north from Shijo on Kiyamachi, take the second turning on your left, then take the next right turning and look out for this sign on the right.  Philippe’s bar is up the stairs on the second floor and to the right. Here is a map.
Bar F.S.N. is open from 18:00 – 01:00 and closed on Mondays.
Tel: 090-5064-0642

Filed Under: Bars, Vegetarian Tagged With: vegan

Comments

  1. Lucas says

    June 15, 2010 at 3:30 am

    Hey!
    So I happened to be scouring the internet, and decided to see if my favorite Kyoto bar had any literature on it. To my great surprise, I stumbled upon your post about F.S.N.

    I just wanted to say that I had a terrific time and Philippe is the best. What makes this even funnier is that I was there the night where that painting of Philippe was painted. My friends and I also got some portraits painted as well by the same guy.

    Please, if you talk to Philippe again, please send him My (Lucas), Ken, and Jordann’s best.

    Kam-Pai,

    Lucas

  2. Jeffrey says

    August 4, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    This is a fantastic place! I’ll have to send my handful of Kyoto friends here…

  3. breanna pim says

    December 21, 2013 at 10:33 pm

    The phillepe place is no longer there. He has a new bar further down the street. I don’t remeber what’s Its called. But its no longer a hookah bar

  4. Michael Lambe says

    December 24, 2013 at 7:05 pm

    Yes, he is south of Shijo now. The bar has the same name – and I’ll be posting something about it right after Xmas.

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