Deep Kyoto

good places - good people

Trattoria Dougetsu by the Ocean

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Mewby’s birthday was a couple of weeks back and to celebrate I took her to Trattoria 道月 by the Ocean. Though the name is a bit unwieldy, the restaurant itself is very welcoming and friendly, and the food was superb.

IMG_4365This is the outside of the building which as you can see is a lovely old (but fully renovated!) machiya townhouse. You can’t beat a bit of machiya dining when in Kyoto. This restaurant specializes in fresh seafood served with Italian pasta, which you can eat at the counter whilst watching the cook at work, or separately at your own table. We had a little room to ourselves and here are the dishes we ordered: [Read more…]

Asahi Suisan

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UPDATE: I am sad to say that this fine establishment has now closed.

あさひ水産: is a cheap and cheery izakaya on Kiyamachi that Mewby introduced me to not too long ago. I like this kind of place: all rough and ready with cushions strapped to packing cases for seats. We went early one evening when it was super quiet, but Mewby told me that it really fills up later on. As the place is open all night long a lot of people come here after finishing work in nearby bars and restaurants. And Asahi Suisan has all kinds of cheap nomihodai/tabehodai (all-you-can-drink/eat) deals here that make it very popular.

The specialty here is super fresh seafood straight from the market – hence the packing cases.

From top to bottom: 鰺 (“aji” ~ jack), 蛤 (“hamaguri” ~ clams) and big old 帆立 (“hotate” ~ scallops)

Each table comes with it’s very own grill, so you can have your own little barbecue. Seen below are すなずり (chicken gizzards),　はまぐり (clams), and もち (rice cakes).

It’s fun waiting for the ほたて (scallops) to pop open.

帆立 ~ Scallops

And everything, drinks included, is super cheap! A beer here will cost you 280 yen. Or if you’re a real cheapskate you can get Kirin Tanrei (a kind of happoshu or pretend beer) for 180 yen!* That’s great if you’re economizing – but personally I think life is too short for pretend beer.

Asahi Suisan is located on the east side of Kiyamachi a short walk south of Sanjo. You can find it sandwiched between the Golden Building and the Kiyamachi Building. Here is a map (and coupons!) a new map!

Open: every night, all night from 6:00 p.m till around 8:00 in the morning.
Tel: 050-5816-8872

*Prices quoted are correct at the time of writing.