kyoto eats

Kyoto usually evokes visions of old Japan. It seems that beautiful temples and gardens are around every corner, and seeing geishas around town is fairly common place. Certainly, Kyoto is well worth the visit just for those. But, Kyoto is also a great eating town. Below are my recommendations:


Nishiki Market

There are plenty of stalls that sell amazing things, including matcha (green tea) and matcha mochi. 

Matcha from the Nishiki Market.

But, vendors sell other types of food including an octopus stuffed with a hard boiled quail egg.

Baby Octopus at Nishiki Market.

Definitely check out the soy doughnut place. Although still deep fried like regular doughnuts, the soy variety are light and fluffy.

Soy Doughnuts at the Nishiki Market.

Kaiseki

I have previously reviewed Sakamoto, which was fantastic. But, there are cheaper  places to try a kaiseki meal, including at Wakuden at the JR station. Note that, during my visit, Wakden did not offer English menus and the staff did not really speak English. But, the dishes - including a braised pork belly dish and a sashimi dish - were tasty at that price point.

Braised Pork Belly at Wakuden.

Izakaya

Red Lantern.

Near the JR station, there are plenty of izakaya places marked by a red lantern. Two places that I highly recommend are:

Izakaya New Shinmachi - the chicken karaage (fried boneless chicken) were crunchy and well seasoned. I found the atmosphere lively and full of locals.

New Shinmachi Bar.

Chicken Karaage at New Shinmachi Bar.

Stand Up Bar - I'm actually not sure if this is the real name of the place because the signs were in Japanese. But, there weren't a lot of seats and most people were standing around a table. The tempura dishes were all light and not at all greasy. Note that they allowed smoking. But, I still found the place full of fun loving locals.

The Stand Up Bar.

Tempura from The Stand Up Bar.

I hope the above helps you in your eating adventures around Kyoto. Please let me know if you found the above helpful.