This post was written in 2007. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
Honestly, there aren’t many places in Kyoto that are really worth eating at. It’s either expensive or not tasty. (Most of the time it’s both.) I guess that’s because the whole city is one big tourist attraction.
So the first place I hit on this Kyoto trip was a ramen shop, which is at least a safe bet. I went to Menya Marutake, famous for its seafood-broth ramen.
Special ramen.
The nori and the egg both carry the shop’s logo. Plenty of chashu, too. Maybe because it’s seafood-based, the broth is clean and refreshing, but it also felt a bit on the thin side. I guess the trend of the day really is the “W soup” double broth.
Regular ramen
Chahan
The fried rice skills were pretty average.
Having come all the way to Kyoto, I couldn’t skip kyo-ryori, Kyoto’s traditional cuisine, right? After looking around here and there, I went to Nishimura, which has a good reputation for the price. In peak season you won’t get a seat without a reservation, so be careful.
The entrance
Ladies in kimono give you a warm welcome.
Inside
Nice atmosphere.
A small garden they’ve set up
Lots of traditional Japanese restaurants seem to have little gardens like this.
Tea.
The house specialty: wagyu served on a leaf-shaped plate
You put it on like this and grill it yourself.
The wagyu isn’t up to the quality of a proper wagyu specialist.
Tempura
Again, it falls well short of a tempura specialist.
Today’s main: the bento box
Ordinary Japanese food. The sashimi was good, though.
Dessert
With all this plus a drink (you have to order a drink), it came to a little over 3,000 yen. I did get the feeling of being in Kyoto, but for the same price I think I’d rather have Italian or Chinese. Kyoto cuisine is all about formality, so it’s true that it’s overpriced for what it tastes like. I think I’ve already been to the places worth going to, so if I go back to Kyoto, I probably won’t be eating kyo-ryori again.