Funatsuru, Kyoto style French restaurant

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Funatsuru is a Kyoto-style French restaurant set along the Kamo River with views of the Higashiyama mountains and nearly 150 years of history. The building itself was built almost 100 years ago. You can read about the history of this restaurant here.

I made a reservation for a window seat. When making the reservation, the staff could not guarantee a window seat for me but will try their best. We were fortunate on the day of our arrival that we were given a window seat. The view was beautiful – The river, mountain, and sky. The staff who greeted us was graceful and pleasant. She could speak decent English.

There are two different lunch courses. One is for ¥ 3,000, including an hors d’oeuvre, soup, main dish, dessert, bread, coffee, or black tea. The other is for ¥ 4,500, including an hors d’oeuvre, soup, a fish dish, a meat dish, dessert, bread, coffee, or black tea. We decided on the ¥ 4,500 lunch course.

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The course started with a turkey mushroom pâté followed by a soup. The soup was interesting. It tasted like a saltish and mild cafe latte with cocoa nibs. The waitress did describe that it was some kind of coffee soup.

Next, we had the flounder wrapped in pie pastry. I love this dish! The flavors in this dish were mind-blowing. The fish was cooked to perfection. The buttery, flaky crust accentuated the natural flavor of the fish. The tomato-based sauce further boosts the already delicious flavor of the pie. Even now, I can remember the flavor. A very memorable dish!

We had the duck with apple and root vegetable sauce next and a white chocolate cream cheesecake.

I really enjoyed the food. Each one was delectable and beautifully presented. I would recommend this restaurant for the food. However, it was noisy in the restaurant, probably the noisiest restaurant I have been to in Japan. Most of the customers were rich middle-aged women, and they were loud. I did not enjoy that. Lucky for us, we got there around 1 PM, and the noise began to subside half an hour later as some were finished with lunch and left. The last order for lunch at the restaurant is 2PM.

Funatsuru

Website: https://www.funatsuru.com/en/restaurant/

Opening hours: 12 PM to 22:00 PM (closed on Tuesdays)

Telephone: +81 75-351-8541

Address: 180 Minoyacho, Kiyamachidouri Matsubara-Agaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto

The living room with sky bar, Nagoya

The living room is on the 18th floor of the Mitsui Garden Hotel Nagoya Premier. The hotel is just a 5-minute walk from Nagoya station. As I stayed at the hotel, I enjoyed dining at the restaurant. The restaurant has a chic decor with earth-tone color base colors. For hotel guests, the breakfast buffet price is ¥ 2,220, and for non-hotel guests, it is ¥ 2,400.

A good healthy selection of local and western food incorporating flavors and ingredients unique to Aichi. The ingredients were very fresh. Of course, you get the usual hotel breakfast buffet spread. There was bacon, sausages, french toast, scrambled eggs, pastries, toast, and salad for western cuisine. There was congee, rice noodles, steamed vegetables, tamagoyaki (egg rolls), grilled chicken breast, and salmon for Japanese cuisine. I had an enjoyable hearty breakfast with a fantastic view of the city.

The restaurant also offers lunch and dinner courses.

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The Living Room with Sky Bar

Website: http://www.livingroom-skybar.com/ , http://202.32.204.49/nagoya-premier/eng/breakfast/

Breakfast hours: 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM

Telephone: +81 52-446-5422

Yasube, Okonomiyaki, Pontocho

Yasube is a family-run restaurant in Pontocho serving Okonomiyaki. There are many variations of Okonomiyaki on the menu, with different ingredients you can add to your Okonomiyaki. I would say that the prices are very reasonable, and it is one of the cheaper places to eat in Pontocho. The son speaks good English, and there are English menus available.

We had the yaki-udon with pork and kimchi (¥ 950) and pork and seafood combo with egg okonomiyaki (¥ 950). It was served on the hot plate that was on the table. I liked that we could put the sauce and toppings on the okonomiyaki. I have had okonomiyaki, and sometimes the sauce was too much for me. This would be the best one of the okonomiyaki I have had both in Kyoto and Osaka. I think the minced pork made a big difference. In the previous okonomiyaki, I had added pork slices instead of minced pork. The minced pork made the okonomiyaki less dry and gave it a savory sweetness.

Yasube

Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday, 12:00 PM to 19:30 PM; Thursday to Saturday, 16:30 PM to 23:30 PM, Sunday, 15:00 PM to 22:30 PM

Telephone number: +81 75-221-2613

Address: 142 Umenokichō (Pontochōdōri), Nakagyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 604-8012, Japan

Gion Karyo, Kyoto

Set in an old Kyoto house, Gion Karyo is a kaiseki restaurant located in the heart of Gion. It is a great kaiseki place for people who are not as familiar with Japanese cuisine or not adventurous (like myself). The food served at Gion Karyo is nothing bizarre or unique to the taste buds. If you have any food restrictions or allergies, you can inform them in advance, and they will prepare your food accordingly. The staff speaks sufficient English, and there are English menus available.

The interior decorations were simple, with not much ambiance.

I made reservations in advance. When you are presented to your seat, a menu will be ready on the table. The price for the lunch course is ¥ 5000.

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The dishes were beautifully presented. However, for me, it lacked taste. Most of the dishes tasted similar and were a bit bland. There was no wow factor for me.

The highlight for me was the dessert and coffee. I had some matcha arrowroot dessert accompanied with ice cream and caramel cake. My brother had the Crème brûlée. The matcha arrowroot dessert tasted like matcha jelly with evaporated milk and soybean flour – very fragrant.

Overall, the food was basic and average, especially for the price. But it is definitely a foreigner-friendly restaurant.

Gion Karyo

Website: http://www.karyo-kyoto.jp/gion/

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 11:30 Am to 8 PM

Telephone: +81 75-532-0025

Address: 605-0074 Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Gionmachi Minamigawa, 東山区祇園町南側570-235

Gontaro, Kyoto

Gontaro is a famous udon noodle restaurant in Kyoto. There are three branches in Kyoto. I went to the main branch located downtown on Fuyacho Dori, between Nishiki market and Shijo Dori.

The restaurant had a Kyoto machiya-style exterior with a stone path leading to an automatic sliding shoji door. The interior is decorated in Sukiya-zukuri architectural style, common in many Japanese tea houses, creating a tranquil ambiance. There was only one waitress dressed in Kimono. She did not speak much English, but she could understand some of the things I said. She was nice and had a smile on her face the whole time.

The restaurant offers a variety of Soba and Udon noodles with some side dishes. The prices are reasonable. There is also an English menu available.

As I was craving fish, I ordered the Nishin udon (¥ 1200), a Kyoto specialty. It is a piece of dried herring placed on top of the udon. At the time, I did not know it was dried herring. On the menu, it stated sweet stewed herring. The soup was delicious, but I did not like the herring. It was dry and chewy. I guess I was not used to eating dried fish.

This is a good place for Soba and Udon noodles if you are in the area.

Gontaro

Website: http://gontaro.co.jp/english/kyoto/index.html

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday except for Wednesday 11:00 AM to 21:00 PM

Telephone: +81 75-221-5810

Address: 604-8053 Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, 麸屋町通四条上ル