There are no doubt so many great places to eat and drink in Kyoto. If you’re struggling to narrow down where to add to your list, I’m here with my favourites to help plan your trip.
As with every trip, I always like to carry out my research in advance to ensure that I have a good idea of where I’d like to eat and drink. That was no different when we were planning to visit Kyoto and I tried to save as many popular coffee shops for my morning flat white, traditional Japanese restaurants and other cool places to eat and drink in Kyoto. It’s always necessary, especially when travelling with a little one, to make sure you have back up options and a few different choices dependent on areas you’re likely to be in.
I’d like to say that when visiting Kyoto, my pre-planning came in handy. I will tell you now that, other than a few cafes and coffee shops and of course Nishiki Market, everywhere else we ate at was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. Things can get overwhelming very quickly in Japan especially when travelling with a toddler and sometimes you just need to jump in somewhere quickly without fussing over online reviews. There are of course plenty of great restaurants, cafes and bars across Japan’s most popular cities and it would be wrong of me to say that this is some kind of round up of the best places to eat and drink in Kyoto. I am not an expert whatsoever, this was our first visit to Japan so this post is simply my collection of the places we ate at and drank at whilst in Kyoto with my wife and toddler. Just a little caveat, we visited in November 2024 and so please note that standards can fluctuate and what we found worked for us might not work for you!
I’ve been really looking forward to sharing my list of places to eat and drink in Kyoto and hopefully you can use this guide to help plan your trip. Also, don’t be afraid to try somewhere just by walking in somewhere and, remember, grabbing some food from a konbini is a must-do when visiting Japan too.
PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK IN KYOTO
MAP
All of the places to eat and drink in Kyoto are included in the map below which hopefully will help when visiting a specific area. Having a few options of where to eat and drink in each location will always help out massively!
HOW TO USE THE MAP | Click the icon in the top left to show the list of all locations. Click on the top right corner of the map to open a larger version in a new tab. The star allows you to save directly to your own Google Maps.
Katsukura Shijo Higashinotoin
This beautiful restaurant was the first place we ate at in Kyoto and it was quite possibly my favourite. It had taken quite a while to get across from Osaka thanks to very unusual delays on the normally efficient train lines. Emma spent a little bit of time frantically researching where to eat and thankfully the staff were more than happy to accommodate us half an hour before closing. It’s all about the katsu and especially tonkatsu here.
We made sure that we went with specialty Japanese pork which was perfectly deep fried with a crunchy panko breadcrumbed exterior and melt in the mouth meat in the middle. The set meal included rice, cabbage and miso soup with free refills available including on the pickles! One little touch that I absolutely loved was the ability to create your own tonkatsu sauce ahead of the main event. You’re each given a mortar and pestle to grind down a set of seeds before mixing in your choice of a normal or spicy base sauce. Incredible!
The children’s set menu was adorable and Evelyn absolutely loved the selection of pork, chicken and prawn katsu along with a Little Mermaid jigsaw that came in handy both that night and plenty more.
Goichi Pizza
By the time we reached Kyoto, we had already realised that pizza was a big deal in Japan; you could grab high quality wood-fired Neapolitan style pizza from all over the city. One evening in Kyoto, we couldn’t decide where to eat. Our energy levels were low and so we needed somewhere relatively close by to our hotel (Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi).
Enter Goichi Pizza. We only waited a short while outside before moving inside to await a table though I must say that was part of the experience. The owner, presumably, came over with his accordion and played Evelyn (and the entire restaurant) a few tunes! What a welcome. My pizza of choice this time out was the Mexicano (nice and spicy though with a little too much lettuce…) and Emma obviously by now chose the Margherita with some fries for us all to share. I really enjoyed this spot both for the pizza and the atmosphere.
Panel Cafe Kyoto
Welcome to Panel Cafe where the permanent line outside the door is definitely worth it. We waited around an hour which is probably pushing it when you have a hungry toddler but this is the place to come for pancakes in Kyoto. Once you’re finally allowed to enter, you immediately have to order so make sure you spend some time in the queue checking out the menu. If you’re lucky you’ll be shown to a table on the balcony with a lovely little view overlooking the Shirakawa Canal.
It was matcha pancakes for me, with a slow-mo effect as you lift off the protective cylinder and the topping covers the pancakes. It was actually delicious too so it’s not just for photos and videos. Emma had the Caramel Banana pancakes and Evelyn had the chocolate soft serve topped crouffles. Yes, crouffles. A crossiant shaped like a waffle! Panel Cafe is definitely one cafe in Kyoto that, if you love sweet treats (and iced coffee), you cannot miss!
Nishiki Market
I am sure that everyone will already have a trip to Nishiki Market on their list and, of course, we were no different. The chance to wander along this covered street market, hopping from stall to stall, grabbing freshly cooked food and drink was something I really looked forward to.
Now it’s fair to say that Nishiki Market is aimed at tourists but that’s not to say that you can’t find decent food and drink at good prices. Yes it’s a little more expensive but it’s definitely an experience that you can’t miss in Kyoto. We started with chicken yakitori freshly grilled over hot charcoal as we waited. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the best start as the chicken was completely raw in the middle. I appreciate that that might be a little more accepted but Emma was completely put off probably with being six months pregnant. I took a chance and had a few more nibbles just to make sure I’d had enough wasabi…
After that however things picked up and we enjoyed freshly fried prawns in panko breadcrumbs and a mix of pork and wagyu beef black dumplings! I would have liked to have tried more foods but I didn’t see any strawberries that had caught my eye online. The 100 yen sake tasting is however an absolute bargain!
So, Nishiki Market, yes very touristy but is a must-do when in Kyoto even if you don’t actually eat that much.
CoCo Ichibanya
Our last night in Kyoto was spent closer to the station so we could easily make our morning shinkansen to Tokyo and that meant we, as always, needed to find somewhere consistently good, accommodating for children and close by. This led us to the largest curry chain in Japan, CoCo Ichibanya, which serves up infamous katsu curries.
The pork tenderloin katsu curry was absolutely delicious even with the addition of a boiled egg on top. I love the customisable nature of each curry with loads of sizes available and your choice of spice level; I went with the base of 300g and regular spiced curry. You can get right up to level 20 which is only available if you have previously eaten a level 15 curry which again can only be attained through progression from level 6-10 after having completed level 5. Level 5 warns that it’s ‘not for the faint hearted. Consider the consequences.’ I love a bit of spice but regular was good enough for me!
Evelyn really surprised here too eating absolutely all of her kids pork katsu curry. She’d always been a bit wary of curries back at home but this has kickstarted her love of Japanese curry!
If you love Japanese curry and want high quality consistently, definitely head to a branch of CoCo Ichibanya. We visited the Minami Ward Hachijo Entrance branch which is only around a 5 minute walk from the south side of Kyoto Station.
Nittodo Kyoto Cafe
On our way to Kiyomizu-dera, we stopped by Nittodo Kyoto Cafe just before opening. I was drawn in immediately thanks to its perfect location directly opposite to Yasaka Pagoda and eye-catching ‘Kyoto Coffee’ logo across the windows. The order of the morning was Hand Drip Coffee, a masterpiece in preparation and something completely different for me as there was no milk so you could really appreciate the taste of the coffee beans. I did enjoy the coffee though I definitely prefer the addition of milk but I was glad to try something new and something that the cafe was well-known for.
Make sure you also take some time to wander around the store too with high quality homewares, clothing and other cool bits and pieces. I came away with a branded mug that instantly transports me back to this peaceful morning in the Higashiyama Ward.
Weekenders Coffee Tominokoji
At the back of a random car park in central Kyoto lies Weekenders Coffee housed in a traditional Japanese building with sliding doors and paper screens. The location seemed odd at first but with the addition of a small garden, it didn’t take long to relax and find a few moments of peace in the middle of the city.
There are only a few drinks to choose from, like pour overs, espresso and cappuccino but I went for the Espresso Blend Caffe Latte which set me back just ¥550 (around £2.70). Well, this was one of my favourite coffees that I had throughout our entire time in Japan plus the little garden made for an incredible backdrop for the photos.
% ARABICA Kyoto Arashiyama
This is quite possibly one of the most famous and well-known of all coffee shops in Kyoto and perhaps even Japan. This coffee shop features on so many visitors’ itineraries that it would have been a bit silly of me to miss it out. Or would it? We arrived in Arashiyama early morning and, despite the cafe only having just opened, there was a lengthy queue that I was sure would go down relatively quickly. Oh no. I regrettably made my six months pregnant wife and two year old toddler wait for an entire hour for a Kyoto latte and a Matcha latte. Poor Evelyn didn’t even get a new drink, just her water from under the stroller!
Despite waiting for an hour, the views from inside the coffee shop are incredible overlooking the Katsura River and the coffee, specifically the Kyoto latte, was also well worth it. FYI, the Kyoto latte was created by % Arabica (a popular coffee chain originating in Hong Kong) and features a shot of espresso topped with steamed milk and a splash of condensed milk. It’s really really good.
Other Options
Ok, so you’re going to have to stick with me on this one especially if you’re travelling to Japan with kids. I promise that there will be times that you need somewhere relatively familiar, quick and easy for those unexpected toddler tantrums caused by hunger. That is where McDonalds came in for us. I don’t feel it lessens the experience of travelling all the way to Japan because, ultimately, when travelling with kids (especially toddlers) you are literally trying to deal with the same things as home. So when the tantrum hits or when you literally need somewhere to eat quickly, don’t be afraid to head somewhere familiar like McDonalds to simple get the job done. Evelyn’s first ever experience of McDonalds was actually in Osaka on our first night in Japan; shattered and over-stimulated we simply took the easy option before diving straight into bed.
Another option that I probably should put on every list is that you will, at some point in your trip, head into a konbini whether for a coffee to-go, lunch or a dessert run before heading back to your hotel. You all know what I’m talking about, trips into Lawson, 7/11 and Family Mart are essential rituals for any visitor to Japan. It just hits differently than perhaps heading into a Tesco Express in England…
My favourite konbini was Family Mart and, in terms of food and drink, I loved the 7/11 egg sandos, spicy famichiki, tuna mayo onigiri, fresh fruit and raiding the chest freezers for desserts. We often grabbed a quick and cheap lunch to refuel before heading on to our next spot.
And with that, we are finished! I can’t tell you just how hungry I am having to put all of these thoughts down. If you’re heading to Japan soon, I really hope that my guide to my favourite places to eat and drink in Kyoto helps to plan your trip. If you have any thoughts or recommendations of your own, feel free to leave a comment below!
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