Friday, March 2, 2012

Pontocho Eating and Drinking ぽんとちょ



Hello! You can now find this post HERE at 



6 comments:

  1. That karaage and nama yuba look good enough to hop on a plane and come over for!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jane. We tried so hard to find the first food joint but no luck. Do you have a name for the restaurant?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Apologies - I don't have a name for it!! Actually I was around there a few weeks ago and noticed that even more places are displaying veggies out the front - just to confuse things. I changed the text above to say look for the red painted ingredient - rather than the fish. The sign likely changes for seasonal specialties but at the time (a few years ago now) I thought it was a signature of the restaurant... If you are super keen - I'd take a photo with your phone of this photo - take it with you and compare the display/lamps/chalkboards or the actual building itself. It is of course possible that this place has moved on - so I will check next time I am down there. I heard that AJIRO has also changed its name recently but it is in the same spot with the same menu? It is my preferred spot around there if you are keen to try it? Head north up Pontocho until you come to a bike parking area on your left (west)and a small park on your right through which you can see the river. Go past the park and this restaurant is the first one on your left. On the corner of a slim alleyway. Also - further up, in the short street to the left/west - just before you reach the final left hand/western alley - you will find Hiro - a great yakiniku (grilled beef)place which I'll be writing about soon. Good luck!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jane. Thanks for the details. We managed to find Ajori last night but the place was booked out. We have made a booking for tonight though. Instead for dinner last night we found this quaint little restaurant near Gion corner called Abesses. French inspired Japanese cuisine. For about AUD$50, we got an amazing 6 course meal. We were the only ones there as it was a weeknight but during the course of our dinner the maitre d was getting lots of phone calls for weekend bookings. I'm vegetarian (no fish) but that was no issue for them; they came up with some really exotic dishes which just shows how much they care for their customers. I'm not surw when you'll be back in Kyoto but i'd highly recommend you visit this place at least once.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Anand, I am glad you found Ajiro (or whatever it is now called - hope you like it - it's casual but decent food). And I'm so glad you went to Abesses.. I have walked past so many times and thought about going in but for some reason just haven't. It is on my 'to go to' list - so thank you for the heads up! I'm back in Kyoto in October so will check it out then if I have time. Thanks! Actually in that street or the next is a serene little cafe and bar called Niti which I highly recommend and have posted about it on here previously. If you are still in town and in that area head there for a cuppa or a glass of something. Oh - and they do a kakigori - the shaved ice treat which looks really good. They have a very green and lovely inner garden to ponder on too. Enjoy the rest of your trip and thanks for the feedback. J

    ReplyDelete