Pontocho district, Kyoto

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If you're up for sushi and feel like trying it a bit more exclusive than a conveyor belt, head for Ponto-cho and have a set meal at one of the terraces. Classy and a treat for the tastebuds!

If you dont feel like a set meal and paying extra for sitting on the terrace the food is just as good indoors. Ask to sit at the counter to see the chefs in action!

This is French cooking at its finest. Chef Teruo Inoue studied under the masters in France before returning to start his own restaurant, beautifully situated on the Pontocho lane with its own terrace overlooking the Kamo River. The food is exquisite - and don't forget the chocolates which are the best I have ever tasted (only available in the cool months)

Favorite Dish: All dishes are sublime. The terrine shown here gives you an idea

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In 2006, I was very lucky to be taken to an eatery on Pontocho-dori in Kyoto by Japanese hosts. The restaurant/bar I went to was called Ponto. It was an Izakaya style restaurant. More like a tapas bar, than a restaurant, the place was brilliant! A bar surrounded a cooking area, dominated by a hot plate. Dishes were ordered by my host that included succulent sashimi, sizzling beef balls, vegetable dishes, and tofu dishes. Beer, sake and other Japanese beverages were available. The place had a few tables next to windows overlooking the river. The bar/counter was the best place to sit and feel like a local though!

Favorite Dish: I enjoyed everything I had. In true Japanese fashion (it seems), lots of small plates of different types of food made up the meal and were shared by the whole party.

This restaurant was right near Ponto Cho, a narrow walkway lined with restaurants and bars, at the entrance to the underground. It serves pork cutlets almost exclusively...and they are excellent! We ate there every other day during our stay in Kyoto.

Favorite Dish: When you are served a pork cutlet they will bring you a ponzo sauce and a seperate bowl of sesame seeds. You must grind the seeds into a powder and mix it with the ponzo sauce. It's very tastey! Now, I'm not quite sure I got this description right but I assure you this is a great dinner!

Eating in Japan can be daunting at times as many places have only Japanese writing on the outside. Difficult to know if you will be able find something you like and then communicate it. For a more expensive dinner we found the very foreigner friendly restaurant called the Four Seasons Restaurant which is on the Sanjoyou Dori not far from the Pig and Whistle and the subway. Meals whilst not for the budget traveller were not too expensive either. The restaurant is extremely stylish and modern with sunken tables. The food was delicious. We had an English menu and an English speaking Chinese waitress who was delightful. On checking out the website of this restaurant I found other restaurants and bars that must also be run by the same people that would be worth checking out.

Favorite Dish: We had a squid salad, (can't remember the name) that was delicious. All of the food was "Gochiso-sama deshta".
Really is worth saying this if you enjoyed the meal, we found the Japanese were thrilled when I said this.

There are a lot of restaurants along this Ponto-Cho narrow narrow street!
This street is running along with Kamo-gawa river and in summer,some of them offer riverside open air terrace!
You'll find not only Japanese restaurant but also some French, Italian,Chinese etc.

An Izakaya - a Japanese pub. This particular one is rather affordable (most dishes 500Yen) in spite of being located on Ponto-cho. The servings are small and usually things like fried eggplant or chicken satays, ordered to go with your beer.

A nice experience to have some real sushi and raw seafood, without paying too much. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but you have maybe a hundred to choose, all along the street. Not all the restaurants welcome foreigners (that's what some guides say), but your main problem will be just to understand japaneese, if you want to know what are you asking for dinner :) Try "o-makase shimasu" if in trouble ("decide for me"). Anyway, everything was excelent.

Favorite Dish: Different kinds of raw fish with some smooth sauces, some salmon eggs... hmmm... superb tastes!