Loved by Kyoto People -- INODA COFFEE
One of the reasons that I enjoy visiting cafes in Japan is because every café has its own characteristics. Standing out among the enormous number of cafés to become a popular and representative café is not easy. However, there is a successful one in Kyoto – INODA COFFEE.
INODA COFFEE is one of the most representative cafés of Kyoto, being loved by Kyoto people. There are 6 shops in Kyoto, and there are also shops in other cities all over Japan. The café is famous for its breakfast menu item “京の朝食 (the breakfast of Kyoto)”, which matches perfectly with the café’s slogan written on its homepage, “Good morning from Kyoto, Inoda Coffee.” On weekend mornings, you probably need to wait for seats if you don’t arrive early. Even though the breakfast menu is the popular menu, on weekday mornings, for a sleepyhead employee like me, I don’t have the time to enjoy breakfast leisurely in a café; on weekend mornings, I’d rather to sleep until I wake up by myself; I don’t want to wake up early just for breakfast. So I choose to go for tea time instead. The café is famous for its coffee, too, anyway.
I went to the main shop in Sanjo. The outside design of the shop is quite interesting. The entrance and the right-hand side is built in an antique machiya style; the left-hand side is stylish design in white with a glass showcase. I thought they were 2 different shops at the first glance. The interior is very spacious, with 2 floors. The ground floor is even divided into outdoor garden seats, while the indoor area has seats in the old wing, seats in the memorial room and regular seats. I was so lucky that I was sitting in the memorial room as I love retro style very much.
I ordered apple pie and the signature coffee “アラビアの真珠 (Arabia Pearl)”. Apple pies from different shops sometimes vary quite a lot as so many different versions are derived from the original style. The apple pie served in this café is the original style. Apple flesh filled up the pastry giving a light taste as the sweetness of apple was managed well. INODA COFFEE is different from some other cafes in that it serves coffee with milk and sugar added already before serving it to customers. The staff will ask your preference when you order, so if you don’t want any milk or sugar, you’d better tell the staff in advance. This was my first time visiting, and I wanted to try the perfect proportion of milk and sugar served by the shop, so I didn’t request to have milk and sugar served separately. The aroma was great and the taste was strong, but since I like coffee with less sugar, it might be better if I added it on my own… And also personally it tasted a little acidic. My preference for bitter coffee might also be one of the reasons probably…
I’ve already tried the famous coffee of this shop. As for breakfast, may be next time… if I can wake up early on weekend mornings. LOL
株式会社KINSHA