Bar Rocking Chair ★ 4.5
A speakeasy cocktail bar in a Nakagyo machiya in Kyoto, opened by ex-Saint Germain bartender Yamada-san. Counter seats nine; reservations strongly advised.
Signature drink: Smoked old fashioned
Food: Snacks
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Kyoto for grown-ups.
Where to drink
Bee's Knees Kyoto ★ 4.3
A Prohibition-styled speakeasy bar in Nakagyo Kyoto, hidden behind a yellow 'Book Store' door. Cocktails built on local spirits and organic ingredients.
Signature drink: Cocktails with local spirits
Food: Snacks and small plates
Stilllife at Ace Hotel Kyoto ★ 4.0
Ace Hotel Kyoto's lobby bar inside the Shin-Puh-Kan complex. Yuzu Negroni and Japanese-spirit cocktails plus a small Japanese-wine list, open to non-guests.
Signature drink: Yuzu Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Ritz-Carlton Bar ★ 4.1
The bar at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto on the Kamogawa, glass-walled toward the river. Kyoto Sour cocktail uses local plum wine; bar bento at evening service.
Signature drink: Kyoto Sour
Food: Bar snacks and bento
Yamabuki Craft Beer Bar ★ 4.1
A 12-tap craft-beer bar in Nakagyo, Kyoto, focused on local breweries. Kyoto Brewing Company, Far Yeast Brewing and rotating guest taps from Kansai.
Signature drink: Kyoto Brewing tap pour
Food: Snacks
Before9 ★ 4.2
A two-story bar in a Karasuma-Oike machiya in Kyoto serving craft beer and artisanal sake side by side. A small Japanese-spirit cocktail menu on tap rotation.
Signature drink: Local-craft tap flight with artisanal sake
Food: Snacks
Bungalow Bar ★ 4.3
A 10-tap craft-beer bar in a Shijo-Horikawa machiya in Kyoto. Japanese taps only, a French and European bistro plate menu, open from afternoon through late.
Signature drink: Japanese craft beer tap
Food: French bistro plates
Kyoto Beer Lab Tap Room ★ 4.4
The on-brewery tap room of Kyoto Beer Lab on the Takase-gawa in Shimogyo. Eight house taps, pizzas from a wood oven, riverside terrace seating in summer.
Signature drink: House IPA
Food: Pizza and snacks