% Arabica Higashiyama ★ 4.3
The minimalist white-tile espresso bar that put Kyoto on the global coffee-tourism map. Slayer-pulled lattes and the Hokkaido Slayer milk programme.
23 cafe places in Kyoto we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Kyoto | Cafe across every city.
The cafe is where Kyoto's tea heritage and its modern coffee scene sit side by side. % Arabica Higashiyama and Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto draw the specialty-coffee crowd, while Kurasu Kyoto and Ogawa Coffee Sakaimachi Nishikikoji keep the roastery end serious. For the matcha tradition, Gion Tsujiri, Kagizen Yoshifusa and Marukyu Koyamaen Nishinotoin pour the city's tea, and old kissaten like Smart Coffee and Inoda Coffee Honten hold the line on the classic style.
About Us Coffee ★ 4.3
About Us in Nakagyo in Kyoto is a 90-year machiya specialty coffee bar opened 2025 between Sanjo Shopping Street and Nijo Castle, hojicha basque, lemon pound.
OrderHojicha basque cheesecake with the day's filter pairing.
TipSecond floor is the quiet dining room. Wait at the counter for hand-drip orders.
Kurasu Kyoto ★ 4.4
A cafe-and-coffee-equipment showroom five minutes from Kyoto Station. Single O Japan beans and rotating pour-over methods at a quiet machiya counter.
Smart Coffee ★ 4.4
A 1932 kissaten in Kyoto's Teramachi arcade. House-roasted coffee, hotcakes that haven't changed since the Showa era and the city's reference morning set.
Inoda Coffee Honten ★ 4.5
A 1940-founded kissaten in a Karasuma machiya, the city's most photographed coffee terrace. Egg-and-sausage breakfasts, Arabian Pearl as the house blend.
Ippodo Kaboku Tea Room ★ 4.6
Ippodo's tasting room on Teramachi, Kyoto, opened by the tea merchant founded in 1717. Located in Karasuma Kawaramachi. Order the ceremonial-grade matcha set.
Gion Tsujiri ★ 4.3
The Gion outpost of the 1860 Uji tea-merchant Tsujiri, opening for matcha parfaits and matcha soba until 20:00, the latest such room in Higashiyama Kyoto.
Marukyu Koyamaen Nishinotoin ★ 4.4
Marukyu Koyamaen's Kyoto tasting room on Nishinotoin, run by the Uji tea house founded 1704. Sit in a sashed garden tatami room and order matcha by farm.
Kagizen Yoshifusa ★ 4.6
An 18th-century wagashi maker on Shijo-dori with a tatami tea room behind the storefront. Tsukimi rabbit jellies and the most quoted kuzukiri in Kyoto.
Fukujuen Kyoto Honten ★ 4.2
A six-floor Uji-tea house on Shijo-dori, Kyoto. Tea blending in the basement classroom, a soba-and-matcha lunch on the second, hojicha creme brulee on top.
Yugen Kyoto ★ 4.4
A modern matcha cafe and tasting room on Sanjo-dori, Kyoto. Matcha and hojicha by farm, plus the city's best Kyoto-style cold milk-matcha programme.
Alt. Coffee Roasters ★ 4.3
Alt. in Nakagyo in Kyoto is a one-woman specialty coffee shop, ex-dietician owner roasting her own beans, daily batch brew and a single counter inside.
OrderDaily batch brew of the rotating single origin on the chalk board.
TipSix seats; the owner roasts and pours. Closed Tuesdays. Cash and IC card only.
Akatsuki Coffee ★ 4.4
A husband-and-wife cafe near Ichijoji in north Kyoto, with a no-laptops policy. Weekenders beans on the pour-over and homemade cakes refreshed daily.
Dot.S ★ 4.2
An espresso bar and Smart Car showroom in Okazaki, Kyoto, beside the National Museum of Modern Art. Single O Japan and And Coffee Roasters on rotation.
Vermillion Espresso Bar ★ 4.3
Australian-style espresso steps from Fushimi Inari's main torii gate in Kyoto. Flat whites and a sister cafe by the pond at the foot of Mount Inariyama.
Nakamura Tokichi Kyoto Station ★ 4.4
The Kyoto Station outpost of the 1854 Uji tea-house Nakamura Tokichi. The Maruto parfait, matcha or hojicha, is the depachika's standing all-day queue.
Walden Woods Kyoto ★ 4.2
A white-on-white cafe in Shimogyo, Kyoto, named for Thoreau. Stepped wood platforms, espresso tonics, lattes and a quiet morning-only oat-milk programme.
Rokuyosha Chika-ten ★ 4.3
A red-walled basement kissaten on Sanjo Kawaramachi in Kyoto since 1950. Cinnamon-toast morning sets, smoked-glass lamps and zero modern interruption.
Ogawa Coffee Sakaimachi Nishikikoji ★ 4.1
A 1952 Kyoto roaster's flagship. Ogawa runs filter-and-espresso service and a roastery showcase one block from Nishiki Market; the local third-wave default.
Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto ★ 4.3
Blue Bottle's Kyoto cafe, set in a converted machiya beside Nanzen-ji. Single-origin pour-over, Hario filter on the bar and a wagashi-pairing programme.
Wife and Husband ★ 4.4
A Showa-styled coffee roastery in Kita, Kyoto, run by a married couple. Hand-drip beans, homemade cake and picnic-basket loans for the nearby Kamogawa banks.
TipPicnic-basket programme runs at lunch. Best on a sunny Saturday morning.
Akatsuki Coffee No Laptops ★ 4.4
A husband-and-wife pour-over cafe in north Kyoto's Ichijoji neighbourhood. Weekenders Coffee beans, homemade cakes and a no-laptops policy at the counter.
TipNo laptops policy; come for the cake and stay for the slow drip.
Smart Coffee Hotcakes ★ 4.3
Smart Coffee in Kyoto serves the city's best Showa-era hotcake morning set under 1,200 yen. Tamago sando, coffee and a pillow-thick pancake to start the day.
OrderHotcake morning set
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