3 japanese izakaya places in Kyoto we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Kyoto | Japanese Izakaya across every city.
The izakaya is Kyoto's after-dark workhorse, a place to drink and graze rather than dine formally. Kirakutei, Ponshya Santoku and Gono Go Kawaramachi Sanjo anchor the scene around Karasuma-Kawaramachi, with Gono Go's late-night counter pulling the post-midnight crowd.
Kirakutei ★ 4.1
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0843, Japan
An izakaya in Kyoto pairing fresh seafood from Maizuru Port with Kyotamba chicken plates. Karasuma-side address, almost everything under 1,000 yen.
Ponshya Santoku ★ 4.3
karasuma-kawaramachi · Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8077, Japan
A standing-counter sake bar and oden room in a renovated Kyoto machiya. Chicken-paitan oden broth, 30-sake list and the Japanese-only blackboard menu.
Gono Go Kawaramachi Sanjo ★ 4.0
karasuma-kawaramachi · Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8004, Japan
A rare late-night izakaya in Kyoto that runs until 05:00 most days. Slow-cooked pork trotter, oden plates and the after-shift crowd from Pontocho counters.