20. Kyoto's (very) Little Italy (Downtown Kyoto)—Ken
A few blocks West of Oike station, in one of my favorite parts of Kyoto, you might just stumble across a narrow North-South block with Italian flags hanging on either side.On a day that Biotei was closed for lunch, we walked into what must be the littlest little Italy. We had our pick of two restaurants, and chose the nice looking place on the East side of the street. I wish we remembered the name.
The block is Sakaimachi-dori, between Sanjo-dori and Anekoji-dori, a block and a half south of Oike-dori.
Through the front door, there's an open kitchen with chefs tossing pizzas and a great authentic Italian smell. The palce was so good we came back for dinner another night, taking a break from Japanese food.
For lunch, Kathryn had a salad, while I got a cheeseless veggie pizza (going off-menu). Our waiter was really sweet, and he nailed the Italian transliterations gracefully.
When we came back for dinner I got some kind of delicious pasta with tomato and basil, while Kathryn got a pizza. The food was really delicious, but the pico pasta portion left me peco-peco.
—Ken