酒楽 天 河原町五条店 — Restaurant in Kyoto

A lot to like about this izakaya. They are a very young staff/ owners. I am a total fan and supporter so am biased and providing this feedback hopefully to be helpful. The set up is nice with both bar table and tatami mat seating. They are friendly but perhaps previous bad experiences with overseas customers I think may have become a bit negative on overseas customers (pls don't )

The menu was thorough and has a lot of offerings both food and drinks.

It is a great idea they set expectations about what the izakaya experience is about and the charges etc. A lot of Japanese restaurants are turned off by overseas customers. Sadly it becomes a vicious cycle. Let's make tourism work on both sides. Restaurant experience is as much about showcasing the food as it is about the service, atmosphere and culture. My suggestion to the restaurant is to post your loving note to foreign customers at the entrance. Id also suggest getting a foreign speaker to help make it more welcoming I share this suggestions because I think the experience you offer is great and a little difference in communication delivery may be can make for a different experience on both sides. Wishing you...

I am unable to comment about the food but just wanted to make people aware that once you enter the restaurant and take a seat, there is a charge of 600-700 yen and a minimum order which we were not aware of. We only realised that when we sat down and read the menu. We explained that we only came for drinks as only able to come in for a short time so asked if we could leave without being charged but they politely refused. We left within five minutes of entering the restaurant and paid 1300-1400 for two people.

The food is probably great, but I would advise that the restaurant informs the customer as soon as they walk in, to avoid situation like this. In retrospect there is a signboard at the entrance but not well lit and can be difficult to see...

Lovely little place with awesome food. They have a wide selection of menu, and English menu is available. We ordered their hotpot as weather was cold and enjoyed it very much. Smoking is allowed and we went earlier at 530pm for dinner, because we had kids and we finished our meal early before the drinking/smoking crowd came it. Very thankful to the owners for providing such an authentic...