Bar Ixey — Restaurant in Kyoto

Wonderful bar experience! Bar Ixey is tucked away on an upper floor in a quiet building - not quite a speakeasy, but feels like one. The owner is also the bartender and chats with you to find out your cocktail preferences, then makes you a drink based on what he thinks you’ll like, often utilizing herbal infusions he makes himself.

We each had two drinks - a Japanese whiskey sour for me followed by his signature absinthe drink, and for my wife a fruit-forward cocktail followed by one of the best piña coladas either of us had tried. I’d highly recommend this experience for anyone who enjoys cocktails and interesting bars.

The ambience is great as well - it’s a dark, wood paneled bar, almost like a library for liquor. Tastfully decorated, and well stocked with beautiful glassware as well. The bartender is fluent in English for you fellow anglophones and is a very knowledgeable and interesting person to talk to. There was also plenty of conversation among the patrons too; it’s a nice, small but social environment, while not being too loud.

Not a cheap bar, but a great bar. I’d highly recommend a stop for anyone looking for a memorable...

Excellent bar with a cocktail specialty involving herbs and things but if you're not into herbs don't worry because they don't really make a thing of it and even if there were some in there it'd be subtle notes and you'd enjoy the heck out of it anyway. No menu generally, tell the bartender a few things you like in terms of flavours and drinks and they'll come up with something, everything I had was great, there's an abundance of rarer cocktail liquors and spirits. It's a few stories up, 3F, you won't see the sign looking at the building from the ground level but it there's a sign on the street somewhere with little hints if you don't know japanese, check Google map photos for it. If you see a bottle shop downstairs then you're probably at the right building and just climb the stairs up. Small bar, limited seating, you might need to arrange for a few seats to be reserved for you earlier if you plan to go after dinner but I managed to find a spot on walk-in without issue and another group cancelled so I wasn't rushed to make my seat available, which can happen at these types of bars. But drinks - fantastic. Highly...

I see I'll be echoing a few other reviews when I say, I never would have expected to return to the same bar thrice while in a city so riddled with cocktail bars during a short 10 day stay, but nary one regret! Hiroaki Oda is truly a master of his craft: every drink I sampled was truly exceptional. My go to cocktail is a last word, and based off this preference, each drink was more delicious and educational than the last: Oda is a font of knowledge in regards to herbal liqueurs and their histories. Beyond that, conversation was natural and welcoming: the way each patron was made to feel at home was hospitality at its best. Special highlights included trying fresh Sansho from Wakayama (curiously bergamot in profile) and then enjoying a gimlet made from the same. 10/10,...