Common Well — Restaurant in Kyoto

I came here yesterday and the staff were very welcoming with good food, warm welcoming atmosphere, and services. The yogurt was especially tasty and with homemade style.

Today I am picking up an order at Nishiki market and visited the store again. At first the staff was very nice; I ordered two long black coffee with oat milk on the side (specified that I am ok with additional fee). When the oat milk was served, I asked for one more order. I think the staff mistakenly thought I misunderstood it as a single order, which is fine. I didn’t like the attitude of the reply and the assumption though. I tried to just stick with the original order and not asked for more. But then I decided to a second attempt: I went to one of the staff and this time, specified that I want to order one more order of the same two portion oat milk. I waited until the coffee is getting cold: this is when I start to get pissed off. I went back to the lady who seemed to understood my order at the beginning and told her I wanted one more order and already told the other staff. And after all the surprised reaction I finally got the oat milk but didn’t want to drink the coffee anymore. Worst experience I have ever had in many visits to Japan with...

I tried the cheeseburger and didn’t like it. There was really nothing special about it. The onions were raw (it’s better when it’s confit), there was barely no sauce, etc. It was a very boring burger. And the meat was too salty. The fries were highly disappointing as well. After looking at the pictures I was expecting potato wedges, but no, it was some very thin, obviously frozen and not homemade fries. As all of the other reviews commented, it was very small as well (think kid’s menu size). So, considering the taste and size, it was highly overpriced.

The service was not good either, which is even more disappointing considering that in Japan it’s quite important. When I entered the shop the waiter was on the phone, I didn’t even get a hello or good evening. He took a while to put down his phone. I don’t mind waiting but a little acknowledgment wouldn’t hurt… it was also complicated to get water, I really had to seek the waiter’s attention…

So to conclude, if you’re reading this review and you’re a foreigner, let this be your reminder that even though you might be craving a burger 1- this is not the place 2- you’re in Japan, so go enjoy some delicious...

The only thing I didn’t like while being at Common Well was that I’d only found it on my very last day in Kyoto! Otherwise I would’ve come here every single day — I literally had the best vegan breakfast. Finding vegan breakfast (food generally for that matter) isn’t always an easy task in Japan and so most of time I went to Starbucks cos I knew at least they’ll have something plant based. But luckily I found this gem of a cafe! I had the vegan breakfast platter and it was genuinely one of the most amazing meals I had during my stay in Japan. It came with very tasty bread (and I’m German — I know tasty bread!), soy ,meat’ balls in a tomato sauce, some fritter (I believe it was pumpkin), fried aubergine, a very tasty salad, a small soup, and some fruity granola on a yoghurt alternative. The platter also includes a drink so I got the seasonal special (I forgot what it was called, but it was v tasty!). It was seriously so good, I cannot recommend going there enough! The staff was also very friendly and spoke good...