Ichikawaya Coffee — Restaurant in Kyoto

Wow. Ichikawaya Coffee is quite excellent! My sister and I got there around 1 pm (they are only open for breakfast and lunch) and we had to wait less than 10 minutes for a seat by the bar (which is a cool place to sit since you can watch the staff make your meal in front of you!). We both got their Omurice (egg rice with demi-glace) set with iced coffee and we split their seasonal fruit sando (sandwich with sweet cream). The omurice is incredible. As someone who grew up with a Japanese mom in Los Angeles and enjoyed homemade omurice, this was on the same level as my mom’s! The coffee was the best I’ve had in Japan. My sister got the hot coffee which she loved too. The fruit sando was peach, which was lovely. The peach was very sweet and juicy, the bread was soft. The only thing I would say was I wish there was a little more cream, but it’s house made and theirs someone diligently whisking it up in front of you, so it is fresh. All in all, this is a great spot for breakfast and lunch and I would definitely come again. The service and staff are great, but I have a four star since they didn’t refill my...

It’s a cute neighborhood cafe on the east side of the river in a quiet area. Not much else around it and it’s a bit pricey for what you get. I’m really not sure why there’s a 30-45 minute wait. If we return to Kyoto, I probably wouldn’t come again unless there was no wait time and I was walking to a temple for sightseeing or visiting Sannenzaka area.

I do appreciate they roast their own coffee beans but the drink menu is very simple. No varieties of coffees or speciality drinks to try, not even any alternative milks.

No fault of the cafe but we should’ve realized it’s a bit of a tourist trap. I think people come to eat the fruit cream sandwiches, which are good for Instagram but nothing out of the ordinary.

The other brunch foods were fine but also very ordinary. Omelette rice, egg sandwich were all good but you can find these all over Kyoto, without having to wait in line.

Service was very good, as you’d expect in Kyoto - friendly and fast once...

They price themselves pretty aggressively (¥1270) for a tamago sandwich and a dainty cup of tea, so expectations were high. Unfortunately, the food was exceedingly average, with neither the egg nor bread being particularly different from the thousand other kissaten around, which is a pity at this price.

Kyoto is Japan’s ground zero for tamago sandos. Some are rich and creamy, some are huge and fluffy, but this one is merely o-kay. The bread has a simple texture, as if it came out of one of those old-school bakeries that have not kept up with Kyoto’s world class bakery scene. As I ate here, I was wistfully thinking of all the other fantastic breads I’ve had in days prior (Fiveran, Petit Mec, 2f, Mori Mori, Point Pour Point, ...), and felt a sense of pity.

Although the staff are prompt and friendly, I see no reason to return. The place was swarming with tourists as I left, which was...