Kacto — Restaurant in Kyoto

It’s clear that the ingredients are super fresh and it shows with the deliciousness of the food! Sat outside with a nice breeze on an overcast day, great location right on the river there and a visually pleasing design in the restaurant. Both the smoked salmon toast and pancakes were phenomenal. The menu options and atmosphere definitely catered to the American tourist, which is fair considering the contrast between a western breakfast and traditional Japanese breakfast, and ultimately the reason why me and my brother came here because we couldn’t find any other smoked salmon breakfast spots haha. With this in mind, it’s fair that they’re playing music that you’d typically hear on the radio in America, even Canada, but I think I can speak for others as well when I say I don’t like to feel like I’m right back at home when I’m on vacation! I think there’s better options for what music is being played, like maybe some traditional music to Japan. It’s best when it is calm and soothing, especially for a breakfast spot, and can be played quietly in the background and be a pleasant sound. I believe this would add to the serenity of this already beautiful location on the river in Kyoto. I understand the inclination towards western things, and maybe some people actually like hearing that music when they’re in foreign countries, but that’s just my two...

We had a wonderful experience here on Feb 3rd, just a couple days after opening! My husband and I were looking for a nice dinner out in Kyoto, and after checking out the menu outside we were very warmly greeted by staff at the door. We had a great seat at the upstairs bar with a view of the canal below.

Our servers were all wonderful throughout, and put up with our poor nihongo (all staff had great English for those who wonder, we just tried to use our sub par Japanese as best as possible). We were even greeted kindly by one of the team members involved in the menu design who was there helping with the restaurant launch and took us through some of the dishes.

The food is Japanese fused with North American style and is TO DIE FOR. It was one of our favourite meals of our 18 day trip in Japan. Well executed techniques combined with beautiful flavours throughout the meal.

It was also a real treat to have some wonderful California wines to enjoy with our steak, just to switch things up from our usual sake and beer choices.

We felt the portion sizes and prices were more than appropriate for the wonderful level of service and excellent food.

Highly recommend Kacto for a nice...

First off, unfortunately Japan is known for their long queues at anything that is even remotely popular. I’m not sure how popular this place is, but it really should be! What I loved about their queuing system is that you don’t have to wait in line like most other cafes ask you to do. You simply scan a QR code and you’ll both see your position in the queue and know when your turn is, also you can receive an email alert to notify you once it’s ready if you wish. The view of the cafe (during Sakura season) was superb as it overlooked a road filled with Sakura. The food, pancakes and coffee. Three words: Wow, wow, wow! The staff are incredibly friendly and speak English! The menu is online and you order through the phone so it makes the process so simple. Loved it from start (that I could go around town and come back when it was our turn) to the end...