Le Bon Vivre SHINSHINDO — Restaurant in Kyoto

We picked their most popular dish “omi beef sirloin steak course” at 9.000 yen, advertised at their entrance at the street. Every dish served was near perfection and just the refreshing break needed from the Japanese meals we’ve been through from our travels in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Le Bon Vivre takes parts of Europe and combines it surprisingly well in their own way here. We got a table instantly, the service was fantastic, even though the English/Japanese barrier can be tough. They were attentive throughout the meals and the setting with the illustrations and ambient music was perfect, a nice and relaxing place to dine for any Europeans visiting on this street. Especially the steak and the sides with the sause was top quality. I noticed throughout the meals that several people looked at the dinner card outside, which does not look like much in the passing, but this place has my recommendation, even though their pricing might be higher than usual for Japan, especially their most popular and...

Please note that I adore SHINSHINDO and their baked goods. This review is not a reflection of the bread and sweets that are available throughout Kyoto, as those are 5 stars easily. Rather it is an assessment of the breakfast we had at this location in particular.

Wife had the onion gratin soup and I had the fried egg breakfast sets, and they were absolutely average. The saving grace was the server coming around periodically with a basket full of the wonderful bread and pastries that we enjoy at SHINSHINDOs all over this city.

They must have been quite busy a few minutes before the morning we were there, because the table next to us was empty and stained and a mess with bread crumbs all over. This is not a big deal at a pastry shop, but Le Bon Vivre is supposed to be a restaurant / cafe.

The breakfast set was over priced. We suggest going to the standard SHINSHINDOs and either just getting some pastries/breads or even a light meal at a lower price and in probably a cleaner...

Do NOT go here! The place looks very pleasant, I am sure the food must be nice - however we were not allowed to experience any of that. We walked for 30 minutes to this place based on reviews, only to find that it was closed to the public "because of many hotel guests today." Despite the fact that there were free tables available, I could see them myself. They either need to close to the public completely, or either put up a warning online "be aware that it's possible that you will come to the door and it will be shut in your face because we prefer hotel guests, in which case you can go f- yourself" They said "sorry" but sorry doesn't really solve my problem, does it? We had nothing but wonderful experiences in Japan - except for this place. An absolute disgrace. Felt like Thailand...