Pettirosso Kyoto — Restaurant in Kyoto

Pettirosso bills itself as a modern Izakaya restaurant and wine bar. We found it to be a nice, casual place with wine and generally Italian / Mediterranean food restaurant with good options for vegetarians and gluten-free folks. And there are many organic options as well.

We were seated immediately at a table downstairs with a nice view of the small kitchen and the food being prepared in it. When other diners came in they were immediately sent upstairs to eat. I’m not sure if tourists like us don’t get to go upstairs, or if we had the better end of the deal, but either way, our experience was good.

We ordered the dinner set which limits your entree choice to just a few choices which was a little disappointing as the entree I wanted was not included intros choices.

I had the Biodynamic Italian Red wine which was well matched to the meal.

The dinner set started with a pumpkin carrot soup. It was served cold with fresh broccoli and mushrooms. It was vegan and quite tasty and refreshing.

Then a wooden plate came out with four vegan tapas, salad, and homemade bread. All the tapas were a Japanese/Mediterranean fusion and they included a delicious humus, pickled “things,” and a tofu omelet which was the best Japanese omelet I had while in the country. The greens and taro root were delicious and had a nice texture to them.

The board came with a big salad which was very fresh and included a citrus dressing, topped with cracked pepper. This was also delicious.

The homemade bread (not gluten-free) was out of control good.

I had selected the Zucchini main. It’s a small portion of 2 pieces, topped with a smokey cheese. I’m generally not a zucchini guy (again I would have picked a different entree that wasn’t available with this dinner set, but this was delicious. No regrets!

We enjoyed watching the chef cook and the atmosphere, in general, was good with cool music playing. If you’re in Kyoto and looking for thoughtfully prepared food, an alternative to straight-up Japanese cuisine, and good vegetarian...

What a gem of a café! So glad we were able to dine here for lunch despite having no reservations. Thoroughly enjoyed All our Mains as well as the dessert - Mont blanc which was wholesome without a load of sugar. 💚💚 Prices were reasonable and value for money for the quality of food. Café was cosy, with very small capacity. Pretty much only a few tables and a bar top that could fit another 3 people. Best to have a reservation before heading down..! I'm not sure if they accept an English reservation by phone though.

Date of visit: 13 April 2024

Update: [Date of 2nd visit: 2 October 2024] If i could give 6 stars for PettiRosso here, i would. Having gone back a second time the quality of the food were still as good as i remembered. Super rare in Japan to find such quality vegan food that is not only thoughtfully crafted with care and skill but at a very reasonable price for what they offer. One could sense the genuine passion of the folks running this little cosy cafe in doing what they do.

I need to also mention the chocolate tart which i absolutely love. I left feeling thoroughly satisfied and happy with my lunch, and told myself that i have to make a stop here if/when i visit Kyoto again.

I made a reservation via instagram this time, and would strongly recommend that to avoid disappointment. By the way, they have english menus but i did not request for that as i could read some japanese. I’m a foreigner (who could speak basic japanese) but were received warmly for both my visits.

Thank...

Pettirosso is a perfect, calm restaurant with exceptional food and kind service. I enjoyed finding this restaurant, a little off-the-beaten path and tucked away in a mainly residential neighborhood in the Kita Ward. If you are looking for a restaurant with high-quality food, a reasonable wait-time and serene ambiance, definitely check out this restaurant! It’s really close to the Kyoto Botanical Gardens and the Kamogawa Park if you want to plan an afternoon around this area. We ended up walking from here to the Kinkaku-ji Shrine after our meal, which was a bit of a walk but we also got to see the Obai-In and Daitoku-ji Temples on our way after we ate our lunch at Pettirosso.

As for our meal, my husband and I got the lunch set here with the veggie cutlet main dish. Our meal started off with a delicious, well-balanced edamame soup. Then the main plate was served with perfectly cooked rice, a fresh greens and radish salad, a hearty stew, a seaweed and sprouts salad, a roasted slice of zucchini squash and a sauteed cabbage. Everything tasted really good and you can tell it was all cooked with patience and care.

Pettirosso stands out in our memory of places we dined at in Kyoto, and if we ever have the means of visiting Kyoto in the future, we would love to...