Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden

Early one morning, I unexpectedly had to kill some time in Arashiyama. I often use McDonald’s, but there is no McDonald’s in the Arashiyama area. I searched the Internet and happened to find a cafe called Bread, Espresso, and Arashiyama Garden that was open from 8:00 a.m. I thought, “Oh, that’s lucky!” I immediately headed to the cafe, but it was actually a very popular place. I didn’t know that…

Bread, Espresso, and Arashiyama Garden is a cafe renovated from a Kyoto City-designated cultural asset built in 1809…

I arrived at Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden around 8:10 that morning. I first tried to go from the Keifuku Arashiyama Station side through the Tenryuji Temple grounds, but I got lost and had to go out to the Katsura River to access the cafe from the Hogonin side, which made me a little late from the opening time. Well, it was raining that day, so there was no line of people waiting in line early in the morning. I was not the first one to enter the cafe, but was able to enter easily without any waiting time.

The building of this café is the former Kobayashi Family Residence, an old private house with a thatched roof built in the 6th year of Bunka (1809). It is a building designated as a cultural asset by the city of Kyoto, as is said to have many important materials remaining to understand what it was like when it was built. Well, personally, I was more surprised by the fact that a Kyoto City-designated cultural asset could be used by the private sector than by the historical significance of the building…

Perhaps the fact that the building is a “Kyoto-designated cultural asset” had an influence, but even though the building has been renovated, it is really minimal, and as far as I could see from the seating area, the space was almost exactly the same as an old private house from the past. The tatami mats have been beautifully re-covered, and the pillars and walls looked clean, but the atmosphere of a 200+ year old house was not destroyed at all, making it a very relaxing space. The number of seats is small for the size of the building (36 in total), so you can stretch your legs on the tatami mats without hitting other customers. The garden seen from the window through the thatched roof (not so large as to be called a garden) is well maintained and a feast for the eyes, and it really feels like I am back in the countryside. If the situation permits, I would love to stay here for an hour or two.

Seasonal Hot Dog Set: Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden’s morning menu is generally overpriced? But hey…

Well, this time I ordered one of the morning menus, the Seasonal Hot Dog Set (price: 1,800 yen including tax) at Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden. For this price, you can add one of the drinks from the designated drink menu to the set. Yes, this restaurant has introduced mobile ordering, and if you are on LINE, you can skip ordering whenever you like from the QR code below without having to stop the waiter. Well, I’m not on LINE, so I just called out to the waiter and asked for my order like normal…

Aside from that, after finishing the order, it took about 5 minutes to wait for my cappuccino, which I ordered as a set, to be delivered first, and a few minutes later, my hot dog also arrived in front of me. Here’s a full view of this morning menu…

In addition to the hot dog, the lineup includes two slices of Camembert cheese, two kinds of ham, a fresh vegetable salad, and plain yogurt with cereal. The price is about the same as the famous Inoda Coffee’s “Kyo no Breakfast,” although the contents are different.

Let’s start with the hot dog… The surface is crispy and warm, and the crunchy texture when I put my teeth into it is very pleasant. And what is that sauce on top of the sausage? I put it in my mouth and found it to be clam chowder. There were clams, scallops, and maitake mushrooms in it. There were mushrooms in it. To be honest, it is a mystery why clam chowder was chosen as January’s “Seasonal…” dish, but the slightly sweet and thick clam chowder did its job well as a hot dog sauce.

Cappuccino served with proper latte art. Creamy but with a strong bitter taste, it stimulated my brain, which was still a little sluggish. The overall volume was small, and looking at the food alone, I honestly thought it was expensive… but considering that the price included the location, it was totally worth it.

Examples of other menu items at Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden (all drink sets, prices include tax)

• Soup set (vegetarian menu) 2,200 yen
• Egg sandwich set – 1,800 yen
• Green tea French toast (available from 2:00 p.m.) 1,700 yen
• Seasonal Fruit Sandwich 1700 yen
• Victoria Cake 1,500 yen
• Green tea tiramisu 1,400 yen
• Pudding 1,400 yen

The bakery attached to the store is also “super” popular… Access to Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden is a 5-minute walk from the nearest station, Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Electric Railway line.

Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden has a bakery on the other side of the garden…

The bakery opens at 10:00 a.m., a little later than the café, but it too is extremely popular, and is inevitably sold out every day. If this is the case, one of the model courses for sightseeing in Arashiyama would be to have a morning breakfast at the cafe from 8:00 a.m. and wait until 10:00 a.m., then move to the bakery when it opens, stock up on bread, and return home. If you happen to be in Arashiyama early in the morning, please give it a try!

Now, here are the details of the cafe…