eX café Kyoto Arashiyama Head Shop

The other day I had some business in Arashiyama, Kyoto, and went to eX café Kyoto Arashiyama Head Shop to have breakfast before that business. The dumplings baked in a clay oven became very popular on social networking sites, and the cafe is now attracting more and more attention from young people as a place where they offer morning breakfast using cat-shaped bread for two hours from 9:00 a.m. onward.

This time, I decided to order eXcafe’s Breakfast Combo, a morning menu that offers both the cat-shaped bread and dumplings baked in a seven-wheel oven. If you are curious to know what this morning meal was really like, please continue reading the article to the end…

Located off the main street, you can enjoy a quiet stay… This is what eX Cafe Kyoto Arashiyama Head Shop is all about.

Before I start, let me give you a brief introduction about eX Cafe Kyoto Arashiyama Head Shop. The cafe is located on the south side of Keifuku Arashiyama Station, a little to the east of the main street of Arashiyama. The building is a large Japanese house that has been used as a cafe since the early Showa period (early 20th century), giving the cafe a slightly stately atmosphere. There are various types of seating, including tables, sofas, and tatami rooms, and according to the restaurant’s food log, there are a total of 67 seats.

I was guided to a table on this day, and since the seats are located further back from the entrance, I was able to enjoy a very quiet time without hearing any noise from outside. This was surprising. I thought it was a popular café and that it would be a lot busier. Well, maybe it was because it was a weekday morning and there were not so many people. However, the entrance to the cafe was open, so the cold air was coming in and it was very cold…

A must for social networking! How was the eXcafe’s Breakfast Combo at eX Cafe Arashiyama Head Shop?

This time, I ordered the eXcafe’s Breakfast Combo (priced at 1,860 yen including tax), a morning menu item available only until 11:00 a.m. at the eX cafe Arashiyama Head Shop. After about 15 minutes of waiting, the morning set arrived in front of me…

The set includes the popular cat-shaped bread and two kinds of small dumpling skewers (white and mugwort), a visual that is sure to be a hit with the ladies. This cat-shaped bread is offered in collaboration with a popular bakery in Kyoto, “Kyoto Nekoneko”.

Let’s start baking this cat-shaped bread on a charcoal grill. Checking the grill marks from time to time, add heat to the desired degree. Next, the savory smell of burning wheat starts to waft in, which makes it even more appetizing…

Once the toast is cooked, you can choose from four different toppings to put on your toast: whipped cream, mandarin oranges, butter, and red bean paste. It is nice to be able to enjoy a variety of flavors on a single piece of toast.

But the bread itself is not all it looks like. It is a bit heavier than commercial bread, with a savory browning and a creamy, milky taste from the inside. I can’t help it since it is after baked, but I regretted a little that I should have eaten this bread as it is first…

And one more dish, two kinds of dumplings, white and mugwort. These are also heated in a shichirin and dipped in the included mitarashi sauce. It takes 2 to 3 minutes per side until they are charred…

Dip them in the sauce and enjoy. Freshly baked and hot Mitarashi dumplings are a little different from other dumplings. When you eat a dumpling that is hot all the way through, it warms you up inside as well. The temperature was quite cold that day, so it warmed not only my body, but my mind as well.The morning menu of eXcafe’s Breakfast Combo at eX cafe Arashiyama Head Shop is not only visually appealing but also tasty, and I think it is a quality morning meal that is worth ordering even for men. The prices may be a little high, but they are much more reasonable than those in the touristy Arashiyama area, where the prices are explicitly geared toward inbound customers. Along with the popular nearby cafes Bread, Espresso and Arashiyama Garden, this is a valuable morning spot in Arashiyama. Why not consider a dusty morning at eX cafe as the first step in your Arashiyama sightseeing tour?

Examples of other menu items at eX cafe Arashiyama Head Shop (prices include tax)

• Dusty dumpling set (with green powdered tea) 1,850 yen
• Dusty Zenzai set (with hojicha green tea) 1850 yen
• Tenryuji parfait set (with drink) 1850 yen
• Harimaen matcha & Kuromaru set (with drink) 1,650 yen
• Kyo-Kuro Roll with Harimazono matcha green tea (with drink) 1,650 yen
• Kyo Kuro Roll Kuromaru (with drink) 1350 yen
• Warabi Mochi Set (with drink) 1350 yen

Three stores are in operation, including Gion-Shinbashi and Yoshizaki-Hououkaku… Access to ex cafe Kyoto Arashiyama Head Shop is a two-minute walk from the nearest station, Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Railway Line.

In addition to the Kyoto Arashiyama Head Shop, the other three eX cafes introduced in this article are currently in operation, including eX cafe Gion Shinbashi and eX cafe Yoshizaki Hououkaku (Ashihara City, Fukui Prefecture). Both are located in scenic spots, where you can enjoy an extraordinary experience just by being there. Of these, the Gion-Shinbashi Branch, like the main store, is open from 9:00 a.m. and offers a morning breakfast using cat-shaped bread. Please keep it somewhere in your memory as a candidate for breakfast in Kyoto.

Here are the details of the cafe…

P.S. If you are looking for a cozy cafe in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…