Kissa Madrague Head Shop

Kyoto is known for its many unique retro coffee shops that have been around since the Showa period, and I would like to introduce a coffee shop that operates in a very interesting style. The store is called Kissa Madrague (la madrague) Head Shop, located on the east side of Nijo Castle. The coffee house itself was founded not so long ago in 2011, but the atmosphere of the store is Showa-era retro itself, as it was opened by taking over the coffee shop Seven, which had been in operation at the same location since 1963. It is no exaggeration to say that this store has one of the best retro atmosphere among the famous retro coffee shops in Kyoto.

The Kissa Madrague has a famous menu item called “Corona’s Egg Sandwich,” which was introduced on the TV program “Bananaman’s Sekkaku Gourmet,” etc. This time, I went to the cafe to try the egg sandwich. But there is a little story behind this “Corona’s Egg Sandwich”…

Taking over the famous menu of a now-defunct Kyoto restaurant and gaining a wide range of fans…this is what Kissa Madrague Head Shop is all about…

In fact, Kissa Madrague‘s famous menu item, Corona’s Egg Sandwich, was taken over from Corona, a Western-style restaurant that operated in Nishi-Kiyamachi until 2012. When the restaurant closed, the owner of Corona asked us to take over the egg sandwich. Well, now the restaurant serves a slightly improved version of the original recipe…but it is said to have been reproduced so well that even those who know the old Corona’s taste can recognize it.

Kissa Madrague Head Shop is famous in Kyoto for having a long line of customers on holidays, but when I visited the cafe at 1:30 p.m. on a weekday, it was not so crowded and I was able to easily enter the cafe without a wait. The restaurant has 20 seats at tables only. Two of the seats are small tables for one person, and they have a very retro atmosphere.

The retro atmosphere is not the gorgeous retro of Kissa Hisui on Kitaoji, but more of a folksy retro space with a sense of place. The background music is soft and relaxing, and it is easy to lose track of time and spend time without thinking about anything else. It would be great to read a book here with a cup of coffee in one hand…

The Corona Egg Sandwich, a specialty menu item at Kissa Madrague Head Shop, was so much better than I had imagined that I was immediately taken aback!

Let me introduce you to the specialty menu item I ordered that day, the Corona Egg Sandwich (price 990 yen including tax) at Kissa Madrague Head Shop. Image here…

I don’t know if you can tell from the image above, but this sandwich is bigger than what you can imagine. The omelet is so thick that even at a quick glance, it is probably about 5 cm thick. The bread to sandwich the omelet is also cut thicker, and I think it is probably a little less than 10 cm thick when all of the bread is added together. When I first looked at the menu, I thought, “990 yen for an egg sandwich is expensive…,” but with a sandwich that could be described as a “huge portion,” I felt like I was getting a great value for my money.

I tried to grab a piece of the sandwich, but it was too big to hold in one hand. Hmmm, what a problem…

That’s when I noticed a paper tag standing on the counter that said “How to enjoy a Corona Sandwich”…

I borrowed a knife from the waitress and decided to eat it by splitting it in half from the middle. This size is roughly equivalent to two slices of an egg sandwich from Kissa Tyrol. Finally, it was thick enough to eat with a big mouth. But how do they make such a thick, thickly baked egg? I am strangely curious about that too.

As for the taste… the omelet, made with four eggs and plenty of milk, was hot and fluffy, with just the right amount of saltiness and a subtle hint of dashi (Japanese soup stock). The omelet alone is quite easy to eat, but the bread on either side of the omelet is coated with mustard sauce or demi-glace sauce, and the omelet is split down the middle to enjoy the different flavors.

The coffee that goes with this omelet sandwich is the store’s namesake coffee, Madrague Blend (priced at 600 yen including tax). The coffee is a special blend made by Hirakata coffee shop “about a coffee” and has a strong acidity, perfect to refresh your taste buds after getting used to the taste of the egg sandwiches. Incidentally, this coffee is also brewed in a rather large coffee cup, not quite a mug. It’s a nice way to make you feel like you’re getting a good deal on a cup of coffee.

So, I spent about 20 minutes at the restaurant and paid the bill. I was actually planning to go to one more restaurant after this to fill up my stomach, but the sheer volume of the egg sandwich and coffee made that unnecessary. If you can’t finish the Corona Sandwich at the restaurant, don’t worry, you can take the rest home (an additional 100 yen will be charged for the box). Also, if you make a reservation by phone two days in advance, they will make a Corona Sandwich for takeout (although the method of making it seems to be different from that of the eat-in Corona Sandwich…).

Examples of other menu items at Kissa Madrague Head Shop (prices include tax)

• Yakisoba Sandwich 830 yen
• Hot plate Neapolitan with ketchup flavor 990 yen
• Hot plate curry Neapolitan 990 yen
• Corona’s Egg Curry Rice 990 yen
• Corona’s Egg Demi Tomato Rice 990 yen
• Corona’s Egg Cream Pilaf 990 yen
• Spaghetti with homemade meat sauce 940 yen

The nearby Fujii Daimaru Branch serves omelettes from Grill Alone, a Western-style restaurant that was also sadly closed… To get to Kissa Madrague Head Shop, it is a 5-minute walk from Nijojo-mae Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line.

In addition to the main store, Fujii Daimaru Branch and Daimaru Suma Branch are also open with the name of Kissa Madrague(and although the name is different, Café Gabor in Sanjo-Kiyamachi is also an affiliate). You can order the famous Corona egg sandwich at any of these stores, so if you are ever in the neighborhood, please give it a try. At Kissa Madrague Fujii Daimaru Branch, you can enjoy a reprinted version of the famous omelette rice from Grill Alone, a Western-style restaurant that sadly closed its doors in 2011. Although the restaurant is not aiming for such a line, it is hard not to support a restaurant that is working to preserve Kyoto’s food culture, isn’t it?

Here are the details of the restaurant…

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