Kyoto Kamosoba Den

One weekday, as I was walking north up Ponto-cho to have lunch in Shijo-Kawaramachi, I noticed a line of people waiting in a narrow alley. The target of the line was Kyoto Kamo Soba Den, a restaurant that opened in December 2023. I had never heard of this restaurant, but I thought it looked interesting and joined the queue…

A 30-minute queue at lunch time on a weekday… This is what Kyoto Kamo Soba Den, a popular restaurant in Ponto-cho, Kyoto, looks like…

At first, I moved to the end of the line that had formed along the narrow alley next to Kyoto Kamo Soba Den. I counted at that time that there were 10 customers from the beginning to the end of the line. Soba noodle restaurants are usually associated with older people, but this restaurant’s line was mainly made up of young people. There must be something about this restaurant that attracts young people. The waiting time to enter the restaurant on that day was about 30 minutes, but it probably won’t be this long on weekends. Perhaps you should be prepared for a wait of about an hour.The interior of Kyoto Kamo Soba Den is decorated like a small, clean, but old-fashioned buckwheat noodle restaurant. There are five tables for two in the front and five counter seats along the kitchen in the back, making a total of 15 seats, which is about the size of a typical ramen shop. I was guided to a counter seat this time, and the aroma of dashi broth wafting from the kitchen was irresistible. I can’t wait to try their Soba noodles…

The queue is for SNS-worthy Soba! What was it like to try Kyoto Kamo Soba Den’s signature dish, Shio Kamo Tsuke Soba with extra meat?

Let me introduce the signature dish, Shio Kamo Tsuke Soba with extra meat (priced at 1,480 yen including tax), that I ordered at Kyoto Kamo Soba Den on that day. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the Shio Kamo Tsuke Soba with extra meat arrived in front of me…

The soba noodles came out on a bowl shaped like some kind of stone. The Soba is beautifully arranged, and the duck slices shining in a rare color… I see. (By the way, the red condiment on the bowl of Soba is called Harissa.)

But that is a completely different issue from the taste of the soba. Let’s slurp one Soba noodle right away… The noodle is as thick as the noodle of so-called “Chili oil Soba”, and its surface is lightly rough and a little powdery. The surface of the noodle is lightly rough and a little powdery. Although it is not as stiff as the noodle of Minatoya 2, it has a strong texture, and when putting it in the mouth, a slight aroma of buckwheat flour wafts to the nose.

The soup stock in which the soba noodles are dipped is a soy sauce broth with a slightly sweet taste. The broth is said to be made from five kinds of ingredients: saba-bushi (mackerel bones), niboshi (dried sardines), katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), soda-bushi (dried sardines), and muro-aji (mackerel), but it is not so thick that it hits your nose, and its mild and elegant consistency does not destroy the flavor of the soba noodles.

I counted eight pieces of rare duck meat as toppings (four pieces come with the standard Shio Kamo Tsuke Soba). As you can see, the duck meat is moist and has a moderate peculiar taste, and it is lightly seasoned with salt, so it is easy to eat it as it is. Eight pieces of duck meat of this quality is a great value. If you can get four more pieces of duck meat for only 200 yen more than the default, I would definitely recommend getting more meat as long as you can afford it.

This is the signature menu of Kyoto Kamo Soba Den, “Shio Kamo Tsuke Soba with extra meat”. The flouriness of the soba may be a point of disagreement, but I personally appreciate it as a unique feature of the restaurant. Along with the nearby Gion Duck Noodles, I found a good place to go when I want to eat duck meat in Kyoto. I highly recommend it to meat-eaters, especially since the volume of duck meat is amazing for the price.

Other menu items at Kyoto Kamo Soba Den (prices include tax)

• Shio Kamo Kake Soba with extra meat (cold or hot): 1,480 yen　
• Kakuni Tsuke Soba (cold or hot) 1,350 yen
• Kakuni Kake Soba (cold or hot) 1,350 yen
• Shio Kamo Tsuke Soba (hot or cold) 1,290 yen
• Shio Kamo  Kake Soba (cold or hot) 1,290 yen
• Zaru Soba (cold or hot) 950 yen
• Kamo Oyakodon (duck and egg on rice) 500 yen

A Fast Pass with zero waiting time is also available… Kyoto Kamo Soba Den is a 4-minute walk from Kyoto Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line, the nearest station to the restaurant.

At Kyoto Kamo Soba Den, you can also use the Fast Pass, which eliminates the need to wait in line…

Scan the QR code displayed at the restaurant with your smartphone to access the purchase page. This Fastpass is a bit expensive at 1,000 yen per person (not including the cost of the meal, of course), and it cannot be used by more than three people, so I doubt I will use it unless I have a good reason… But if the line is as long as it was on a weekday afternoon, it must be huge on weekends and holidays… So, if you visit Kyoto Kamo Soba Den especially on weekends, it would not hurt to keep this Fast Pass in mind.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

It is a 5-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Station, and a 7-minute walk from Sanjo Station on the Keihan Electric Railway Line.