Lorimer Kyoto

Lorimer Kyoto opened in Gojo, Kyoto, on April 1, 2018, as a restaurant offering Japanese breakfasts imported back from the United States. Incorporating New York style into Japanese cuisine that values the attractiveness of ingredients, Lorimer Kyoto landed in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, with “an American’s idea of Japanese breakfast”. The Japanese breakfast served by Lorimer Kyoto has been introduced in the Japan Times and other major media, and seems to be attracting the attention of not only locals but also tourists from overseas.

What is such Japanese food imported back from the U.S. like? I had been curious about this for some time, so I visited Lorimer Kyoto one weekend morning around 10:00 a.m. I had no reservation. I was lucky that there was an empty seat at the counter….

Lorimer Kyoto is a restaurant that takes care of foreign tourists in quite a few areas…

Lorimer Kyoto is located in Higashinotoin Rokujo, northeast of Higashi Honganji Temple. The exterior of the shop looks like a private house that has been minimally renovated and cleaned up, but it basically blends in with the surrounding private houses, so if you are not looking for the store carefully, you may end up going through it.

But once you enter the restaurant, you will notice a complete change in the interior, which is not Japanese style but Western. The space is spacious, with six counter seats and two tables for two along the open kitchen on the first floor (if you go up the spiral staircase on the entrance side to the second floor, there are apparently three tables for four). It is more like the kitchen of an American private house in a TV drama or movie than a café or bar. The waitstaff that day were all women, and the atmosphere was a little more homey than I had initially expected.

The other thing I noticed was that there was a money changer right at the entrance. Not the 10,000-yen machine that we usually use, but the kind that converts US dollars or euros into Japanese yen. Lorimer Kyoto accepts credit cards at checkout, but I think the presence of such an exchange machine is very convenient for foreign tourists. Also, all the staff working here can speak English. It seems to me that this store is very conscious of foreign travelers even though it is located in Kyoto.

Ichiju Sansai Nizakana (One soup, three dishes, two fish): Lorimar Kyoto adds two types of sashimi to its basic menu…what did you think of the dish?

At Lorimer Kyoto, you can customize your breakfast to your liking by adding fish dishes with three side dishes (Ichiju Sansai) as the basic menu, with the option to increase the number of side dishes to five or upgrade the rice and miso soup…

This time I ordered the “Ichiju Sansai Nizakana” (priced at 2,200 yen plus tax), which is the basic menu with “two kinds of sashimi of the day” added to the Ichiju Sansai. In addition, I had the option of having the accompanying miso soup changed to fish broth (priced at 200 yen plus tax). The main fish also seems to be available in two types (the fish dish of the day: “salted sea bass” or “soy sauce flavored Girella punctata”), and I chose the “salted sea bass” this time.

After finishing the order, it took about 5 minutes to wait, and first, the “2 kinds of sashimi of the day” were brought in front of us…

The sashimi of the day were bonito and squid. Of course, there is no problem with the freshness, but the volume is quite small with only two slices of each. To be honest, I thought this was a bit much for the extra 500 yen (tax not included) from the one soup and three dishes… If I had to pay an additional 500 yen plus tax for this dish, I would never add sashimi to my order next time.

Five minutes after finishing the sashimi, the main dish of Ichiju Sansai arrived…

White rice with kelp on top and fish broth in the front, and a fish dish and three side dishes in the back came out on a single plate. The three side dishes of the day were, from left to right, white fish in white sauce, fried egg, and pickles, and the composition of the three side dishes was not 100% Japanese.

Of the four side dishes, the one that left the biggest impression on me was the omelet. It was sweetly seasoned and had a cake-like texture on the tongue. On the other hand, the main dish, the fish, was honestly “mmmm…”. In particular, the skin was undercooked. It would be an overstatement to say that the fish was raw, but it was just heated through, not fragrant or anything, and when I cut it with chopsticks, the skin stuck to the chopsticks, making it difficult to cut… For a morning meal that costs nearly 2,000 yen, I wanted the fish to be cooked more properly. I felt that it was a waste of the high quality fish called sea bass that they used….

That is why I have a very dry comment on this Lorimer Kyoto‘s Ichiju Sansai. If you want to eat breakfast in style, I can recommend using this restaurant. But if you really want to eat a “Japanese breakfast,” there are many better restaurants in Kyoto in the same price range (such as Shunsai Imari...). This “Ichiju Sansai” looks like Japanese food, but when I actually ate it, it didn’t really feel like Japanese food. I don’t blame the chef for making this dish, but I personally feel very uncomfortable when people call it “Japanese food”.

Also, the price setting seems to have an American feel to it. If it were in the U.S., I think this price would be reasonable, but in Japan, I don’t think so…. If I were to recommend this restaurant, it would be to foreign tourists who have just arrived in Japan. Also, if you don’t mind “Japanese” food, it might be good for young people who are looking for a fashionable atmosphere.

A branch, Lorimer Kyoto Jr. is operating in Kiyomizu Gojo… Access to Lorimer Kyoto is a 3-minute walk from the nearest station, Gojo Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line.

Lorimer Kyoto has a branch restaurant, Lorimer Kyoto Jr. operating in Kiyomizu Gojo. Looking at the store’s Instagram, the menu and prices do not seem to be much different from those of the main store, but it appears that coffee from COSTA COFFEE, a British chain of cafes, is available. So, is it possible to use the cafe? The store is located along the Kamo River, which looks pleasant, so I might go there for a cup of coffee next time.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

From JR Kyoto Station, it is a 12-minute walk.