Kyoto · Food & Drink

Best Café & Sweets in Kyoto

22 places, each checked by our team.

• % Arabica Kyoto Higashiyama % Arabica 京都東山Higashiyama (Yasaka) — The minimalist coffee bar that launched a global brand, just below Yasaka Pagoda. Expect a queue, a perfect Kyoto latte and the pagoda framed on…
• Aburi Mochi Kazariya あぶり餅 本家 根元 かざりやMurasakino / Kita Ward — Centuries-old teahouse at Imamiya Shrine's east gate serving one thing: grilled rice-cake skewers in white miso sauce.
• Francois Kissaten フランソア喫茶室Kiyamachi Shijo — A 1934 coffee house designed like the salon of an Italian Baroque ship, the first Japanese cafe registered as a Tangible Cultural Property.…
• Ichikawaya Coffee 市川屋珈琲Higashiyama (Umamachi) — Coffee house in a 200-year-old townhouse between Kiyomizu-dera and Sanjusangendo, famous for flannel-drip coffee and fruit sandwiches.
• Itoh Kyuemon Gion Shijo 伊藤久右衛門 祇園四条店Gion — A three-storey Uji matcha shop and tea salon on Shijo-dori by the Keihan station, with a Gion-only matcha parfait. The central place for Itoh…
• Itoh Kyuemon Uji Honten 伊藤久右衛門 宇治本店Uji — The 1832-founded Uji tea house whose towering matcha parfaits and matcha curry became social-media staples. Its main shop and cafe sit across the…
• Kagizen Yoshifusa Shijo Honten 鍵善良房 四条本店Gion — An Edo-period wagashi maker in Gion famous for kuzukiri: glassy arrowroot noodles served on ice in a lacquer box with a pot of dark brown-sugar syrup.
• Kaikado Cafe Kaikado CaféShichijo / Kawaramachi — The cafe of Kaikado, makers of hand-crafted metal tea caddies since 1875, set in a 1927 former tram company building by the Kamogawa. Coffee, tea…
• Kasagiya かさぎ屋Higashiyama (Ninenzaka) — A tiny 1914-founded sweet shop on Ninenzaka once loved by painter Takehisa Yumeji, serving ohagi and zenzai (red-bean soup) in a dim wooden room.
• Kissa Madrague 喫茶マドラグKarasuma Oike — Retro kissaten famous for its thick 'Corona' egg sandwich, revived from a legendary Kyoto yoshoku cafe.
• Kissa Soiree 喫茶ソワレKiyamachi Shijo — Since 1948, a blue-lit coffee salon on the Takasegawa where the jewel-coloured jelly punch became one of Kyoto's most photographed drinks.
• Kyo Hayashiya Kyoto 京はやしや 京都店Downtown (Takoyakushi) — Matcha parfaits and tea from a tea merchant founded in 1753, renovated in August 2026 with a brighter room, takeaway sweets and the return of its…
• Marukyu Koyamaen Nishinotoin 丸久小山園 西洞院店Karasuma Oike — Tea room of a historic Uji matcha maker, serving matcha, sweets and summer shaved ice in central Kyoto.
• Nakamura Tokichi Honten (Uji) 中村藤吉本店Uji — An 1859 Uji tea merchant's house turned into Japan's most famous matcha cafe: matcha parfaits, jelly in bamboo cups and cha-soba, in a wooden…
• Nakamura Tokichi Kyoto Station 中村藤吉 京都駅店Kyoto Station — Uji's famous matcha cafe without the trip to Uji: parfaits and tea sets on the 3rd floor of JR Kyoto Isetan, plus a soft-serve stand (NEXT) at the…
• Rokuyosha Coffee 六曜社珈琲店Kawaramachi Sanjo — Post-war kissaten on Kawaramachi-dori, a classic Kyoto coffee house selected as a Tabelog Kissaten Hyakumeiten.
• Saryo Tsujiri Gion Honten 茶寮都路里 祇園本店Gion — The upstairs tea salon of Uji tea merchant Gion Tsujiri, credited with popularising the tall matcha parfait. A Gion queue institution since 1978.
• Smart Coffee スマート珈琲店Teramachi Sanjo — A 1932 kissaten in the Teramachi arcade whose fluffy hotcakes and French toast went viral. Wood panelling, cast-iron roaster and Showa-era charm.
• Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya スターバックス コーヒー 京都二寧坂ヤサカ茶屋店Higashiyama (Ninenzaka) — The world's only tatami Starbucks: a 100-year-old machiya on Ninenzaka with an indigo noren curtain, garden views and floor-cushion seating upstairs.
• Umezono Kawaramachi 甘党茶屋 梅園 河原町店Kawaramachi — A 1927-founded sweets house whose square, caramel-glazed mitarashi dango are a Kyoto classic. Cosy, cheap and right on Kawaramachi.
• Walden Woods Kyoto Walden Woods KyotoGojo / Kyoto Station north — All-white roastery cafe in a former townhouse near the Kamo River, known for single-origin coffee and chai.
• Weekenders Coffee Tominokoji ウィークエンダーズコーヒー 富小路Downtown (Tominokoji) — A tiny specialty coffee stand hidden at the back of a car park off Tominokoji, in a sleek wooden pavilion. Some of Kyoto's best light-roast coffee.