Bungalow

This is a fun informal place
A bit hipsterish in US terms
Great tapas type food
Craft beer is the specialty but we were in the mood for wine
Conclusion after several attempts in different venues — don’t order wine in Japan unless you want an unopened bottle and are willing to pay about $ 90 for a $ 20 value

After a long day of sight seeing and travel, we needed to find a bar close to the hotel so we could just grab a drink and chat for a bit to end the day. Unilocal told me Bungalow was the closest option and it also turned out to be an amazing option and super cool place to hang out. It’s right on the corner of a building and features a partially covered seating area that overlooks the busy intersection yet maintains a very intimate feel. The bar is literally standing room only as they have no chairs or stools which was just fine for us.
After looking over the variety of wine, beer, and spirits, we each went with a glass of sake from the two available options. The bar also overlooks the open kitchen area and it was fun to see the steady stream of food items that were being whipped up and delivered to tables, all of it looked so good I almost forgot how full I was from an earlier dinner. The staff was very helpful both to us and seemingly to everyone else that was there eating and drinking the night away. If we had a bar like this in Seattle, I would love to hang out there.

Such a cute little pub on the corner! They have a variety of beers, whiskey, and wine. There’s also great snack food. Definitely check this place out. We got the IPA (not sure which one we just pointed and said IPA) and it’s super refreshing!

An awesome change of pace after a couple of weeks of traditional Japanese fare. Hip Portland/​Brooklyn vibe. Great selection of beers. Awesome food. Super cool staff. The first night we went only for drinks, but after we saw the menu, we came back for dinner the next night and loved it. Highly recommended.

I didn’t bother with the beer selection; don’t get me wrong, it looked impressive, I just don’t drink. The main reason for the 5 star rating is their food. I had the chicken cardamom with lemon curry and pepper, and it was easily some of the best food I had during the entire trip. I had a self-​imposed policy of never going to a place twice, but I broke that rule for this place. I wanted to take some of their amazing (AMAZING) homemade bread back to my hotel with me, which took some explaining and convincing, and the guy who seemed to manage/​own the place was very nice. The staff overall were super friendly, accommodating and helpful. If I manage to ever get back to Kyoto, this will be the first and last place I eat.

The food and drink menu perfectly emulated the fond experiences of gastropubs back home in Los Angeles. They have a great selection of craft brews, wine, and spirits with a good small plate menu to boot. We’re almost 2 weeks into a vacation and this quenched a craving for home via the awesome fried chicken, fries, and patee paired with some brews and bourbon. The staff was super friendly on top of everything else! Highly recommended for those seeking an English/​American gastropub experience.

We spent our last night in Japan at Bungalow. Unbeknownst to us, it was a hop, skip and a jump away from our hotel.
I honestly felt I was already back in America which was welcoming but it also had a much more excellent selection of drinks to choose from. I wish I had the time to taste the food and it was a eclectic group of patrons — great people watching! Although we love the izakayas in Japan, it was definitely worth a stop in and different than any other places we went to in Japan.

Cool craft beer bar located Shijo/​Horikawa with a rotating menu of 10 from around Japan. I’ve been twice and usually the menu is skewed towards lighter beers with one or two darks. Because the menu is ever-​changing, they sometimes are out of a certain one. One time though, they didn’t have enough for my choice, but brought me the last bit for a taste. How thoughtful :)
Food is done well, but small plates means small plates. Don’t expect to get full here unless you want to spend a lot of money. The lemon pepper fried chicken is great, as are their lamb dishes.
I would recommend Bungalow if…1) You want a place to chat and drink good Japanese craft beer 2) You need an appetizer and good beer before other plans 3) You have some money and want to splurge on great small bites (their dessert is awesome as well!!)
They have upstairs seating, so don’t fret if you peer in and they seem full on the 1^st floor. Reservations can also be taken.
***pro tip: water (at least, upstairs) is self-​service, so just walk over there to get yourself a glass

We can drink craft beer and eat delicious casual french style dishes and ethnic food at here. All of them are match with beer and wine… so we can’t stop eating and drinking.
クラフトビールやビストロ料理、エスニック料理などを楽しめるカジュアルなダイニング。この日はとても混んでいたので、空いているテーブル席は1階の1テーブルのみ。全員は座れませんが立ち飲みスタイルもできるので大丈夫。カウンター越しにお料理風景も見られるので私は寧ろ楽しめました。
自家製パンも中がしっとりで超美味しい！キッチンや接客は3人で全てされていましたが手際がとても良く、お料理が次から次へとサーブされ、気付くとたくさん。たくさん食べて飲んでも1人¥3000とリーズナブル。
どのお料理もビールやワインととても合うのでついつい長居してしまう素敵なお店です。1人では入りにくいイメージでしたが、結構お一人様もいました。また行きたいお店です。

One of my favourite pubs in Kyoto without a doubt. This is about as cool as bars get, they have taken hipster to heart and embraced it completely. The sides of the bar on the Lower floor are completely open. It feels like your drinking at a street bar. It’s hard to explain, you need to see it.
They do a good selection of craft beers, as normal i went with a local IPA and it was great. We also had food and shared some crispy chicken that came with a spicy sauce. It was bloody brilliant! Really tasty and much better than expected.
This was a bit of trek from our hotel and we had to get a couple of buses, but I am really glad we did as this is a great bar. If you like craft beer and/​or cool bars doing something a bit different, this is definitely the place for you.

Like others who’ve written here, I also need an escape from Japan’s pilsner beers once in a while and Bungalow is a great place to do it. They have a rotating menu of about 10 craft beers from around Japan, and a good selection of food. Although I personally wouldn’t recommend planning to dine here unless you’re willing to spend in the 5000 yen range for a few dishes and a couple of beers, both the food and beer are excellent. The location along the main road (shijo) makes it easy to find, but also means you have to listen to traffic if you’re downstairs (they have upstairs seating). Visited several times and would go again.

Despite Japan reputedly having a huge craft ale scene, we really struggled to find an interesting craft beer bar in Tokyo. We travelled on to Nagoya and still no sign (this might have largely been down to the fact that we didn’t have WiFi in some of these places and couldn’t use Unilocal). By the time we hit Kyoto, we were gasping for something hoppy, interesting and new to try… Luckily, we found Bungalow on Unilocal after a full day of sightseeing!
Bungalow (from the outside) looks something akin to a garage. With basic concrete design and just a large plastic cover on the front, it doesn’t seem like a posh venue but the real treat is inside. With two floors (downstairs smoking and upstairs non-​smoking) and a minimalist design policy (especially when it comes to furniture which seemed to mainly utilise beer barrels) it’s welcoming, friendly and decidedly hipster.
We were greeted warmly as we walked in by the friendly bilingual barmen and took a seat next to one of the beer barrels. There is a small (but perfectly formed) menu of ales from around Japan and each one is the same price for either a small or medium glass. We tried several different kinds of ale (Belgium, IPA and dark) and liked every single one.
We intended to pop in for one, but ended up trying our way around the menu and having a lovely evening in the presence of the friendly clientele. The venue also does a nice range of food, but having eaten; we didn’t try this.
I have to say, this was one of our favourite bars in Japan. We loved the design, the friendly atmosphere and the beer (obviously). If you’re a fan of craft beer and Kyoto, I recommend a trip to Bungalow to sample their wares and chill out.

We’d been in Japan for just over a week at this point and I was craving a really good pint. Not that lashings of Asahi and Kirin wasn’t ok, I just really needed something with depth. The craft beer scene in Japan is really on the rise and whilst we didn’t manage to get to any of the places I’d heard about in Tokyo when I found this place in Kyoto we had to stop by.
Located at the tail end of one of the major shopping streets Bungalow offers 10 different Japanese craft beers on tap as well as bottled beers, wine and food. We weren’t there for the food, although the freshly baked bread smelled divine. All beers on tap are at a set price — ¥600 for a 10oz glass and ¥900 for a 15oz.
The place is sparsely decorated, the focus here is on the beer. Nothing more, nothing less. The staff were fantastic, my very limited Japanese coupled with their pretty good level of English was more than sufficient to get us through 3 glasses of delicious beer each. The Umenishiki Aromatic Ale was the perfect first beer after a busy day exploring Kyoto’s many sights.
If you’re looking for some fantastic beers in Kyoto then look no further.