Cafe Rhinebeck

Café Rhinebeck is definitely worth visiting. The place is delightful and in a more tradition style of Japanese restaurants. The pancakes are fluffy and hearty enough that you only need one. Delicious, and does not disappoint!

Very tasty pancakes that remind me of home (New York). Along with Matsunosuke NY downtown in Kyoto and in Daikanyama, Tokyo, this shop is really intimate and has a nice relaxing atmosphere. There used to be a really cool foreigner chef from New York that worked there. He was a real cool dude, but the café is still a great place to relax and have a tasty stack of pancakes!

A very popular and famous pancake house in Kyoto.
After reading some raving reviews on Unilocal,I wanted to try some pancakes for breakfast before my meeting at «Machiya Studio». As I approached the building, I could not believe that I was standing in front of a «Pancake House». It looks like a traditional Kyoto style home. As I got inside, I wasn’t sure if I should take my shoes off (no, you keep your shoes on). Decoration looks all classic, except the cake cake counter. You can see a courtyard in the back. That is the way to the bathroom.
You don’t need to go up to the counter to order. The waiter will take your order.
I went during their morning menu hours (8AM to 10AM). I highly suggest that you come during these hours, because it is fairly quiet. They told me that they become really crowded in the afternoon with the peak around 3PM.
I went with their plain pancake with sausage and corn on the side. It comes with the choice of tea or coffee for 850 Yen. Not bad.
I was blown away by their pancake. Wow. This isn’t your grandma’s pancakes. The soft texture is what makes it so unique. You only get one slice, but the slice is quite substantial. It is not one of those really thin pancakes. However, because it is so delicious, you would probably want another slice. Here is the problem. You can probably order another slice, but it takes 15 minutes for them to make it. Yes, they make it after taking the order. So, if you are a heavy eater, make sure you order two slices from the onset.
I did feel that they were bit skimpy on the syrup. The waitress instructed me to dip the pancake into the syrup instead of pouring the syrup onto pancake. Hey man, let me eat my pancakes however I want to eat it. Bring on more syrup so that I can drown these suckers.
This restaurant is produced by Ms. Hirano, who is a famous pastry chef who learned about American style pie in the East Coast. The company also operates Matsunosuke. I learned that I could eat these Rhinbeck pancakes in Tokyo at Matsunosuke NY in Daikanyama.
COST: 680 Yen
SMOKING: Non-​smoking
WAIT: Zero (I went during the weekday at 9AM).

Somehow my friends asked me to get their pancake so we made a stop here and ordered «banana caramel pancake”(on the top of pancake, some thinly slices of banana and with whipped cream and caramel source.)
Although their topping choices are not so varied, I’m wishy-​washy so it’s even better that for me. I could decide easily which one I ordered.
Since some my friends who have already been here told me this store is pretty popular and busy and they lined up for around 30mins by having a seat, I expected that but we just waited for a seat a little. How luck we were! Of corse we waited but it was not as long as we thought.
This store’s construction is beautiful! They renovated Kyoto Machiya, which is a traditional townhouse in Kyoto, to this café! It’s so pictorial and cool place! I believe I will come again and try something other!

One of my favorite coffee hangouts in the world, this is pancake house is a perfect fit for Kyoto. It’s a mix of tradition and modernity, just like the city itself.
The old: The location is an old preserved machiya, or old wooden townhouse. Which is another way to say «there’s a low ceiling, so watch your head».
The new: fantastic pancakes, which are a relatively new phenomena sweeping through Japan.
Get here between 8−10am to get a good deal on a morning special, which includes a pancake and a drink, such as their delicious coffee.
Relaxing atmosphere and a good place to hang out when it’s not crowded. It gets pretty busy on the weekends.
Really, really great fluffy pancakes, unlike everything I’ve ever had. My favorite is the ricotta-​filled pancake, which seems like a really unusual combination, but it works wonderfully. One of these days I’m going to try (and fail) to recreate these at home.
As of Spring 2015, the morning specials are plain pancake (680円), ricotta (1000円), and sausage and corn (850円). Pretty good deal, considering some coffee shops in Kyoto serve coffee alone for 500円.