Roppoya

* OK for an afternoon break to warm up — but the chatty smoke was a bit much *
When wandering around Kyoto in the cold wind, this spot made for a nice little break to warm up. Run by a woman who took over the business from her father, this little spot is filled with the smell of smoke (not the good grilling kind — more the cigarette kind). That was a drawback for me, but it was warm inside so I overcame it.
The specialties of the house are the roppomanju and the dangoyaki. The roppomanju set (600 yen) included a cup of matcha and a cup of another smoked tea as well as the roppomanju of course. The dangoyaki set was the same with dangoyaki instead of roppomanju.
Here are photos of the sets:
and
To start, the matcha was a bit underwhelming. It did not have the depth of flavour you’d expect unfortunately as it was slightly watered down. It also had not been fully whisked so the texture of the tea didn’t seem «right.» A bit disappointing. I’d give it 2 stars.
Here is a closeup of it:
The roppomanju was a nice treat. It had a slight smokiness to the outside (the right kind, not the cigarette kind), and the anko was not overly sweet (that is a good thing in my book). It still had a lot of texture — a more rustic type of anko. This was a nice few bites. 4 stars.
Close-​up photo:
The dangoyaki came with a tare sauce that was not overly sweet. It also had a pleasant smokiness to it. The grilling caramelized it nicely, and the dango themselves were also a bit rustic in texture. Another nice treat. 3.5 stars.
Close-​up photo:
The woman running the place was very chatty. She told us all about how her father used to run the place, how she always watched him and helped out and then one day realized she could run it herself. She chatted about her husband who she still serves lunch everyday when he comes to the shop. (I’m guessing he may be a smoker and had left just before stepping in from the cold???)
She talked about how even though it is a small shop she meets people from all over the world because of how close it is to the Heian shrine and the zoo. She liked chatting a lot. Almost too much! :)
Overall it was a nice spot to warm up, and I enjoyed the roppomanju and dangoyaki. I’d skip the matcha and the cigarette smoke smell though.