Spice Chamber

Small but delicious curry shop just off Shijo in Kyoto. When I went last month, the line was short – only three people in front of the shop when I got there. The menu was a single item, Kareema Curry with spicy ground beef, but it was absolutely top-​notch. Once I got in the service was quick and polite, the atmosphere quiet and serious (despite their psychedelic web page). Strongly recommended for any lover of Kare-​raisu.

Fantastic curry.
The small restaurant and simple menu make it apparent that Spice Chamber is geared towards pumping out bento rather than seating customers, but the quality of their food is amazing and the interior of the restaurant is wonderful.
The chef is really friendly and was able to speak pretty good English. When you eat at the restaurant, your curry comes with pickled daikon & cabbage, a bit of candy at the end, and of course the requisite jug of water. The curry is made to order from fresh ingredients right in front of you. I really can’t overstate how delicious it is.

Amazing restaurant by a wife husband combo. All orders are made on the spot. Loved that the husband blow torches cheese on your curry. It’s not the typical Japanese style curry, much spicier and has a different texture, more like South Asian style. Loved that he was making the food with the Alabama Shakes playing in the background. FYI, try to go about 5minutes before they open as the line takes awhile since he has to make each dish.

A must try Indian-​Japanese fusion curry in an intimate setting. The curry was very spicy but tolerable. One of the best dishes we had on our trip to japan. I recommend adding the cheese, which is expertly melted on top with a torch! Do not miss this place!

Definitely recommend this little spot! Amazing curry, spicy and get the cheese! So yummy!!!

If you like spicy food, you’ll love Spice Chamber. It’s a small 7 seat restaurant, so be prepared to wait for the lunch rush. The chef makes one type of curry per day at one level of spiciness. If you find it too spicy, you can ask them to add some shredded cheese which will help. I thought it was delicious, but the wife found it too spicy to eat more than a few bites. They have tissue boxes for each seat for good reason. Everyone eating there was either sweating or their nose was running! I would definitely go back.

Don’t think there’s much more to say about the food here. The curry definitely had a nice kick and the chef and staff were very foreigner friendly. Thanks chef!

Great little place for Japanese curry. There is only one thing on the menu so it’s not much of a challenge to order if you don’t know any Japanese. The chef speaks English well enough to communicate your order and available options — basically what size, and yes/​no cheese (Hint: Always say YES to cheese).
Walked in around 2pm and it was busy but I had no trouble grabbing a stool. The whole place seats maybe 10 people and even though there was a constant stream of customers, there always seemed to be at least 1 – 2 seats free.
Judging by the care the chef used to assemble my dish I really believe this is a labour of love. His devotion really comes out in the flavour, it’s pretty darn good.
I would not hesitate to recommend this place. Don’t know if I’d go out of my way to come here but it’s close to transit and shopping so you’ll probably be in the hood at some point!

Awesome meal in a unique and friendly location is not only go back again, but would recommend a friend or loved one try this place.

Love this place. Highly recommended. Cool vibe. Nice staff. Awesome food.

It’s a tiny little place where everyone is seated at the bar. There’s probably around 10 spots. We had the curried chicken and it was spicy alright. I can handle a bit of spice but it was on the heavier than I would have preferred. My husband was a big fan though.

Great spicy experience, Japanese food is not very spicy usually. But here you can find the spice you’ve been looking for and it’s delicious.

Amazing.
I had the keema curry bento.
I came to Kyoto for one day with a limited amount of time. I had no intention of finding a restaurant that stood out because I had a strict schedule.
However, 2+ hours on a bullet train gave me some time to seek the best places to eat in in Kyoto. I stumbled onto this place with its 5 star rating. I also love curry. Deal. You make time for what’s important… so I added this to my itinerary.
—-Enter my life story (skip if u wanna just read about food) — -
–I ate nothing all day,
–had several shots of sake at the fushimi sake distillery district (I also recommend this area)
–I also hiked up fushimi inari taisha with bottles of sake in my backpack (OK, I ran — time constraints, remember?)
–there was also some traffic delays.
By the time I got to the station by Spice Chamber, it was already 15 mins after closing (open till 3 on Wednesdays). Feeling defeated and unwilling to eat elsewhere, I walked to Spice Chamber anyways. The owners, still working, opened the door to tell me I was too late. The utter defeat in my eyes, and telling them I came to just eat here (thanks to Unilocal), resulted in a curry flavoured miracle. They had one keema curry bento box left (I’m sure it was intended for an orphan). But they decided to sell it to me.
I was thrilled.
I found the closest bus stop bench to dig in. The lady on the bench, actually waiting for the bus, thought I was some derranged hobo. I don’t care.
–end life story–
The bento was in fact amazing. The spices and the amount of heat in its spices was balanced. The meat to rice ratio was also perfect. Not too much rice and not too much curry. Of special mention, the pickled cabbage and carrot on the side — it really matched the keema curry. It was simply satisfying.
To the owners, thank you.
A great business and with a focused menu. U wonder why North America doesnt have more of these places.
While I don’t suggest showing up to anything late in Japan, I do suggest going here for curry.

I will start by saying this has been one of our most memorable meals during our entire stay in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka).
The chef is a genius. Watching him prepare each plate is akin to watching an artist construct a masterpiece. He prepares every plate with purpose and precision.
Savor every bite of this delicious meal and don’t miss this gem while you are in Kyoto!

I will never eat curry the same. I love curry, and I think that this is the best, YES BEST, curry I have ever had. I’m not too sure with how I found this spot to eat at, probably Unilocal,but I am happy I did. It’s an extremely small and intimate shop. I came on a weekday and there was a line out the door. It’s probably due to 3 things … 1) it’s so small that there’s limited seating 2) The prepares each dish as the customer walks in 3) it’s so good that people are willing to wait to eat it. It’s definitely a locals spot; when I got there it was only my friend and I who were the foreigners.
When I came, it was nearly closing time, so we only had the spicy option. The owner/​chef was extremely nice and said that if it was too spicy he would fix it for us. My friends and I love spicy food, so the curry was just heaven like for us. It had the perfect amount of spiciness and so much flavor. There’s an option to add melted cheese to the dish, please do it. He blow torches melted cheese onto the curry and it just makes it even better (if that’s even possible).
The whole dish came to be ~10, which for Japan, I would consider cheap. Even if it was more expensive I would come back. You can see the time he takes in preparing each dish.
Besides the amazingness of the dish, he was so friendly and the atmosphere of the shop was inviting. Even though he didn’t know a lot of English, he tried to have a conversation with my friend and I, asking us how long we were in Kyoto and giving us a recommendations as to where to go. The shop is intimate and had an indie feel.
I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant … too bad it’s a 10 hour flight away from me.

This place feels like you’re hanging out in your cool friend’s house. Seats about eight people and your food is cooked in front of your eyes in a cozy space adorned with spice jars, CDs, posters, and an ordinary spinning fan. Love the two person staff, the spice, the flavor, and the atmosphere. Worth waiting in line. Lunch only.

There are only 8 seats in this place and service is slow so be prepared to wait. There were 6 people in front of me and I waited almost an hour in the blazing heat. For takeout you have to wait in same line as regular eat in. That being said, the food is delicious and the attention to detail is amazing. There was only one option today, a chicken curry with rice, spicy and mouth wateringly tasty.

Oh my god this place is so good!
Quaint little place. When we reached, there was a small queue outside, and a board telling us that there were two available curries for the day. But we got our seats really quick.
The food was super delicious and spicy, loved the whole experience!

Two curries are up for order. Chicken or sweat dripping down your forehead kinda spicy. Seriously, people were coughing and inhaling water. And so, we opted for the chicken.
It was amazing. The spice was perfectly balanced. Any more and we would have been chugging h2o ourselves.
The space seats about 8.
What I noticed about the chef is his meticulous attention to detail. He weighs the rice to make sure it is the right portion and arranges the pieces of chicken and potato just so. Like art. It’s amazing how much heart goes into delivering the very best to guests.
5 stars all the way.

Super tasty curry rice specialty restaurant in Kyoto.
When I entered the doors of Spice Chamber, I felt so glad that I am a Unilocaler. If not for Unilocaler reviews by Hideaki, Mayuko, and Tomohito, I would not have ventured into this tiny space. Remind you, I hate tiny spaces. I would rather take the stairs rather than get crammed into a overcrowded elevator. Anyhow, after reading their 5 star reviews, my co-​workers and I felt that waiting outside in the cold was worth the wait.
We waited about 10 minutes. Short, but felt long in the cold February day.
SPACE: Tiny. Counter seats only for 7 people max.
CHOICES: On the day I went, we had a choice between 2 types — Keema (aka Qeema) curry (1000 Yen) or Chicken Curry (1100 Yen). I tried their Keema (aka Qeema) curry (1000 Yen) with cheese topping (+100 Yen). Why? Mayuko T.‘s review, of course. I love spicy curry, so this was for me.
KEEMA CURRY: Super tasty and I loved it. It is a completely original invention by the chef here. It is not an Indian receipt. It’s Spice Chamber original. On top of the rice was Umeboshi. Pickled plum on curry rice?!? So original.
WARNING: Do not come here expecting the standard Japanese curry rice. Go to CoCo-​Ichiban or Curry-​no-​Osama for that. If you come here expecting Japanese curry, you will be disappointed. Also, be careful of the hours. They have limited hours and they will close when they run out of your stock. They are closed on Sunday as well.
CONCLUSION: One of a kind establishment in the heart of Kyoto. Super cool curry shop you must try if you are a fan of curry.
COST: 1000 Yen for lunch.