April 20, 2019
by Manaka Tsuneyama, Mayu Nishikawa & Natsumi Nishimura
How would you like to celebrate your friends or family? There are many situations when you need to celebrate, such as birthdays, celebration of achievements, weddings, and getting a new job. Some people prefer to make a surprise for a friend or loved one. Mostly, people may celebrate at their home or restaurant. We recommend that you celebrate at a restaurant in Kyoto because you can make the party a surprise by cooperation with the staff. But maybe it is difficult to choose a special restaurant for our friend’s birthday dinner. You want to enjoy eating good food and seeing a beautiful view. Also, it would be nice to see a night view and a view of rivers like the Kamo-gawa and the Takase-gawa from the restaurant. We have been to some very nice restaurants in Kyoto and want to share our experience. These restaurants’ names are Marcafe, Sunny Café, and Pizza Salvatore Coumo. You can enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Kyoto while having a good time with your friends at all three of these places.
Marcafe
There are some special things about Marcafe. For example, this restaurant has a history of over 100 years. Also, you can see the Kamogawa (Kamo River) and the Higashiyama area of town while enjoying your meal. The Kamogawa is the most famous river in Kyoto. It is loved by many people because we can experience the feeling of each season as it changes. For example, there are cherry blossoms in the spring, people playing in the river in the summer, autumn colors in the fall, and bird watching in winter. In addition, the Higashiyama area has famous buildings such as Kiyomizu temple and Ginkakuji temple. If you want to see these famous temples while you eat, we recommend Marcafe.
Inside the restaurant, you’ll notice a vintage interior as soon as you enter. You can feel an open atmosphere full of antique furniture. In fact, each chair and table is unique, so you can enjoy the feeling of a special atmosphere. Marcafe also has a big window through which you can enjoy seeing a beautiful view, both in the day and at night. In addition, there is terrace seat. And if you make a reservation, you can eat the birthday course meal, which includes an appetizer, a main dish and a birthday desert plate. For example, this might be a caesar salad, roast beef, cheese fondue, pasta and a special desert. Especially, the cheese fondue is delicious because it uses Kyoto-grown vegetables and other seasonal vegetables. You can enjoy a rich taste cheese while talking about your funny personal stories. Also, you can request a message to be included with your desert plate, which consists of cream brulee, chiffon cake, a blueberry tart, and a cookie. You can hold a celebration at Marcafe for someone important to you with their special celebration plan.
Sunny Café
The Sunny Café is on the top floor of a building, so you can see the beautiful scene of Sanjyo street, which is a prosperous place with many people, heavy traffic and a lot of stores. But when you open the door to the Sunny Café, you can feel relaxed in a stylish atmosphere. This restaurant is perfect for adults, as there is a bar counter seat where you can enjoy drinking many kinds of alcohol, like wine, whiskey, beer and cocktails. This restaurant’s birthday course is a little expensive, however. But all dishes made by chef are delicious. The Japanese black beef grill steak is the most popular dish at the Sunny Café. It has a tender texture and a special flavor, so this beef is loved by everyone in Japan.
Also, the Sunny Café is near the Kamogawa, so you can sit at a table facing the famous river. This restaurant’s main course includes hors d’oeuvres, steamed vegetables and a main dish, which is often Japanese black beef grill steak. The seasonable pasta is fresh pasta. Finally, the waiter will bring a desert on a stone plate with a live sparkler. When the waiter brings the desert, the restaurant’s background music changes to the birthday song. Therefore, we can celebrate a special day for a friend or loved one. The Sunny Café features a stylish space and delicious food. The birthday dessert plate is also very good. And the waiters will take a picture for you, so you can remember your experience forever.
Pizza Salvatore Coumo
If you want to taste genuine pizza, we recommend Pizza Salvatore Coumo. This restaurant is right next to the Takasegawa (Takase River), which was made famous by a Japanese short story called, Takasebune, written by Ogai Mori. He is one of the greatest novelists in Japan. Takasebune is about the rights and wrongs of euthanasia, so you will be interested in this historical river. Even before entering the restaurant, you can smell the aroma of baked pizza in the air. The grand pizza oven catches your eye as soon as you enter the restaurant, and you can see the open kitchen.
Many foreign tourists come here to dine. They tend to choose terrace seats, because they want to enjoy the unusual, but pleasurable feeling of being right next to the river. However, the inside of the restaurant is nice, too. You can enjoy the feeling of a relaxed atmosphere in Kyoto.
In terms of food, the pizza baked in their authentic pizza oven is the best dish on the menu. The offer many kinds of pizza. They are made by an Italian chef called Pizzaiolo, so this is a traditional method. We recommend the standard margarita pizza, four kinds of cheese with honey pizza, and the Marinara made with four kinds of tomatoes, basil and garlic. They also serve an award-winning pizza from the World Neapolitan Pizza Competition called D.O.C. It is made with cherry tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and grana Padano. You will feel as if you are in Italy when eating such a great pizza.
There are many other items on the menu, like classic penne, cream gnocchi, pepperoncino, and shrimp and mushroom ajillo. Moreover, there are various other tasty things to nibble on. Why don’t you have a few drinks while celebrating your special day? After you finish the main dish, the chef will prepare for you a desert plate with a special message and illustration. Your friends will certainly be pleased with this special plate. It’s perfect for celebrating with friends or family.
Conclusion
As you can see, Marcafe, Sunny Café and Pizza Salvatore Coumo are each great restaurants to visit on a special day. You can enjoy both eating great food and seeing beautiful sights, such as a night view of the river in Kyoto while eating dinner. We promise you will have a memorable time.
Access
Marcafe
The opening hours 11:30~24:00
Kiyomizu-gojyo station 4 minutes on foot
Kawaramachi station 8minutes on foot
Sunny Café
The opening hours lunch: 11:30~15:00, dinner: 17:00~23:30
Sanjyo station 3 minutes on foot
Pizza Salvatore Coumo
The opening hours lunch: 11:00~15:30, dinner: 17:00~23:00
Sanjyo station 3minutes on foot
Kyotoshiyakushomae station 3minutes on foot