For our final night in Kyoto, we went to a fantastic izakaya in the Pontocho area called ZuZu. Outside it looked alarmingly kitschy and touristy. When they said it would be a 10 to 20 minute wait, we were a little uncertain whether it would be worth it but we popped into one of the hundreds of nearby bars and had a cocktail before making our way back.
When we returned, there was still no table available and the waiter blushed bright red and bowed lower than I've seen anyone else bow so we felt compelled to wait. Happily, inside it was actually a lovely izakaya and had absolutely fantastic food. We had Korean pancakes, fried chicken, tempura, and slow cooked pork ribs. We also had this fantastic Japanese apricot brandy type drink which I wish I had managed to get the name for (I just pointed to the kanji on the menu and crossed my fingers)!
If you are looking for it, it's very hard to describe where it is. Basically the Pontocho is one long street of bars and restaurants. It is on the main part of Pontocho. If you are coming from the end of the Pontocho with big gates, you need to keep walking until you hit a small park - it's a little way past there on your left.
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