Pre-Breakfast Coffee at Inoda

As I mentioned in an earlier post, whilst we were in Kyoto, we were lucky enough to spend time with some friends from home. In addition to M and L, we got to hang out with our close friends Mr. and Mrs. A. We have known Mr. and Mrs. A for at least 15 years, I’d say. Their daughter, H, and I go waaaaay back. H is more than just my best friend, she’s like my sister. Sadly, H was not able to join her parents in Kyoto, but we were excited to know that not only were they also staying at Tawaraya, but they were in the room next to ours!

On our way to get coffee


We didn’t have much time to spend with Mr. and Mrs. A, however, they did ask us to join them for some pre-breakfast coffee at their favorite café in Kyoto – Coffee Inoda. Unlike Starbucks, Inoda isn’t a massive chain with an extensive menu of coffee concoctions. Inoda is a very elegant café, with a sophisticated menu of both coffee and food. It is very popular and there is usually a line to get in. Although we arrived right around the time it opened, we still had to wait nearly 10 minutes!


From an aesthetic point of view, Inoda is really gorgeous. Wooden chairs, marble tables – very very nice. The coffee was delicious. Freshly roasted, freshly ground, and strong. The perfect cup of coffee. The one downside of Inoda, which isn’t really a fair statement since it has nothing to do with the coffee, was the indoor smoking. That was frustrating, but I guess, when in Rome…

My parents, Mr. A, and Mrs. A all ordered the signature Inoda coffee blend, but I ventured to get something a bit more different. I ordered the Viennese coffe, which came with a dollop of whipped cream. As someone who has been to Vienna several times, I was expected a mountain of fluffy cream. That is not what I received. The Inoda whipped cream was the size of a tablespoon and quite dense --- almost like clotted cream. It was tasty, but not quite what I had expected.
Viennese Coffee



We stayed at Inoda for nearly an hour, chatting and enjoying our coffees. It was a lot of fun! Next time I am in Kyoto, I’ll be sure to come back to Inoda and on that occasion, I will try their house blend.

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