Japanese food will come to mind when you hear food in Kyoto. However, there are many restaurants where you can enjoy foreign cuisine like Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, etc in Kyoto.
We will be introducing “Thai restaurants” this time. We’ve picked up restaurants where you can enjoy authentic Thai food cooked by Thai chef.
The restaurants listed below are highly recommended for those people wanting to try ethnic food, or local Thai people living in Kyoto who miss their taste.
1. Sanjo Pakuchi (Sanjo Mikawa Cho)
official website URL：http://www.green-curry.co.jp/
“Sanjo Pakuchi” is the second restaurant of “Thai Kitchen Pakuchi” which is a popular restaurant in Kawaramachi Marutamachi.
It’s a 5 min walk from ‘Kyoto Shiyakusho’ station and it is close from the centre of Kyoto like Kawaramachi, so you can stop by on the way to shopping or sightseeing.
The restaurant used to be Machiya, a traditional house in Kyoto, and it reminds you of a legit Thai restaurant. The wooden tables and seats, the dishes they use, and the posters on the wall are all from Thai, which gives you the genuine feel of the restaurants in Thai.
You can enjoy the authentic Thai street food cooked by Thai chef here in SANJO PAKUCHI.
Food is cooked as moderately spicy for people who have Thai food for the first time. You can request for extra spicy or no coriander if you wish.
One of the popular menu is “YATAI NO RAMEN (580 Yen GST excl.)”. It is popular noodle which is originally called “KUITTEAO” in Thailand. You can choose one of 3 noodle styles from thick, middle, and thin.
One of the popular menu is “YATAI NO RAMEN (580 Yen GST excl.)”. It is popular noodle which is originally called “KUITTEAO” in Thailand. You can choose one of 3 noodle styles from thick, middle, and thin.
It comes with 4 essential flavours for Thai food (pepper powder, sour pepper, nam pla, and sugar), so you can enjoy your favorite taste.
You can also enjoy “PHUKET LUNCH (990 Yen GST excl.)” during lunch hour which you can enjoy popular menus of Thai food at once. This lunch menu started only recently.
It is recommended for customers who wants to enjoy Green curry, Gapao, Tom yum goong, and so on.
2. Baan Rim Naam (Shijo Kiyamachi)
official website ：http://www.rimnaam.com/
Baan Rim Naam is located just South from Shijo Kiyamachi. This area has a lot of Japanese Ryoutei and has a very Kyoto-like atmosphere.
Here, you can enjoy genuine Thai food cooked by Thai chefs who came from Thailand.
There are many menus which are made from imported Thai ingredients, ingredients in Kyoto, and Homemade vegetables.
The most recommended menu is the “Tom yum goong (1,102 Yen GST excl.)” which uses big whole shrimps.
You will be addicted to the spicy and sour soup which uses herbs like lemongrass, bai makrut, and shrimp juice! You’ll sure be able to enjoy the ‘real’ Thai taste cooked by talented Thai chefs.
Baan Rim Naam also has “Thai Suki (2,580 Yen GST excl. for 1 set – reservation is essential for 2+ people)” which is a hot pot where you can enjoy shrimp, squid, chicken, and pork flavours. You can also taste two kinds of soups “Gara soup”, and “spicy Tom yam goong soup”.
If you can’t decide on what you want, we recommend you to go for the dinner course (3,400 Yen GST excl. for 1 set – reservation is essential for 2+ people) where you can enjoy bits and pieces of different dishes with a course menu style. You can taste staple Thai dishes like Tom yum goong, yum un sen, and Thai style of fried fish ball. (Course menu is only available from 2 people).
The restaurant has an atmosphere of the Machiya and traditional Thai houses mixed together. You can enjoy the view of Kamo river from the window seats, and in the Nouryoudoko season (a raised platform on the bank of a river for enjoying the summer cool) you will be able to enjoy your dinner on the Toko seat on the river bank (May to September).
3. THAI CURRY RESTAURANT SIAM (Enmachi)
official website ：http://www.siam-thaicurry.com/
“Thai curry restaurant siam” is the first ever restaurant in Kyoto which specialises in curry. It is located just 5 mins walk from ‘Enmachi’ Station. This station also has buses that takes you to places like Kinkakuji, Kitano Tenmangu, and Arashiyama.
You can enjoy delicious curries which are admired from local people in Thailand.
The most popular menu is “Green Curry” which uses green chili and coconut milk, and choice of your meant chicken, pork, or seafood
There are also other menus like red curry which is also popular, which is made from red chili and coconut milk, and a cuisine for the Southern part of Thailand, “Islam curry” which is basically red curry, with peanut butter and some spices added in. The secret to the delicious taste is the homemade curry paste which has been improved many times by the chef over time. It has been made with a lot of time and effort, grinding the fresh herbs from Thailand.
There are many repeaters for the taste of the spicy, yet fruity taste of the curry paste, from the combination of the coconut milk and the homemade paste prepped weekly to keep the smell of the herbs fresh.
There is also “Brown curry” which is a cuisine of Northern part of Thailand. This curry is not that spicy, and they do not use coconut milk, so it is recommended for the customers who are not good at spicy foods, or the sweetness of the coconut milk.
You should also check out the second restaurant, “Thai Curry Ramen Sian” located near Hankyu Omiya Station. You can enjoy “Kao soy” which is the curry ramen originally form the Northern part of Thailand.
4.KINKHAO (Sichijou)
official website ：http://www.kinkhao.net/
“KINKHAO” is a restaurant where you can enjoy not only real thai food but also Isan food (north east part of Thailand) which is called Laos food. There are only a few restaurants you can eat Laos food in Kyoto
The menus which are reproduced authentically by Thai chef are popular with not only people who are a big fan of Thai food but also for the beginners. Thai herb and vegetables are cultivated directly by the owner with the use of less chemical, so you can enjoy high quality Thai food.
The restaurant is located at the foot of Shichijou Oohashi (Shichijou bridge). You can enjoy the view of Kamo River and Higashiyama whilst enjoying the beautiful food on the Tatami seats.
The menu goes well over 80 dishes! You can enjoy not only the famous Thai foods like “Thai curry”, “Tom yum goong”, and “Gapao”, but also “bag bun・faidean” which is fried Chinese water spinach, and “Somutamu” which is a very spicy salad made from blue papaya.
During the lunch hours, you can enjoy some set menus with your choice of mains from Pad Thai, Thai Ramen, or Curry for less than 1000 yen! The “Lunch Course (1800 Yen)” is also popular where you can eat your normal Thai food as well as some desserts.
You should also check out some of the Asian drinks you can’t get anywhere else. There’s the tropical juice like Mango, and Guava, also “Cheian” which is a Thai sweet tea, and Laos coffee which has condensed milk in a coffee.
You can also enjoy the classic Singha beer and Chan beer, as well as the imported beers Bialao, and Balaodam from Thailand and Laos.
5. Channoi (Kitayama)
official website ：http://www.k5.dion.ne.jp/~changnoi/
“Channoi” is located at kitayama street and the Blue Tuktuk (standard Taxi with 3 wheels in Thailand) is the landmark of the restaurant. It is located in a quiet area with many stylish stores, restaurants, and patisseries.
Inside of the restaurant has an atmosphere of a resort decorated by Asian goods and furniture.
Dishes are cooked by a Thai chef who has worked in a first-class Thai hotel in Hiangmai so you can surely enjoy the genuine taste of Thai food.
All the ingredients are imported directly from Thailand and some fresh vegetables are harvested in Kamigamo in Kyoto. The dishes are made less spicy for Japanese peoples, but you can ask for more spicy or sweeter if you want to try real Thai foods taste.
If you want to have a good dinner here, we recommend you the course menu (1240 Yen GST excl.) available on the weekdays Monday to Friday.
Main dish is a choice from “green curry”, “Steamed rice with Chicken (Kaonmangaio)”, “Rice with fried ground pork and basil (mupadlrapao)”, etc. It is a luxury course where there’s one main dish, two side dishes, soup and dessert.
You can choose from course menus, a la cart, or whatever depending on what you feel like at the restaurant.
There’s also Lunch set menu (880 Yen GST excl.) available at lunch time which comes in a reasonable price with loads of food for your hungry stomach. They not only have the standard Thai food, but also daily specials like “fried squid with basil”, “fried beef with oyster sauce”, etc. at lunch time.
Was there any restaurants you were interested in going?
Every place we just introduced, will serve authentic Thai food, so just choose from the atmosphere or a place nearby where you’re planning to visit.
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