The best Izakaya (tavern) in all of Kyoto, ‘Shimme’.
First is Shime-saba (pickled Mackerel) It’s silly I come to Kyoto and eat this! Pickled with vinegar it is sweetened with mirin rice wine, sugar and ginger without soy sauce. A rarity! The taste doesn’t feel like mackerel at all
I found some ‘in-season’ Crab on the menu. Uchiko is irresistible—a boiled dish of mazutake mushroom and eel, with a squeeze of Sutachi lime to give the soup a small kick.
We get a broiled dish of Kyoto-style miso-marginated fish, grilled quake and butterfly fish. Then, Turtle nabe (hot pot) which has a distinctive sweet and strong taste.
We warm-up some hot sake and then pour it from the jar. In the shop, there are remnants of a small bridge that are reminiscent of the old red-light district. Groups of friends out drinking increase in such scenery. It’s a store I want to visit forever.