I’ve been warming up to the idea of opening a restaurant for about 15 years. The day I saw the tenants here, I impulsively decided to open a restaurant,” smiles Nobue Takei of Sake and Takei! I decided on impulse to open a restaurant the day I visited the tenant,” says Nobue Takei of Sake and Takei with a smile. She called on her daughter Fuka, Fuka’s partner Ryusei, and her son Kaiji, who like her are good at cooking and love to drink, and the two restaurants were born so that they could respect the style they wanted to pursue.
［Ryusei Kitagawa and Fuka run Neshop. They decided to start the restaurant together after the popular cafe “Somushi ohara” in Ohara, where they worked together, suddenly decided to close.
We had planned to open a restaurant together someday, but we never thought it would come true so soon. Our cuisine is often genre-less, somewhere between stateless and multinational, and our drinks, such as natural wines and unusual types of shochu, are also unique,” Ryusei and Fuka said.
Spiced meat and potato fried spring rolls with a Japanese flavor, chicken with a sauce made from the same ingredients as those found on a trip to Taiwan, and potato salad that makes the most of ingredients smoked in house are all unique ideas and arrangements. The lunch plate, available only on Saturdays and Sundays, offers a wide variety of dishes at a reasonable price, and is perfect as an entrée for a lunchtime drink. Many people come for the thick, rich basque cheesecake made by Fuka.
Neshop’s Lunch Plate, available only on Saturdays and Sundays, is 1500 yen and features more than 10 dishes using plenty of Ohara vegetables. On this day, Thai-style fried gai toto, sauteed seasonal vegetables, etc.
Tororo Pork Kakuni (stewed pork belly) served at night: 750 yen. The tender pork stew simmered for a day tastes like something you would want to eat every day. It goes perfectly with the accompanying mashed potatoes kneaded with hot chili peppers.
On the other hand, Nobue and Kaiji work together at Sake and Takei, which mainly serves Japanese cuisine. Kaiji, who is mainly in charge of cooking, just graduated from university this spring.
I got into cooking when I was a college student, partly because of my mother’s influence, and I thought I would become a chef in the future,” says Kaiji. His 83-year-old grandmother makes the obanzai that line the counter, and the whole family is involved in the cooking.
Chicken Nanban with Shibazuke Tartar, an eye-catching pink color, is 650 yen. The tartar sauce is made with Worcestershire sauce and white soup stock, and accented with the acidity of Shibazuke pickles.
Izawa’s Potato Salad, from left, is based on a recipe by Nobue’s former colleague, Izawa. It is full of flavor with salted kelp and minced chicken. Chicken liver simmered with ginger (450 yen) is carefully prepped to remove the smell and is made over a long period of time. It is said to be Nobue’s signature dish.
What you should taste with the food at this restaurant is, above all, sake. Nobue says she was captivated by the first sip of “Onogawa” from Akita Prefecture, and the description on the menu conveys her passion for the sake.
From left to right: Ryusei Kitagawa, Kaishi Takei, Fuka Takei, Nobue Takei
I am very happy that my dream has come true and that the four of us, the best four of us, are now working together on this restaurant. I hope we can all do our best to make this a restaurant that is loved mainly by the locals,” said Nobue. The small store was overflowing with the family’s passion, filling both our stomachs and our hearts.
Neshop
net store 43-7 Shichijo Goshonouchi-Honcho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 7 min. walk from South Exit of JR Nishioji Sta. Tel.080-3840-2922 18:00 – 24:00
Saturday and Sunday 11:00-15:00 Closed on Thursdays and Fridays
All seats non-smoking (smoking space available) No private room No parking
https://www.instagram.com/neshop.kyoto/
AloJapan.com