Hassunba

One of the first dishes to catch the eye at Hassunba is dashimaki tamago, a rolled omelette made with dashi that is also mentioned as a house recommendation. It features in the memories of diners who have visited more than once, and looks tempting whether you are picking at small dishes over drinks or ordering something to eat with your meal. The menu lists dashimaki tamago at ¥900; the starter platter, “Hassun”, brings together five kinds of obanzai, or Kyoto-style home cooking, for ¥1,600. If you are unsure what to order, the assortment offers a good starting point, with the option to add any dishes that catch your interest.

Among the dishes singled out in diners’ comments, lotus-root manju with simmered conger eel makes a particular impression. One visitor noted the eel’s simmered flavour and the taste of the dashi, as well as the fried lotus root served alongside and the presentation. The same dish appears on the menu for ¥2,800. Someone who ordered a salad with wheat gluten also praised the way the vegetables and dressing flavoured the gluten, and the crisp texture and sweetness of the Kujo spring onion. The menu includes a salad of fried nama-fu and fruit tomatoes with sesame dressing, as well as a grated-yam salad with scooped yuba, offering a choice of combinations with vegetables, nama-fu and yuba.

There is a broad choice of drinks to pair with the small plates. Sake includes Kyoto labels such as Kamikura, Shotoku and Ine Mankai, alongside varieties from elsewhere in Japan. Shishamo smelt nanbanzuke or an assortment of three kinds of Kyoto pickles could make good accompaniments; to finish, there is yuba rice porridge or dashi ochazuke with grilled salted salmon. For dinner in Pontocho, this is the sort of place where you might start with dashimaki tamago, then try obanzai and other dishes with sake.