Travel | Cafe Bibliotec, Kyoto

Cafe Bibliotec where the food is delicious, the interior design is beautiful, the menu is quirky and the staff are lovely. What more could you want?! Located near our hotel in Nijo, this fun cafe is highly recommended in the Lonely Planet Japan guide. Not really knowing exactly whereabouts it was positioned on the street we couldn't exactly miss it with these huge palm trees and mountains of bicycles. Inside was designed just as well with low beams, an entire wall made into a library, exposed brick work and miss matching chairs and tables. I had to have a nosy round whilst waiting for a table and couldn't help but dream of our future home looking something similar. 

The menu was a collection of illustrations and different coloured pages are roped together. The food is mainly Western with hints of Asian flare - like my fried salmon sandwich with Asian salad, mustard and Japanese mayo. Think warming soups, hearty breads and light salads. Just what you might need to take a break from Asian cuisine if you happen to be here for a long period of time like ourselves. 

Accompanying our delicious food we each opted for a milkshake, I went for a berry and vanilla mix, and Stew chose their banana and cinnamon. The shake was more ice-cream than milk making it pretty difficult to suck through a straw. However it did mean it made a yummy dessert!

Alongside the cafe is a little open doorway into a bakery, which I presume is part of the same name. In here there were pastries and breads galore! The best selection we've seen here in Japan so far. Unfortunately we were so full we couldn't squeeze anything else in but I regret not buying something to take back for dinner. 

Lonely Planet has proven a god send in recommending great eateries in areas of a city we're not familiar with. However we've also found that our hotel/hostel reception desk are more than happy to point you in the direction of their favourite restaurants.