SONGBIRD COFFEE

Curry and egg sandwiches, on the second floor above a design store. SONGBIRD COFFEE sits over SONGBIRD DESIGN STORE in Kyoto’s Nakagyo ward, and the two halves of the building explain most of what the café is.

A short kitchen: curry and egg sandwiches

The food is deliberately narrow. Curry and egg sandwiches are the two things the kitchen is known for, and the menu is built around them rather than around a long café list. That focus is the point: a small counter doing a couple of dishes properly, in a room where the design comes first and the plate follows it.

The room slows the choice down

The café is stylish and minimalist, with simple architecture that folds into the surrounding streetscape rather than announcing itself. The light comes in soft, the second-floor position keeps the noise of the street below, and the whole space reads more like a design studio that happens to serve lunch than a café that happens to be well decorated.

Order the curry, then take the stairs down

Order the curry if it is a first visit. It is the dish the kitchen is known for and the one that best matches the pace of the room, which is not built for a rushed lunch. The egg sandwich is the lighter alternative and the better choice alongside coffee. Then take the stairs back down into the design store, which is the other half of the reason to come.