We walked by this restaurant when checking out restaurants on the Pontocho and wouldn\t have given it a second thought as the English menus posted outside didn\t have photos and the descriptions didn\t sound that exciting. But then I saw a poster on the door (in my photos) which explained their concept and they seemed keen on serving English speaking guests. So when I looked it up on Trip Advisor and saw all the good reviews I was sold. I was totally prepared for the rickety ride up the elevator and actually the room wasn\t as small as some we have been in in Japan. We received a warm welcome from the chef (I think the owner) and he invited us to sit at the bar. When I saw the guy smoking in the seat right next to ours, I was ready to leave. Glad we stayed. Smoking unfortunately is a reality in Japanese restaurants and smaller restaurants don\t have separate smoking areas. The restaurant was full of Japanese people - there was only one other table of foreigners that came in later. Very Japanese atmosphere - although it was funny that we drank sake and everyone else was drinking everything but. The food and service was top notch. I\m not sure how well they spoke English but it was perfect for our needs. We enjoyed it so much we came back for our last dinner in Kyoto. There was even a view out of the side window. Over the two nights we had the green salad, the salmon and Japanese mayonnaise rice rolls, the French fries, the tuna and avocado carpaccio, the onion tart, the spinach quiche, the bread, the shrimps in butter, and the ice cream with baileys. All were amazing. Recommended!!