📜 Restaurant Details
FRANÇOIS Café was established in September 1934 and is an iconic café reminiscent of the grand halls of luxury cruise ships. The interior, decorated in the style of Italian Baroque and featuring stained glass, leaves a lasting impression. It is a tranquil space where one can relax while enjoying coffee and light meals, accompanied by classical music. Here, moments rich in spirit flow, allowing patrons to forget the passage of time and the noise of the outside world. Designated as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003, it is a representative café of Kyoto.
The menu offers a wide range of beverages including coffee, black tea, juices made from La France pears and Kyoho grapes, as well as spirits. Light meals include sandwiches and sweet tarts.
From the beginning, FRANÇOIS Café aimed to be a true café of classical music. The selection of classical music was curated by a friend of the founder, Masakazu Tachino, who was also a vocalist and composer, Kō Chūryō. The café frequently plays vinyl records of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Bach, and others.
The walls of the café are adorned with reproductions of famous paintings, including Millet's "The Sower," Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," and Vermeer’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring." A map of Paris hangs on the wall at the back right of the café, which has been there since its inception, and patrons can still enjoy the artworks collected by Tachino.
The café often attracts writers, painters, ceramic artists, and individuals from the film and theater industries, becoming a gathering place for many cultural figures and students. It has even appeared in novels such as Harumi Setouchi's "Family Story" and Kōzaburō Yoshimura's "Kyoto Alley." As a café that nurtures Kyoto's culture, it continues to draw numerous visitors today.
