Sakaba Light

Sakaba Light opened in April 2025 at the corner of Shijo and Aburanokoji, between Karasuma and Omiya. The surrounding blocks are full of hotels, but until recently there were surprisingly few places nearby for a good late dinner.

The restaurant is easy to spot from the street. The entire frontage is glass, with the counter, kitchen, and diners visible from outside. Downstairs, an L shaped counter faces the cooks, with a small standing area at one end. Upstairs are tables, another drinks counter, and a communal table for eight. Wood, plaster, and green tile keep the room casual rather than polished. A phrase written on the menu and wall roughly translates as “a bar where people say welcome home and I’m home.”

The food is more serious than the setting suggests. The head chef trained at Arashiyama Kitcho and Kyoto Ito, both deeply rooted in Kyoto kaiseki, yet most dishes here cost around ¥500 to ¥900.

One of the main draws is Kuro Satsuma dori, a black feathered chicken sourced directly from Kagoshima. The three cut chicken sashimi plate usually includes thigh, breast, and white liver, with another preparation served alongside. The white liver is simply seasoned with sesame oil and salt, while the firmer thigh and cleaner tasting breast show how differently each part of the bird eats.

The chicken appears throughout the menu in several other forms. There may be carpaccio, fried wings glazed with sweet soy, or yodare dori coated in a dark sauce colored with bamboo charcoal and sharpened with sansho. Ordering a few of these together gives a better sense of the kitchen than stopping with the sashimi alone.

The vegetable and seafood dishes are just as worth exploring. Broad beans are fried in their skins and finished with garlic salt. Potato salad comes with prosciutto, smoked daikon pickle, and soft boiled egg. Mapo tofu is turned black with bamboo charcoal. Cured mackerel arrives wrapped in cherry leaf, bringing a distinct sakura aroma to the table.

Elsewhere, new potatoes come with smoked mayonnaise, Spanish mackerel may be served lightly seared, and Aji (horse mackerel) is fried and paired with a loose ginger tartar sauce. Wagyu yukke with egg yolk is another easy order when the table wants something richer.

Drinks cover Kagoshima shochu highballs, beer, sake, wine, and cocktails. The staff are good at matching dishes with drinks and will usually point out the day’s better orders without turning the meal into a formal explanation.

Dinner with drinks generally comes to around ¥3,500 to ¥5,000 per person. The counter works just as well for one drink and a few plates as it does for a full dinner, which is useful in a part of Kyoto where late evening options can still thin out quickly.