Tentation d'Ange tries hard to channel a little corner of Provence, or somewhere similar where potted flowers are caught up in the tendrils of runnings beans and grass grows among the paved stones to accordion music. It is also at complete odds with the grayness of its surroundings, on another dull residential street in the north of Kyoto. This is a nail that stands out, and may it never be hammered down.
One of the main reasons for the popularity of this cafe and patisserie is its bread. With both of the daily lunch sets on offer you can eat as much you want, and customers do, loading up twee baskets with curry-flavored bread, sweet bean paste bread, fig bread, baguettes and waffles.
One thing you'll need to know is your order number (in Japanese) when it's roared out from a tiny hatch in the kitchen, alerting you to come and retrieve your meal. It's not a touristy cafe, and no English is forthcoming, so while you're waiting for your lunch set, you might use the time to study the language.
While the lunch sets are generous and filling, they don't push the boat: a slice of roast beef, a small Caesar salad, a weak bouillon soup, a sweet yogurt desert — and, of course, all that bread. The bakery and patisserie offerings are better: the mini-eggplant pizza is delightful and among Tentation's specialities is baumkuchen cake.
Lunch sets from ¥920; Japanese menu; Japanese spoken
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