It looked like a handsome Japanese bakery or a bistro to my Japanese eyes when I first saw it. “DE FRITES STAAN,” it said. Due to a lack of language ability, I needed to google: “Dutch french fries specialty eatery” which was the closest answer I could get to understand what it really is. DE FRITES STAAN’s Instagram says “100% Fresh Potato × Craft Beer”. It’s a restaurant.
The storefront of DE FRITES STAAN.
Inside DE FRITES STAAN.
Inside the restaurant were five people working in a clean, cozy small kitchen. I had a surprisingly enthusiastic welcome. One of them was clearly a trainee being trained by another skilled employee. The whole situation made me feel like I was a CEO inspecting their work. None of them spoke Dutch. That’s all fine by me.
DE FRITES STAAN’s menu.
DE FRITES STAAN’s SIGNATURE FRITES “KYOTO”. 1500 yen ($11.50).
I had SIGNATURE FRITES “KYOTO” which was clearly their signature (I’ve never had 1500 yen / $11.50 fries). SIGNATURE FRITES “KYOTO” in one word can be “sukiyaki on fries” or “gyudon with fries”. Sukiyaki (すき焼き) is Japanese, simmered beef in sweet soy sauce. Gyudon (牛丼) is basically sukiyaki on rice. SIGNATURE FRITES “KYOTO” consisted of homemade mayo, beautifully shredded green onions, and an onsen tamago (温泉卵: soft-boiled egg cooked in onsen temperature water). In other words, the dish was Japanese chili cheese fries without cheese.
FRITES “REGULAR 2DIPS” came with homemade mayo and “SAMURAI” sauce (assuming Sriracha mayo). 1200 yen ($9.20).
I appreciated the presentations of the dishes. Certainly, they all looked upscale. But it seems tough for me to choose the fancy-schmancy Japanese Dutch fusion over cheap, downright fries or gyudon especially when McDonald’s restaurants and gyudon chains are around. I wasn’t bougie enough for the game.
DE FRITES STAAN | 542ｰ2 Nakanocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-8042, Japan
