Meiki Tairiku Shokudo

Cheap decent food. Better than I expected. You can have fried chicken, gyoza, rice and ice tea for 500 Yen! The ramen also looked very good and huge!

Ok, so the place could be cleaner, better ventilated and well-lit, ok. We get it.

Granted, this place is not for the faint of heart, but if you're in it for best value for money, as I am, then this could very well be your new favourite Kyoto restaurant.

I had dinner there not once, but twice and was certainly not turned away, as others have suggested (Ok so maybe they were in such shock a 'gaijin' would even venture on inside they had no time to react, but that's beside the point).

On to the good stuff; the food. They have a Chinese/Japanese menu so you'll need some understanding of written Japanese or enlist the help of an interpreter (sold separately). If in doubt, just ask for the "gyouza setto" and a "nama biiru" and you'll be good to go.

The gyouza setto featured 12 delicious Gyoza, a bowl of white rice, a small soup, 5-6 pieces of 'karaage' (fried chicken) and a small salad, all for an unbeatable price of just ¥750. The beer'll set you back about ¥550 for either a chilled jug or a large 600ml or so bottle.

I had a set of ramen, fried rice, and gyoza. I happened to pop into this restaurant while passing by while traveling, and it was very delicious.
I've been to several famous restaurants like The Kyoto Ramen in Kyoto, and for me, this is by far the best. The ramen and fried rice set is 900 yen, and the gyoza is 300 yen per person, making it an excellent value for money.
The three staff members were very professional and energetic, and the customer service was not very friendly, but it was a good feeling to have a good sense of distance.