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Vegan
American
Pizza
Japanese
Macrobiotic
Western
Take-out
Gluten-free
Breakfast
Gluten-free vegan restaurant located a short walk east of Keihan Sanjo station. Menu items include fermented vegan cheese (also for sale), veggie burgers, soups, brown rice risotto, organic pasta, quiche, pancakes, raw cake, smoothies, hot drink. No fried food. Open Mon-Tue 9:30am-8:00pm, Thu-Sat 9:30am-8:00pm, Sun 9:30am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-8:00pm. Closed Wed. Last order for lunch 3pm, dinner 8:30pm.
357 Reviews
First Review by jennjt
thecholl
Points +117
Not bad for gluten free - Edit
I believe this place is a gluten free joint. I had a burger while my partner had a pasta dish. Both were good though my partner felt his dish was a little mean-portioned.
Read moreWe also enjoyed a couple of smoothies, but again, I felt they were a little mean for a small size (especially, if some of the glass is taken up with ice -- not good form!)
I was not especially enticed by the choices on the dessert menu so we skipped this.
Pros: Non smoking
Cons: Could be better value for money
Guest
Tbms1992
Points +131
Yummy vegan pasta and cheeses! - Edit
My partner and I being self confessed fat vegans loved having a bowl of cheesy pasta and cheese cake for dessert! Visited here twice. Restaurant itself is very relaxed, playing jazz music and the waitress spoke good English. They make a range of delicious vegan cheeses which you can buy on their own. The baguettes at the French chain Via de France are also vegan so my advice would be to buy a baguette and some cheese from Choice and enjoy (if you are a carb fiend like we are) ;)
Read moreGuest
mamba
Points +1420
Great food! - Edit
The restaurant is clearly health-oriented, the atmosphere rather "clean". But, anyway, the food is really really good! I wish I had visited this restaurant earlier, so that I could have come back for a second or even third time... I had quiche, soup, salad, bread, everything was good, the quiche and the bread were outstanding! They also have more creative dishes on their menu, and a huge selection of vegan cheese!
Read moreThe location is easy to find and near tourist spots!
Pros: the food, easy to find
Cons: lack of atmosphere
Guest
SagaVigreBohinen
Points +1079
Healthy food with wonderful staff! - Edit
This is a beautiful decorated vegan cafe/lunch/restaurant. It has a cozy cafe vibe and the staff is super nice and helpful. If you have a hard time finding herbal tea for your stay in Kyoto they sell some teas and also chocolate!
Read moreWe went there twice during our stay in Kyoto because it was about 1 min from our hotel! We had the pasta with their home made vegan cheese one night and pancakes the other night! The food is a bit expensive for how much you get, I would suggest ordering a starter first but don't come here if you're on a tight budget. The pancakes are great but a bit dry, which I didn't mind!
Overall a nice cafe but not a must-visit!
Pros: Wonderful interior , Cosy atmosphere, Great staff
Cons: Too expensive , Small portions
Guest
Greenkangaroo
Points +21
average - Edit
Western style menu. We ate risotto and vegetarian stroganoff. A place to go but nothing special and rather expensive.
Read moreCons: quite expensive
Guest
LisaLisaLisa
Points +423
Changed a lot in one year - food still A+! - Edit
One year had passed since I last visited this restaurant and things have changed quite a lot. The interior was redesigned entirely, for the better I think, as it feels more like a real restaurant/cafe the way it is now. There were some other changes I didn’t like quite as much though. The staff has grown in number and has become less warm and much more business-like. The lady behind the counter did not even listen to what I was saying to her whilst a year ago I had some nice conversations with the staff. It’s become way more popular and busy, maybe that’s why the service has become less warm. Not that it was terrible or anything.
Read moreThe food on the other hand is still as good as ever! This is one of the few places I know of in Japan that serves home-made vegan cheese. We also had the vegan cheese cream sauce spaghetti which was really really good. I don’t usually order pasta in restaurants because it’s so easy to make yourself but I wouldn’t be able to make vegan cheese cream sauce that is thís good.
They also sell vegan cheese to go (around 2500 yen for a 4 inch round piece of cheese).
Oh and I wanted to make a reservation on the same day but they told me they didn’t accept reservations, I don’t know if they meant same-day reservations or reservations in general...
Pros: Vegan cheese in Japan!, Excellent food, Exceptionally good pasta
Cons: Staff less warm and more business-like
Guest
shazb22
Points +83
yummy vegan food - Edit
I wish we had found this place earlier in our stay, i would definitely have gone back more. The decor is nice and has a wine bar/comfy lounge feeling to it with good music. The vegan cheese board was delicious (i wish i could make cheese like this as thats the one thing i miss about being vegan). I ate half of my friends pancakes too which were just as good. Definitely try it out and i will be back next time I'm in Kyoto
Read moreGuest
vegan_simon
Points +2783
Classy, Romantic - Edit
Upmarket feel with prices to match. Had the vegan cheese platter, deli plate and a glass of red bio wine. All very, very nice. My friend had the curry which was rather bland. Comfy seats, soft lighting and pleasant background music.
Read morePros: Stylish, comfy, classy, Distinctive menu
Guest
GardenTiger
Points +267
Modern, Fancy and delicious - Edit
We loved this place. This is what a vegan restaurant (or any restaurant, really) should be like and look like.
Read moreWe had pasta of the day, but it contained onions which I don't like, it was no problem to receive a different pasta dish, and it was delicious!
We also had smoothies and a chocolate cake as dessert. Everything was delicious. The server was very nice and the atmosphere in this cafe is great. Go there!
Pros: Great Atmosphere, Delicious food, modern
Guest
sarah m
Points +259
Superb! - Edit
What a delight. We shared the caesar salad, the pasta dish and the fondue plus some chocolate pancakes [not your usual pancakes but still delicious]. All vegan and all gluten free. Wow! Would definitely come here again.
Read morePros: delicious , great vibe , clean
Guest
MyVeganJoy
Points +583
Nice and Tasty Organic Vegan meals - Edit
We visited Choice in Kyoto 3 times. The food is tasty and the service is very nice. They are open at 11 am for 'eat in/lunchtime', but they are also selling some muffins and cookies starting from 9 am. The portions aren't huge, but because the set meal contains 5-6 dishes, we always left full and happy. Their 'pancakes' are not what you would expect - they are more like corn bread, not pancakes in the western sense of the word... Serves good organic coffee, and ingredients quality is very high: organic, local, macrobiotic, balanced. We'll happily go back on our next trip to Kyoto.
Read morePros: close to station, stylish, organic, healthy
Cons: pancakes are not what you'd expect ;)
Guest
JanWolffgang
Points +26
Clean, modern and good food - Edit
We visited this restaurant 3 times and had great meals, made from the buttom, and 100 % vegan.
Read moreThe lunch, dinner and deserts were all very nice.
A nice and exceptional clean and hygienic local restaurant, with professional owner and very nice waiters and employees.
Absolutely WORTH visiting.
Thanks for a great experience.
LHJ from Denmark
Updated from previous review on Sunday August 02, 2015
Pros: Central, Close to Gion, Clean
Guest
AliDark
Points +92
good and bad - Edit
This is a classy joint, possibly organic and definitely health oriented. Great for whole foods eaters. I was actually meaning to visit another restaurant with pizza but came here by accident.
Read moreClean and welcoming.
My partner got the curry Which was just a bit small, and unusual tasting. Prob not for all although it did have its own thing going on. This was 2.5 stars.
My taco rice on the other hand was a 4... Tasty and large. Nice hearty bowl of stacked ingredients, lovely salad on top.
Guest
Yama
Points +25
Centrally located and clean, address in Japanese - Edit
Went there for the first time this week. The central location raises expectations that more people in Japan will get interested in veganism (so far behind right now...). The staff were very friendly and the food fine.
Read moreRegarding the exact location we had to call to find it. Although it is close to the Sanjō Keihan station, the GPS directions were inaccurate. From the crossing between Kawabata and Sanjō, one has to go East for about two hundred meters to find it (past the Family Mart and the first light). Here is the exact address in Japanese:
〒605-0009 京都府京都市東山区大橋町89-1 鈴木形成外科ビル1F
Unfortunately, it closes quite early on weekdays (19:00 last order Monday to Thursday and 21:00 on Friday and Saturday) and is closed on Sunday.
Guest
upbirdman
Points +134
nice place - Edit
We came here on a Thursday evening and it was closed because of an event of some kind. We returned on Saturday and had a nice meal. Mostly western food.
Read morePros: nice ambience , good eastside location
Guest
RovingRodent
Points +65
Fair, but not great - Edit
Easy to find, large , clean and bright inside. They seem to put a great amount of care and effort into preparing the food, but it was a little disappointing taste-wise.
Read moreIt's important to note that they take last orders at 19:00 on weekdays, one hour before closing time. We turned up hungry just past 7pm and were turned away on our first visit.
Guest
chocoholicPhilosophe
Points +865
Disappointing curry, but otherwise great food - Edit
I went here with two vegetarian friends and an omni after a day exploring the Kiyomizu temple area and ending up in Gion.
Read moreAll of us ordered the Japanese curry, and while it was ok, it didn't taste the way I remember a Japanese curry tasting. I guess that might be because it was super-healthy (no sugar or oil), but I was just craving a real Japanese curry, minus all the non-vegan bits, and it just didn't live up to that standard.
On the other hand, the drink I had with it was amazing. It was a soy amazake (a sweet basically non-alcoholic sake byproduct) drizzled with chocolate sauce. I tried every amazake drink I came across while I was in Japan, and this was easily the winner.
I also ordered the cheese tasting platter, so we could all taste the different cheeses (although, to be honest, I ate more than my fair share). The cheeses didn't quite taste like their namesakes (for starters, the cheddar was spreadable) but they were nevertheless the best vegan cheeses I've tried so far anyway, except maybe the miso-tofu cream cheese I had at Iki Laboratory in Sapporo. They were certainly in a completely different league to commercial vegan cheeses.
The mini rice milk ice-cream was pretty good too, it was much better than the So Good soy ice cream I'm used to in Australia.
Overall, if I was in the area, I'd probably come again, but I'd pick something other than curry.
Pros: English menu available
Cons: Atmosphere was a bit sterile
Guest
necius
Points +506
Great food, vegan cheese and ice cream - Edit
I tried this place with my girlfriend after a long morning in Kyoto. After getting lost a little on the way there (it's on the north side of the road, a little to the east of where the marker says) I entered and was struck by the feel of the place. The place had a modern high-class feel to it, while still being inviting. In the entry way there is a little store area with various vegan goodies for sale.
Read moreWhen we were seated we were greeted with an English menu and were served by a woman who had excellent English. We both decided to have the Japanese curry for a main, and were both very pleased with it.
For 'dessert' I decided to have a vegan cheese tasting plate. It was a little bit expensive for three small pieces of cheese on crackers, but it was amazing. I've not had a large selection of vegan cheeses, so perhaps I'm not the best judge, but it was far and away the best vegan cheese I've ever had. My girlfriend had the daily cake with a scoop of vegan ice-cream, and she was emphatic that it was the best vegan ice-cream she's ever had.
Overall it wasn't cheap for Japanese standards, but it wasn't expensive either. I would definitely visit this place again, and recommend others to do so, also.
Pros: Nice decor, Great vegan cheese, Great vegan ice-cream
Guest
stegh
Points +116
Easy to get to, tasty food - Edit
Very near to the train station and the river-- address shown is not exactly right-- walk past the Pig and Whistle and keep going down the block. Green sign, warm atmosphere. Staff speaks some English but not a lot. Set meal with quiche, soup, bread and salad was filling, if somewhat uninspiring. Easy to get to, easy to eat, and FULLY VEGAN.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Friday January 16, 2015
Pros: 100% vegan, great location, good value
Guest
JimmySeah
Points +31245
Location on the map is wrong - Edit
This is the correct location on Google Map, kindly update to this. Thank you.
Read morehttps://www.google.com/maps/@35.0092402,135.773824,3a,75y,345.66h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sbRUbukitHq5dfgrXO2G42g!2e0
Choice Cafe is conveniently located just outside Sanjo Keihan Station. Tried the Curry during Lunch.
The place is brightly lit, clean, price is reasonable. It would be perfect if the portion is slightly bigger.
Pros: Conveniently located near subway, Place is neat, clean and brightly lit, Price is reasonable
Cons: Would be better if the portion is bigger, staff do not speak much English
Guest
stancredi
Points +39
Good food and clean Restaurant - Edit
We had a great experience in Choice Cafe, the food was tasty and fresh, we had the organic coffee and it was great even with Soya Milk...
Read moreThe people were friendly, they also have a English Menu.
Pros: Delicious Food, Clean , Good location
Guest
LiaTraballero
Points +2066
Not an impartial review - Edit
The restaurant is in the same building of a plastic surgery clinic.. and this can explain very well why it looked so "medical".
Read moreThe food was good, nothing extraordinary or maybe we were only too influenced by the atmosphere.
Anyway, it is not easy to eat veg in Japan, so if you are close to this place, go for it, they serve what we believe in ;)
Cons: Medical ambient
Guest
iwanttofu
Points +45
Not a food review, but... - Edit
While researching places to eat in Kyoto, this seemed to be the closest restaurant to where I was staying. I walked past every day and can say you will have no trouble at all finding it now as it has a large green sign outside saying VEGAN CAFE.It's on the same side of Sanjo as the Family Mart. However, I never went inside, there was always somewhere more exciting looking to eat.
Read moreGuest
Psychonaut
Points +172
Delicious Food, Worth Coming Back! - Edit
The location is very central. The location on the HappyCow map was not too acurate though. There is a sign now however, so you should be able to find it.
Read moreThe food was delicious. It was special also with yummie vegan cheeses.
The staff was very friendly.
Pros: Delicious Food, Special Foods Available, Friendly Staff
Cons: Cosmetics Publicity (No real Con though)
Guest
Nancy Cadet
Points +1149
Light & delicious vegan lunch/dinner/dessert - Edit
Location: on Sanjo-dori, one block east of the Keihan railway-Sanjo station, on north side of street. That's on the east side of the Kamo river. If you reach the cross-street Hanami-koji, you've gone too far. The shop front has a big glass window, with green lettering "Choices." We also saw tables and a menu board outside.
Read moreMenu : this vegan restaurant has rather pricey multi course meals for lunch (39',000 yen) and dinner, as well as a la carte options, and a selection of " take away" set meals that are reasonably priced. There is an English menu and spiral notebooks on the tables with photos of the different dishes. This is fine vegan cuisine, and we loved the house-made vegan cheese "tasting platter", sourdough bread and mesclun salad with crunchy vegetables. Other items on the lunch menu included taco rice, veg curry, tofu quiche and seaweed salad.
Ambiance: quiet, spacious, with polished wood tables and chairs, and an open kitchen at the back. In front,you will find organic groceries for sale, books and a counter for take out. The waitstaff were very friendly , spoke some English and tolerated our limited Japanese with a smile. They even suggested ordering a set meal from the "take-away" menu because it was a better deal. I will defiantly go back for more.
Pros: Easy to find on major street , Sanjo -dori , y, inventive, unusual vegan fare, Friendly staff
Cons: A limited menu, Multi course set meal is expensive, Moderate sized portions
Guest
eatinggreen
Points +608
Good food in a clinical environment - Edit
When we first arrived we hesitated to go inside. It's literally some sort of medical clinic and looks and feels the part in every way. Brightly beaming fluorescent lighting, harshly sterile whites and cheap plastic materials abound. Everything about it felt wrong to us.
Read moreBut alas, we had come a long way so we figured we may as well venture in. We were in a hurry so didn't have time to sit down to eat - and given the ambiance we didn't want to either. We ordered an acai smoothie and an oil-free curry each to go.
The smoothies hit the spot and were gone in seconds - no taking away involved in that interaction! Thumbs up. The curry we enjoyed later on in the bullet train and it was yummy too - very healthy and true to its words, oil free, so we felt good afterwards, which is important to us.
If only they would do something about the environment we'd be back for sure. Other reviewers speak of 6 course meals which does tickle my curiosity, but I wonder if we could stand being in there for long enough to eat 6 courses... all those bright lights would surely be off-putting. Still, might give it a go sometime. If we do, we'll report back again...
UPDATE: So we did it - we went back and tried the course. The lights and ambience were still a big issue for us but wow, can see why all the positive reviews as the food is wonderful.. inspired, creative, delicious and super healthy all in one. Definitely worth your time and money.
Updated from previous review on Wednesday September 10, 2014
Pros: Strong health focus, Robust flavours, Creativity is evident in the preparation
Cons: It's in a doctor's clinic.., bright lights, plastic materials..., ambiance needs some serious work
Guest
mr.zaatar
Points +40
Lovely 6-course vegan meal - Edit
I visited Choice for dinner in Jan. 2014 after seeing it recommended by Miyoko Schinner and I had a wonderful time. It is a bit tricky to find--I was sure that it was on the other side of the street and stood looking around until I looked to the other side of the street and saw the lively green signage and plants through the front window. It was not busy so I was seated immediately.
Read moreThe server was professional. I don't speak Japanese and she was a bit nervous to speak in English but she did great explaining everything. We both had a couple of laughs at each others language flubs!
First was a fruity enzyme tonic and some assorted pickles. Next was a very nice salad of tomatoes, radishes, persimmons, and homemade mozzarella cheese (from Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook). Next was a silky squash soup with soy milk foam. Then a brown rice and green vegetables risotto with more homemade cashew cheeses. The entree was a tempeh and root vegetable kebob with soy glaze and a creamy sauce. Finally, dessert was a plate of assorted treats: panna cotta, blueberry cake, poached apples, ice cream, and a fresh and dehydrated fruit compote. During the meal I was acquainted with Dr. Suzuki, the proprietor. She was a very pleasant lady and I chatted with her a bit about veganism and even vegan cheese-making.
The meal was light and satisfying. It is not heavily seasoned or spiced cuisine but it is delicious. The food presentation was also on point. The restaurant is very clean and has a nice window between the dining room and the kitchen through which you can see the chefs preparing the meals. My only regret is not having enough time to come back for lunch! I really wanted to but timing didn't work out. I will definitely go back and eat at Choice when I return to Kyoto. It was very memorable!
Updated from previous review on Thursday June 26, 2014
Pros: Delicious 6-course vegan meal
Cons: Can be a bit tricky to find at first
Guest
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