Vegan
Japanese
Beer/Wine
Take-out

Cafe-style vegan restaurant in the Chabara Complex shopping mall, underneath the train tracks, next to the UDX building, and close to Akihabara station. Est. since 2013. Offers simple shojin ryori (temple cuisine). Order from the menu (has English), or choose from a small selection of the day's dishes. Rice and miso soup re-fills come with purchase of meal. Dessert options include ice cream and shaved iced. Reservations are highly advised and must be made for more than four people. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-3:30pm, 5:00pm-7:30pm, Sat-Sun 11:00am-7:30pm. Last order for lunch 1.30pm.


303 Reviews

First Review by syrupofipecac

jodiveganfit

Points +49

Vegan
16 May 2016

Delicious and tasty vegan cafe in Akihabara

Loved this place, and as many have mentioned it was a little difficult to find but worth the effort. Not knowing any Japanese it was a bit confusing when ordering but the lovely staff helped us out. The food was delicious well priced and you did not walk away hungry that is for sure. The cafe was peaceful and a superb place to relax and enjoy the Japanese cuisine. Great beer!

Pros: Delicious food, Lovely venue, Friendly atmosphere

Cons: A little hard to locate

wolowoloman

Points +80

Vegan
08 May 2016

Lots of variety for a small price.

Tasty vegan food, good variety of different tastes with the set meal. Cheap price for Shojin Ryori. Quiet location. Enjoyable.

Pros: All vegan, Variety of tastes , Cheap

Cons: Plain setting, Staff aren't so knowledgable?

SpokeyDoke

Points +222

Vegan
07 Apr 2016

Delicious and inexpensive Japanese food

You can select 3 of the dishes on offer or go with a plate - we selected 3 each and shared these and a dessert with sesame ice cream... Yum. Everything was delicious. Would definitely come again.

Occasional traveller

Points +28

Vegan
06 Apr 2016

Nice little cafe

Great little cafe with various small dishes to make up a plate. Everything tasted awesome.

JamesW76

Points +1475

Vegetarian
05 Apr 2016

Great set meal, large or small

Following another reviewer's directions we easily found this great place near the train station. It's located in a large store with many whole food concessions.
You can choose a large or small set and there are desserts too. The large set included a few unusual dishes I'd not tasted before and offered a filling meal. The price of 1500 yen is pretty standard for a set meal, very good value in Tokyo. I liked exploring the food concessions too although these were mostly non veg this being Japan!

Food1e

Points +125

Vegetarian
03 Apr 2016

Great location and good traditional food!

Right next to Akihabara station opposide UDX building inside a store called Chabara. The cafe is right at the back of the store and is all vegan. I got the lunch meal where you can choose 3 dishes for 1000Yen and get a side of rice and beans and miso soup. The food is simple but delicious.

thecholl

Points +117

Vegetarian
06 Mar 2016

Lovely

We went to this place on a Thursday night. This place may be a little tricky to find since it's kind of at the back of a shopping type place, persevere and you'll find it.
You can choose from either having a couple of dishes or having the lot. We went for the latter, being our first night in Japan. Well presented and various very tasty foods came.

Pros: Lovely, well presented food

Cons: Could be tricky to find

Ena

Points +293

Vegan
11 Feb 2016

Quick lunch in Akihabara

A nice spot in the crowded nerdy part of Tokyo. You can choose three small dishes plus azuki or white rice and miso soup. The portions are a little too small for the price however the miso soup is SUPER!

Cons: Small servings

Myev

Points +69

Vegetarian
01 Dec 2015

A peaceful vegan corner in busy Akihabara

Thanks to Happy Cow we discovered this quiet corner in the big Chabara marketplace. The food was delicious and fulfilling, the staff really friendly and helping. A good memory from the district of Akihabara.
For approx. 1000 yens we had 3 dishes (all were excellent), a bowl of white rice and a good miso soup.

Pros: affordable Shojin-ryori cuisine, Quiet and peaceful place, Friendly staff

rklevens

Points +519

Vegan
24 Oct 2015

Excellent vegan food in Akihabara

I ate there a few times when I was in Japan last time. I will definitely eat there next time I am in Japan.

Pros: Reasonably priced, Easy to find, Excellent quality

NeusPMI85

Points +270

Vegan
13 Sep 2015

Delicious japanese vegan food

As a japanese food lover I enjoyed it very much, nice set with just thr right amount of food

Cons: A bit hard to find but worth it

VeggieNextDoor

Points +100

Herbivore
17 Jun 2015

a taste-experience

this was my first time having Japanese Temple cuisine and it seemed quite unusual to my American taste buds. I didn't love every dish but my more adventurous husband did. We each had sampler plates with tiny portions of about 9 items + unlimited bowls of rice and the most delicious miso soup. with so many dishes to try I was able to fill up even while passing my husband some of the items that didn't please my palate.

This was a very unique experience and I am glad I tried it!

PS Google Maps took us to the wrong spot! Instead, use the directions explained in the Happy Cow listing!

the staff was friendly and the cafe is very casual, tucked away in a lovely artisan market worth checking out.
Updated from previous review on Wednesday June 17, 2015

Pros: many dishes in sampler, inside nice artisan market

Cons: may seem unusual to western palates - only for the

upbirdman

Points +134

Vegan
01 May 2015

OK

We came here on a Sunday at noon. They were closed because of an event. They opened after the event about 2pm. Decent shojin ryori cuisine. Pretty expensive. Definitely not worth a special trip. Good location at Akihabara.

Pros: good location

Cons: expensive

dagny70

Points +320

Vegan
11 Apr 2015

Lovely food and a new experience

I really enjoyed the food here on the two occasions I visited. Both times, I had the large tasting plate, and found it to be delicious and filling. I have a large appetite and was sure I would go back for free refills on brown rice and miso soup, but I did not. I enjoyed having lots of little bits to try, rather than one big meal, and the combination of hot and cold was also good. My plate consisted of miso soup, brown rice, a bowl of curry, breaded & fried croquettes, tofu, and various salad and mashed...stuff! I also tried the white sesame ice cream and the green tea ice cream, yum! This is more like a cafe in an indoor market, so it's very casual, but that didn't detract from the tasty food. The person serving behind the counter was really helpful and friendly, overall a very enjoyable experience.

Pros: Tasty food, Inexpensive, Casual

chocoholicPhilosophe

Points +865

Vegan
03 Mar 2015

Mediocre

I'm going to go against the trend here and say that I did not much like the food here, in fact I'd say it was probably the worst food I had during my Japan trip. That's not to say it was terrible, it wasn't, but it really wasn't anything to get excited about.

I got the large tasting plate, not because I was particularly hungry, but because I wanted to taste the greatest possible variety of foods. I thought the miso soup mediocre. On the tasting plate, the tofu in the middle (marinated in some kind of sweet sauce) was nice, as were the two croquettes. The rest was not exciting. The green vegetables were soggy, the salad just ok, the mash a bit wierd. The daikon radish was unappealing, but I usually don't like that, it needed way more masking to fit my tastes, but perhaps the fault with that lies in me. Interestingly, the curry was the best part of the meal, and the best vegan Japanese style curry I had during my trip. It still didn't taste like how I remembered, but it was the best of 4 curries I tried during my trip. If it sounds as if I liked the Westernized parts of the meal while rejecting the traditional Japanese parts, that's about right - however, that's not representative of how I usually approach food, it was just how I found the food here.

I freely admit that I've never had Shojin Ryori before, so I have nothing to compare it to on that front, but just as food, I wasn't excited.

Cons: Rather impersonal sitting environment, Food was not that great, Staff person was not very friendly

sweetpotatosoul

Points +75

Vegan
21 Feb 2015

Interesting, delicious, and fun

For the eater who would like to experience shojin-ryori without going to a temple (say for lunch after exploring Akihabara), this place is for you!
The food definitely doesn't look appetizing in the display case at the counter, but it is quite delicious. I ordered the lunch set, and was presented with 9 or 10 different small plates/bites. My favorite was the tofu pulp and the rice cake. I would go back for a dozen of those rice cakes :)
The guy in the kitchen spoke english (I think he was English), and was super helpful. He explained all of the strange dishes for me, and even brought me some fermented rice to try with my meal.
It was a fun experience, and I left feeling well fed.

Restaurant is located in a food market that sells interesting Japanese products. After lunch I spent over an hour wandering around the store.

Pros: Great location, Good food

frbou

Points +66

Vegan
29 Jan 2015

♥I Love It

The food is delicious, I especially love the curry and any daikon dishes! The sides change each time I go, and it's fun to try new ones. The location is really convenient if you are visiting Akihabara. I even went alone a couple of times and there were others eating alone so it wasn't awkward. The staff are really lovely too!

Pros: Delicious, Friendly, Location

muzit

Points +13

Mostly Veg
18 Dec 2014

Japanese tea work shop is comming soon!

we are going to have JAPANESE TEA WORK SHOP for tourist at Komaki-shokudo.

Any questions? Give us message!

https://www.facebook.com/komaki.syokudo?fref=nf

podcastgirl

Points +94

Vegetarian
04 Nov 2014

good fast food

Convenient location. The food was simple but they have good miso soup.

comarica

Points +113

Vegan
15 Oct 2014

So good!

Loved the food. Shojin Ryori, you can choose between 2 or 3 different plates. We took the rice-croquettes...soooo delishious! Nice atmosphere, friendly staff.

Pros: good food, not expensive, variety

Cons: not easy to find inside the mal (signed out badly)

Psychonaut

Points +172

Vegan
07 Oct 2014

Excellent food

Excellent zen food. Definitely a recommendation if you are in Tokyo.

Pros: Food, Traditional, Price

Dirtyanddarling

Points +36

Vegan
19 Jul 2014

Makes up for Tokyo's lack of vegan options.

As an English speaker, I was limited to only two options: the set dishes (because the rest of the menu is in kanji). They are basically the same, there are 8 sides, one of the set dishes is 3 sides with miso soup and rice and the other is a little of all of the sides with miso soup and rice.
I opted for the latter because when in time I guess. Overall I would say Tokyo has been extremely frustrating for me as a vegan but this place almost completely redeems it. This is by far the best meal I've had here and was totally worth the hefty $15 US price tag (don't panic, I got the most expensive thing on the menu, everything else was $10 and under). The staff speaks a little English. Definitely do it!

joeyfalconetti

Points +100

Vegan
15 Jun 2014

A great lunch experience

We sought out this place during our first day visiting Japan. It had great food, friendly service and it was a good break for exhausted travelers. We had a little trouble finding it. It is a small counter with a handful of tables at the back of a market. We were asked to wait a while for a table to free up, then we ordered and paid at the counter. They have set menus and the staff was very friendly, so the process was easy. Our food was very tasty, with a small sampling of a variety of dishes. The meal came with brown rice and miso soup, which we were told we could have refilled once. None of us chose to do so, since the meal was so filling. We did have one miscommunication due to the language barrier. Someone at the table had ordered green tea and we thought it had been paid for. When it didn't arrived, we asked about it and were quoted the price. We had difficulty communicating that we had thought it was already ordered and the tea was declined. The staff then brought out complimentary tea for the entire table, I think because they recognized that there had been a communication problem. They were very sweet and tried their best to speak to us in English while being patient with our limited Japanese.

Pros: Good food, Friendly service, Good location

Cons: Difficult to find, Limited seating

Cleverjenny

Points +46

Vegetarian
19 May 2014

Great Place for Vegans!

Everything on the menu is safe for Vegans! My google maps took me 5 blocks away from the actual location, but you should find it if you plug this into your maps search:

35.699699,139.773075

The downside of this restaurant is that your non-vegan friends will not be happy. I'm a vegetarian, and the dishes were a little too seitan heavy (not my favorite). But the miso soup was good and OH MAN THEIR ORGANIC GINGERALE IS INCREDIBLE! Real ginger!

poopixie

Points +129

Vegan
04 May 2014

fabulous shojin ryori 'fast' food

Came here twice for lunch, a great find in akihabara. Sweet helpful staff and delicious high quality temple food. Definitely recommended!

tobymcmahon

Points +74

Vegan
21 Mar 2014

Great Traditional Japanese Vege

This little store within a whole foods market was a little hard to find but once we were there we enjoyed a cheap set vege meal. The food was amazing and varied from the traditional over processed vege food.

I did struggle to find it but that was purely my fault, the location is amazong as it is right outside the akihabara jr station.

Highly recommended for someone looking for lovely Japanese vege food.

Pros: Food, Cost

Minni

Points +261

Vegan
26 Feb 2014

Good food under the tracks

I liked this place! Food was very fresh every time I went and the possibility to get seconds for the excellent miso soup makes it definitely well worth the money.

It is easy to find if you come by JR Yamanote line to Akihabara station and take the Electric City exit. From the exit, just walk straight about 50 meters towards the UDX building following the railroad tracks until you see a sign on your right that says Chabara. Step in through the door and the restaurant is just opposite to the door.

I thought that their miso soup was the best I found in Tokyo. If somebody makes better vegan miso soup, please share your experience :)

Pros: great miso soup, all vegan

Cons: slightly small portions




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