Vegan
Japanese
Take-out
Asian
Breakfast

Est. Dec. 2023. A cafe located two streets from Kiyomizu Dera. Casual vibe with a friendly, warm owner who can speak a little English. Offers traditional Kyoto style Obanzai set, vegan grilled meat set, nachos, Vietnamese pho, and more. Vegan desserts too including parfait and fried banana. Open Mon-Wed 11:30am-7:30pm, Fri-Sun 11:30am-7:30pm.


Venue map for Silver Backs Cafe
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101 Reviews

First Review by ireneshinoda

DianaMkryan

Points +400

Vegan
09 Jul 2025

Very good vegan food

Loved dinning here, they had great options. So many options to choose from the chef was very kind and friendly. A must try in Kyoto .

Pros: Cute place , Nice staff

太田研

14 Jul 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Kollib

Points +25

Vegan
27 May 2025

Great food!

Our group was very pleased.
Food was really good and the owner was very nice.
I recommend this place 100%.

太田研

27 May 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

carolvegan

Points +4858

Vegan
17 May 2025

Delicious and friendly!

And for our lucky open in the holiday😄we ordered fresh spring rolls with cheese as starter, vegan grilled meat set meal and obanzai set meal, beers, ginger ale and as dessert parfait! All so good! The owner makes everything by his own and he is very nice. Was a little bit pricey, but it was worthy!

太田研

20 May 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

AlexandrineG

Points +174

Vegan
16 May 2025

Great food

I recommend the japanese set with soy meat, it was delicious. We also tried nachos and curry, which were ok.

太田研

20 May 2025

Thank you for visiting our store.
We received good evaluations and will work even harder to encourage this.
We look forward to seeing you again.

VeggiLulu

Points +3443

Herbivore
16 May 2025

Delicious taco rice

It is a rather small restaurant with 4 tables.
The owner is doing everything by himself but the service is still pretty quick and he is a very happy and nice person to talk to.
The food is seasoned very well.
There is a rather big menu with many options.
The portions are a bit smaller but they are cheap and tasty.

Pros: Tasty, Variety, Price

太田研

20 May 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Omniverch47

Points +21

Vegetarian
06 May 2025

Goated with the sauce

You could feed me this for the rest of my days and I would be happy

Pros: Food, Service, Vibes

Cons: Nothing, Also nothing, Nothing (exhibit c)

太田研

08 May 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Pakkanen

Points +133

Mostly Veg
30 Apr 2025

Best soy meat money can buy

We went here twice and the soy meat was incredible. The parfait and nachos were also delicious.

太田研

02 May 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

mbridges

Points +86

Vegetarian
29 Apr 2025

Amazing vegan cafe near kiyomizu-dera

This is a wonderful and very small restaurant (3 tables...) tucked away from the crowds on a side street but also very close to Kiyomizu-dera. We both ordered the soy meat set meal and it was the best vegan meat we have ever eaten. Delicious food from a one man show. English menu and owner speaks English and is a friendly guy. Maybe visit outside of peak lunch hour and if it's full when you arrive, go for a 15-20 minute walk in the temple close by and try again!

Pros: The vegan meat set, The chef and owner, The ambience

太田研

30 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

a.linchen

Points +24

Vegan
25 Apr 2025

Lovely an delicious restaurant

It’s a small but lovely restaurant with great vegan dishes. The food is very delicious and the owner is super friendly. Definitely recommended!

太田研

25 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

RügenWalter

Points +73

Vegetarian
25 Apr 2025

Fantastisch

Ein knettes kleines Restaurant. Der Besitzer war sehr freundlich, der Tacoreis superlecker.

太田研

25 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

patrickphan

Points +39

Vegetarian
25 Apr 2025

Lovely cafe with lovely owner

We got some tempeh, a soy mince with rice, and a set of grilled meat with rice. The marinade for the mince and soy meat was so delicious, none of that artificial flavour that usually comes with mock meat options.

Pros: Many food options with comprehensive English menu, Lovely owner

太田研

25 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

vegotanuki

Points +1272

Vegan
12 Apr 2025

Don’t miss this place

Who would have thought that the tastiest nachos ever could be found in Japan?? Lovely friendly owner and I loved the gorilla theme. Highly recommended - to quote my husband, ‘the vibes are immaculate’

Updated from previous review on 2025-04-12

太田研

13 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

andrei3000

Points +96

Vegan
09 Apr 2025

Pretty good

Had the set meal with some soy based meat, lettuce and rice as well as the parfait. The meal was around AUD20 and parfait was ~AUD15. The meat was ok but a little too covered in sauce and sweet for my taste. Parfait was amazing (the ice cream was top notch).

太田研

09 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We received a good evaluation, and we will work even harder to encourage you to do better.
We look forward to seeing you again.

RhysWoodwards

Points +24

Vegan
08 Apr 2025

Insane vegan meat

Definitely the best food I’ve had in Japan, might even go as far to say the best vegan meat I’ve ever had.. the set meal was incredible from the salad dressing to the perfect rice. Thank you!

太田研

09 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Ashcroft78

Points +105

Vegan
08 Apr 2025

Loved the food here

The owner/chef is adorable, really friendly and welcoming. We had a really interesting set meal that had a great bamboo miso side dish, a hot silken tofu with chili miso sauce, sticky rice, mustard greens and tofu and miso soup. We also got fresh tempeh spring rolls and a Tacco rice bowl. All delicious 😋

太田研

10 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

nerdyness

Points +52

Vegan
07 Apr 2025

Delicious vegan food

And friendly, charismatic owner 🌸🇯🇵😍

太田研

07 Apr 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Croissance

Points +2809

Vegan
29 Mar 2025

delicious

delicious set and the fruit parfait is amazing. the guy seems very cool. felt very good after

太田研

29 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

trianglepark

Points +26

Vegetarian
25 Mar 2025

Delicious!

Great stop if you’re coming down the mountain

太田研

28 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

UsualCrap

Points +314

Vegan
24 Mar 2025

Delicious vegan food

Friendly service, delicious food.
We had rice, spring roll, nachos, pho and vermicelli noodles.
If only we had more time in Kyoto we'd go (silver) back for sure...

Pros: Great flavoursome food , Variety of dishes different to anywhere else, Good value

太田研

28 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

HollyBree

Points +52

Vegan
21 Mar 2025

An absolute last minute delight

Every.Mouth.Full! Yummmmm. Thank you Silver Back for the most delicious meal.

Pros: The soup was so nourishing , The service was excellent , The grilled “meat” was delicious and a bit naughty

Cons: None, None, None

太田研

23 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

wuski

Points +411

Vegan
19 Mar 2025

One of the best meals in Japan

We showed up near close one evening and dined by ourselves. The owner works very hard and his passion shows. We were blown away by the food that night. It was such a comforting, hearty meal after so much walking all day. We came back the next day because we knew we wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about the meal. We were so happy to see the place busy for lunch. Highly recommend the obanzai and grilled meat sets. They’re both incredible. Going to miss this place so much!

太田研

23 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

genehayes

Points +145

Vegan
16 Mar 2025

One of my favorite meals in Japan

The yakiniku teishoku was insane!! Came with a really nice and simple wasabi dressed salad. The owner was super nice and even offered us hand warmers as we left.

太田研

17 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Takadoshika

Points +128

Vegan
10 Mar 2025

Perfect find!

It's such a lovely spot in Kyoto! very near popular streets and temples! a nice different selection of food from nachos to pancakes , the food tasted amazing, and the owner was lovely!! ☺️

Updated from previous review on 2025-03-10

Pros: the atmosphere , the food

太田研

14 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Hodgie

Points +361

Vegan
03 Mar 2025

Definitely worth the visit!

Very close to Kyomizu temple, so if you're going there please come here after.
The owner is very nice and it's a very cosy atmosphere.
The food is very tasty as well!

太田研

04 Mar 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Valuz

Points +247

Vegan
25 Feb 2025

Maravilloso

La comida estuvo muy buena! La carne vegana es muy rica. El dueño es muy amable y el lugar acogedor! 💚

Pros: Sabor, Presentación, Amabilidad

太田研

26 Feb 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

joseyg

Points +376

Vegan
22 Feb 2025

Cute cafe

Ken runs Silver Backs, he is also the cook! It's called silver backs apparently after Ken himself! Haha. Lots of vegan options and deserts.

Pros: Vegan

太田研

24 Feb 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.

Greggco

Points +2344

Vegetarian
17 Feb 2025

Really nice

The vegan meat there is probably the best I've had, very tasty. The owner is very nice and welcoming 👍

太田研

18 Feb 2025

Thank you very much for your visit.
We also received the highest evaluation and will work even harder to encourage you.
We look forward to seeing you again.




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