Vegan
Japanese
Beer/Wine
Kyoto branch of a Tokyo-based vegan izakaya (Japanese pub or bar) tucked away in a side street. Menu consists of vegan fried chicken, gyozas, cold dishes like potato salad, rice and mapo tofu. Serves alcohol and some vegan beers. Open Mon 12:00pm-10:00pm, Wed-Sun 12:00pm-10:00pm. Hours are subject to holidays - check socials.
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Last update on 28 Jan 2025 by AllKnowingAlien
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Added by the_rusty_knight on 23 Dec 2024
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27 Reviews
First Review by LorraineCrowley
robb26
Points +38
Average food and overpriced - Edit
I thought the food was pretty mediocre. I know it’s vegan food in Japan, but I’ve been to some really top notch places and this just didn’t hit the mark.
Read moreI thought the Gyoza was okay, but the soy-sauce it came with was not very flavourful.
I also had the eggplant kimchi. I was actually looking forward to trying this as I love kimchi and wanted to see this twist. It was just fine, nothing to write home about. I’d have preferred just normal vegan kimchi.
I also got the chicken balls with Lemmon and green onions. This was actually quite good! The onion sauce with it was very moorish. The chicken balls themselves were just fine. One thing that really let the dish down was the salad that came with it. It had almost a chemical taste to it. Like chlorine in a swimming pool.
I think it was just over 3000 yen for this. It’s a little pricy for what I got imo. Wouldn’t go again I’m afraid to say as the building and interior is very lovely. Food needs improvement.
Pros: Building and setting, Staff- friendly and accommodating , It’s vegan!
Cons: Cost is a little too much for what it is, There was a smell of smoke from the back, Food mediocre
Guest
rebeccastrmtr
Points +89
Komplett veganes Restaurant - Edit
Tolle Karte mit unterschiedlichen kleinen Gerichten (Tapas Größe) zum teilen. Sehr lecker! 🤤
Read moreGuest
DéiaAndréia
Points +49
Cozy Vegan Place - Edit
Vegan Izakay is a discreet and welcoming place, with good food and service.
Read morePros: Friendly service, Nice ambiente, Good food
Guest
Stephyjadee
Points +342
Better then the Tokyo store - Edit
Delicious food but in a nicer setting than the Tokyo store. We had the fried mushrooms, vegan fried chicken, fried broccoli, edamame and gyozas
Read morePros: Delicious food, Nice restaurant setting, Friendly staff
Guest
sweetpotatosav
Points +22
Best food I’ve had on my trip - Edit
The food here was delicious, flavorful and came out in a timely manner. The staff were extremely friendly!
Read moreGuest
martint
Points +9016
Best vegan Japanese restaurant - Edit
The restaurant is a real gem. Althogh it is not located in the touristic area it is worth visiting. This is an authentic izakaya, inside of a traditional builduing with a genuine menu. Most of the items are fried in "karaage" style so maybe not the healthiest, but definitively tasty. On top of that the waiter was very likeable and we had a nice chat. A must visit
Read moreGuest
rq_0_iq
Points +73
A chill place with delicious food - Edit
The place was really cute and the vibe was really relaxing. The food was delicious and the staff really kind. A good place to visit if you're in Kyoto!
Read moreGuest
holdeyjay
Points +17
Amazing food! - Edit
Took my family (who aren’t veggie or vegan) and they couldn’t believe how tasty everything was. Went for the tofu and 2 portions of fried chicken. Everything tasted so good, textures were lovely and a good beer to accompany. Will be recommending to anyone who visits the city.
Read moreGuest
Tsukimi
Points +6584
Good but too much fried foods - Edit
Nice old Japanese building. The food is good but I wished they had some non fried veggie dishes like ankake, or just stir fry veggies.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-05-17
Guest
AlexandrineG
Points +158
Great restaurant - Edit
Everything was super good, but almost everything was fried ! Great experience overall.
Read moreI suggest you arrive early because they can close when the waitlist is full.
Guest
kimwim
Points +59
Nice place - Edit
Good atmosphere, the staff were very friendly. There was a large selection of dishes and the food was very tasty.
Read moreGuest
bramhubbell
Points +981
Delicious - Edit
Kyoto branch of a Tokyo gem. Everything here is delicious. The ambience was a bit dull but we were there for an early lunch.
Read moreGuest
VeggiLulu
Points +3170
Very good Izakaya food - Edit
They have an wide array of choices, many of which are either fried or contain a lot of oil. Si it is not really the best place to go if you are on a diet.
Read moreBut it is delicious!!!
The Karaage is juicy, the Mapo-Tofu is hot and spicy,the fried mushrooms are extremely good.
The staff is friendly and service is fast.
Very nice place.
Pros: Very tasty, Price and portion size , Service
Guest
vegotanuki
Points +1255
Amazing - Edit
Was very excited to see this pop up on Google Maps as just a few minutes from our hotel. It’s order through QR code only, so it lacks the cosier feel of many izakayas, but the food makes up for it. My favourites were the fried chicken nanban tartar (how do they make the egg so realistic??) and the mapo tofu. Food comes out so quickly too!
Read moreEdit: wrote this before I tried the chocolate ice cream. Get the chocolate ice cream.
Updated from previous review on 2025-04-11
Guest
MCSchuetz
Points +456
It's nice - Edit
Many food options, but most of them are fried and a bit too fatty in my opinion.
Read moreThe staff seemed reserved most of the time - it didn't feel really welcoming.
Still good food.
Pros: nice food
Guest
scubasuz
Points +33
Incredible - Edit
The food was fresh and delicious, selection is good. Gyoza is amazing. Highly recommend.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-03-24
Pros: Gyozas, Chicken croquets
Cons: No napkins
Guest
MinervaG
Points +1749
Get the fried "chicken" nanban tartar! - Edit
The fried "chicken" nanban tartar was outstanding. Absolutely delicious. I highly recommend this dish.
Read moreThe fried "chicken" yuzu ponzu was also good, but the topping was nowhere near as good as the nanban tartar.
The Chinese bean tempura lacked salt.
The fried "chicken" mushrooms were good. I loved the texture. I also recommend trying those. However, they could have used a tiny bit more flavor/salt. Some bites lacked flavor and other bites were nearly perfectly seasoned.
The boiled gyozas were good as well as the steamed shumai.
Overall,
The food was good. Some dishes were better than others. The star was the fried "chicken" nanban tartar. That alone was 5 stars. I would say the second best dish was the fried "chicken mushrooms.
P.S they don't accept reservations
Updated from previous review on 2025-03-21
Pros: All vegan
Guest
theveganskier
Points +41
Great food, mixed atmoshphere - Edit
Came here on a Thursday evening around 7pm and the place was fairly busy, but didn’t really have any atmosphere. There was no music playing so it appeared people had to soften their voices. Food was great though, thoroughly enjoyed the Karaage, gyoza and Mapo tofu.
Read moreGuest
Katng23
Points +118
Came here with high expectations, but the disappointment matched - Edit
As the title stated, we saw how highly rated this place was, so we had high expectations. The food was generally good, but not amazing. Most dishes were fried, which became too much at the end. Many of them were unavailable (sold out?), so the choices were limited. Order is made via a QR code, which was easy to navigate. Customer service was meh- the staff was polite but seemed like they did not want to be there. A person in our small group arrived later, and we asked if that's okay, but they just straight up ignored us.. maybe because they didn't understand, but they did not even bother to ask again.
Read moreGuest
david.vonwyl
Points +16
Wow wow wow - Edit
Best vegan food we had in Japan so far!
Read morePros: Fried chicken, Gyoza
Guest
Valuz
Points +247
Maravilloso - Edit
El lugar es muy bonito, muy estilo japonés. Y ha sido el mejor no pollo que he probado. Todo estaba muy rico. 😋
Read morePros: Sabor, Atención, Lugar
Guest
WinstonSmith35
Points +161
Real enjoyable place! Tasty food - Edit
We enjoyed our dinner here. Staff is kind and serve quickly.
Read moreFood is tasty and filling. The fried shitake it’s outstanding!
Guest
emi_vege
Points +17
Amazing - Edit
Honestly best food I’ve had in Japan so far, delicious and entirely vegan
Read morePros: Gyoza!, Fried “chicken”, Mapo tofu
Guest
puru
Points +60
Simply amazing - Edit
We went to the tokyo branch of vegan izakaya masaka. The authenticity and options to select form was amazing. The food was delicious and the ambiance was do authentic.
Read moreMust try
Guest
barbora_tau
Points +71
Newly opened and very tasty - Edit
Newly opened full vegan spot! Ordering is done through QR code on the table and it is in English. The restaurant has about five tables and it was almost full when we arrived for dinner. The food was very tasty (fried no-chicken, gyoza, rice) but there was nothing on the table (no napkins/bell to call staff/extra utensils). We went in expecting the izakaya experience of sitting next to the bar or kitchen but the seating area is behind a glass wall with a door which also means the staff are not in the room with you most of the time. However, after working out some quirks, we believe this will become a great little spot. We enjoyed the food and would visit again.
Read morePros: No language barrier, Tasty food, Quick service
Cons: Newly opened with some quirks, Bar and staff not in the room with you
Guest
Brochstein
Points +272
First Review, good food! Go visit! - Edit
This restaurant was so new when I visited that it had not yet been listed on Google maps. I gave the address here to a taxi driver and he dropped me off at the door. There were two tables seated when I arrived and both left shortly after. For a good bit of time I was the only patron there.
Read moreThere are no paper menus, ordering is done on your phone scanning a QR code. Several dishes were sold out, and there was plenty left for me to eat.
I settled on 5 dishes: Spicy Sichuan Chicken, Menma (bamboo), Fried Maitake Mushrooms, Steamed Shumai, and Chinese Cold Tofu.
The Menma and Tofu came out first. The bamboo was tender and tasty except for a small corner that was a little tough. The tofu was a large portion sitting in some excellent sauce topped with spicy pickled veggies. The Maitake Mushrooms were crispy, hot, and not greasy. The steamed Shumai was basically a hearty dumpling with dipping sauce, and the Spicy Sichuan Chicken consisted of lightly fried crispy crusted balls with a Sichuan sauce drizzled over them.
Everything was very good, nothing was OMG amazing. I went in without a huge appetite and ate all five dishes myself. Had there been a few more vegetable dishes that weren't fried, I probably would have stayed and ordered more. As it was, I left still a little hungry.
As a cautionary note: during the time I was in the dining room alone, one of the two service people I saw started rearranging some glass bottles in a cabinet or a refrigerator. He did this so loudly that I got up from my meal peered through the window into the next room to see if something had gone badly wrong. He looked up at me and continued clattering about for a while. The other server presented with a mildly uncomfortable aggressive affect. Nothing would wrong, per se but worth mentioning. I suspect this service was part of the growing pains of a week old restaurant that's probably not doing as much business as it had hoped.
I would return, but probably not until I've tried more of Kyoto's other vegan restaurants. It's good with the potential to be great.
Pros: The food was tasty!, Quiet ambiance., New restaurant, open about a week
Cons: Service was odd , Still working out the kinks, Not on Google maps yet.
Guest
LorraineCrowley
Points +346
Fun and tasty - Edit
Loved the vegan fried chicken and the steamed shumia followed by the gyoza. Everything really tasted good so did the drinks, black cat beer, alcohol free beer and hot sake. O yes. Staff are attentive and fun and the setting is quirky. A lovely place to come into from the cold.
Read moreGuest
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