Vegan
Japanese
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Traditional vegan Japanese restaurant operated by Vegan Farm, which specializes in ochazuke, a simple Japanese dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice. Accompany dishes may include stewed shiitake mushrooms, house made Nijiya seaweed, and nama-fu, grilled gluten in a vegan dashi stock. Address in Japanese: 中京区南車屋町287 木屋町会館1階. Open Mon-Sat 5:30pm-8:00pm, Tue-Sun 12:00pm-3:00pm. Irregular closed days - check Instagram for latest hours.
283 Reviews
First Review by pareman
liza-zatkina
Points +264
Great fixed lunch menu! - Edit
You get a lot for the price of 2980 yen - dumplings, soy skewers, onigiri with homemade miso, soup, tofu and more! Really loved yuzu sour too!
Read moreGuest
ladida13
Points +17
Sehr leckeres Essen - Edit
Sehr sehr leckere vegane Izakaya!
Read moreSehr nette Gastgeberin.
Updated from previous review on 2025-10-04
Guest
GiacomoS.
Points +27
Un delizioso pranzo a Kyoto - Edit
Ciascuna delle 6 portate era una più buona dell'altra, consigliatissimo
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-10-03
Pros: Cibo, Atmosfera, Servizio
Cons: Nulla
Guest
edenthedrummer
Points +514
Perfect little spot - Edit
Amazing service, delicious fresh vegan food - highly recommended!
Read moreGuest
RainbowTrainy
Points +1586
Wooow! 10/10 🥹🩵 - Edit
We ate lunch here, and couldn't have been happier 🫶🏻 It was amazing from start to finish. At lunch, they only serve a set menu, but that was all good, and super tasty. A one-woman-show, and such a cosy little place. We will definitely return during our stay in Kyoto 🥰
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-09-27
Pros: Friendly service from owner, Cosy vibe, Really tasty food!!
Guest
Volves
Points +1894
Delicious - Edit
A really small Izakaya with two friendly ladies. We came shortly after it opened and had to wait about 45 minutes. In my opinion, it was a bit more expensive because the portions were unfortunately quite small for the price, but it was so delicious! Especially the Yakitori, Yakiniku and Obanzai. Only the dumplings with soy sauce were a bit bland.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-10-07
Pros: everything is vegan, Friendly staff
Cons: Very tiny place and long wait, a bit pricier with small portions
Guest
iggbert
Points +32
Lovely and very very tasty! - Edit
We had a great dinner at this vegan izakaya. Food and vibes very really good and especially the tofu meat is worth checking out!
Read morePros: Vibe, Food, Drinks
Guest
foodtimeyes
Points +43
Fabulous! - Edit
So good!
Read moreSmall place, only 7 seats, and doesn't take reservations.
We each got a meal set, and everything was so tasty.
Updated from previous review on 2025-09-20
Guest
PocketCate97
Points +135
Fenomenal - Edit
Great menu, you can also eat by la carte. Good drinks too!
Read morePros: Menu quality, Drinks (alcohol/non alcohol)
Cons: Very small place, long waiting time
Guest
galapotente
Points +97
Best meal in Japan - Edit
Only 7 seats available, absolutely wait if there is a queue. Everything was perfect, glad I decided to wait. I would recommend to go around 19h. I chose the course 1 menu. Check the pictures. Om nom nom
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-09-17
Pros: Everything, The skewers, both, The surprisingly chocolate desert
Guest
Hoffman2626
Points +437
Vegan Yakitori!! YUM! - Edit
So, we weren’t originally going to make it to this place with scheduling but I’m glad we did! It is open for a few hours at night. We got there a little after 5 and there was already a wait. We were the first in line though and only had to wait for about 20 minutes. There is a good chance you will wait since there are only about 8 seats. It is 100% worth it! The food is delicious and the Yakitori is what I recommend. It was a very traditional Japanese experience with counter seating. Very glad we made it here.
Read moreGuest
PatricioJ
Points +13
Excellent food - Edit
Small place with a delicious menu
Read moreGuest
xdanagx
Points +28
Good food with no revelations - Edit
The place looks authentic, the staff is top, they work late, – enough to give Nijiya a visit.
Read moreHowever, as for me, the taste of ramen lacks intensity, ant this is not a matter of bouillon, but the ingredients. The taste is just not complex, very basic, what does not really correspond with the high prices. The same with gyoza. They were okay, but nothing special. The deserts were cool though.
You pay for the atmosphere, the experience and late hours. The food is good, but not the best, and pretty pricey.
Pros: Atmosphere, Staff, Working hours
Cons: Not so tasteful food
Guest
slinzi89
Points +133
Vegan yakitori! - Edit
Nijiya was such a great find in Kyoto. They have a set menu for lunch including vegan yakitori (not as easy as I thought it would be to find in Japan). The owner was so lovely and accommodating. As with lots of places in Japan, the restaurant is tiny. I didn’t need to wait but I suspect it gets busy in peak season. Plan ahead for this.
Read morePros: Friendly atmosphere, Vegan yakitori, Reasonably priced set menu
Guest
HeiDom
Points +48
Amazing Food - you have to try!!! - Edit
Best Japanese Food ever.
Read moreWe‘ll definitely go again!
Try the menu so you try a lot of different stuff.
Updated from previous review on 2025-09-04
Pros: -
Cons: -
Guest
lprovenzano
Points +38
Best meal in Japan! - Edit
Nijiya is an amazing Izakaya. The best meal and food experience I’ve had in Japan! The service was amazing, the vibe was so fun and comfortable, while the food was EXCEPTIONAL! My partner and I both ordered their dinner sets and each course that came out was amazing. So much flavour and great portions. Definitely worth the price. And the aged miso sauce on the rice balls… so glad I bought two jars, I’ve never tasted something so filled of umami flavour! I could rave about each course individually but definitely go try it for yourself! Can’t recommend this place enough!
Read morePros: Amazing service, Delicious Yuzu sour, Exceptional food
Cons: Small restaurant
Guest
dylanwag
Points +70
Exceptional - Edit
Every course was full of flavour and made us want to go back. The drinks were also very good along with the service and location. I would highly recommend going to eat here.
Read morePros: Set course menu, Service , Drinks
Guest
NatsuV
Points +273
Incredibly delicious - Edit
Cozy place, delicious food, totally recommend this izakaya for an authentic vegan Japanese dining experience!
Read moreYou can even buy their homemade miso paste.
Updated from previous review on 2025-08-25
Pros: Friendly staff, Great vegan yakitori
Cons: Only 7 seats
Guest
ellietess
Points +50
Incredible - Edit
A lovely date night. We shared the Nijiya course as a taster and re-ordered our favourites, including both desserts. Would highly recommend!
Read moreGuest
greg_miller
Points +24
Exceptional food and service - Edit
Delightful hole in the wall, very nice staff (?owner) and food is amazing and served quite quickly
Read moreWe got the normal sized set menu and a few extras between 2 and it was plenty of food, and very tasty!
Highly recommended, best in kyoto and one of the best in Japan we've been to
Updated from previous review on 2025-08-20
Guest
vegannurse19
Points +26
Amazing Vegan Izakaya! - Edit
This is an amazing small Izakaya offering the most delicious vegan Japanese food!
Read morePros: Dumplings , Yakitori, Yuzu tofu
Guest
Marisa_Denise_
Points +152
Great restaurant - Edit
The restaurant is very small (less than 10 seats). Everyone is sitting on the bar and can see the owner cooking.
Read moreThe food was great especially the soy meat was the best meat alternative we ever had.
Pros: Amazing food, Nice staff
Guest
HansMeier
Points +13
Delicious Japanese Food - Edit
Very friendly staff and delicious food.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-08-12
Cons: Small place with just 7 seats.
Guest
Nirja
Points +22
cute little vegan place - Edit
in a quite small street, very delicious new lunch menu.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-08-01
Guest
tomnewtom
Points +38
new lunch - Edit
I heard that Nijiya’s lunch menu had changed, so I went to try it.
Read moreThey had selected popular dishes from their dinner menu and turned them into a six-item lunch set.
It included tofu and yuba, dumplings, grilled soy meat skewers, miso rice balls, soup, and a chocolate dessert.
While you usually have to wait in line for dinner, I was able to get in for lunch without waiting—and enjoy those popular dinner items too.
It was a wonderful lunch experience.
If you’ve ever given up on dinner because of the long line, I highly recommend going for lunch instead!
Updated from previous review on 2025-02-08
Guest
leibnadi
Points +30
Best vegan izakaya in Japan - Edit
Very small izakaya, very authentic izakaya experience. I had the place to myself so got to speak to the owner which was lovely. She puts so much time and effort into every dish and every single dish was amazing. The yuzu sauce with the fresh tofu was very refreshing on a hot day. The homemade miso sauce and on the onigiri was amazing and the best onigiri I have ever had. The star of the show is the soy meat yakitori which she grills with a blow torch. The best vegan meat I have ever had in my life. Can’t give this place enough praise, I loved it so much. The price may seem expensive but you get high quality food that tastes amazing and you actually feel full after the meal so it’s worth every penny. Definitely give this place a visit if you are ever in Kyoto
Read moreGuest
Alodia
Points +139
Comida casera increíble - Edit
El sitio es muy muy pequeño. Caben solo 6 personas aquí que ve pronto si no quieres hacer fila.
Read moreLa comida consta de un menú cerrado. Pagamos 2.980Y cada uno(bebida aparte).
La verdad es que la calidad de la comida y el servicio lo valen con creces. La dueña es un encanto.
Todo estaba buenísimo. Nos dijo que va cambiando el menú cada cierto tiempo.
Updated from previous review on 2025-07-06
Guest
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