Veg Out — Restaurant in Kyoto

Terrible customer service & bland, dry salad.

The hostess made us wait outside for 20 mins for no reason, despite two seats being available the entire time. She knew we were outside waiting, but I had to come back in and ask a second time before she finally let us sit down in the same two seats. No apology or explanation of why we had to wait out in the cold when there were vacant seats - really rude.

I hoped the food would be worth waiting for, especially as I was dining with a non vegan. It wasn’t. We both had the Buddha bowl salad which looked appetising in the photo with avocado and a description of their special dressing. The salads turned out to be just a big pile of plain iceberg lettuce with small amounts of radish and carrot shavings and literally only one tiny tomato cut in two. No avocado. The soy chunks had absolutely no flavour at all. There was a small smear of sauce round the edge of the bowl and a little on the soy, but the lettuce was completely dry, with no other dressing at all. This zero-effort bland salad was also a rip off at about ¥1300 - the kind of dish that gives vegan food a bad name. If you must go here, don’t bring a non-vegetarian - it’s embarrassing; they’ll probably never come to a vegan place with you again.

On the upside, great coffees and the view over the...

Not sure why this place has such great reviews. It’s nice that it’s so central and there’s a view of the river but the food is mediocre, the vibes are not special, and the drinks are expensive. Soy latte was a star though. We got the veg out plate, the curry rice, a coffee, and the soy latte. It came out to be like 5000Y which is crazy because this is such a casual eatery. On the veg out plate, the falafel was too dense and dry and served with a tiny amount of not delicious mayo-like sauce that I wished was hummus. The lentils were the best part: fragrant with spices and cooked firm. Everything else was very mediocre. The drinks were so expensive. A black coffee was 600Y and the soy latte was 700Y. The soy latte was really good though; the soy milk was creamy and velvety. Interior-wise it’s bohemian style but not trendy—like kind of unceremonious so not really a place to bring friends but maybe you could get some work done or journal? I’m sure when there’s foliage the view of the...

This place was was recommended to me by Asako (one of the yoga teachers at Tamisa yoga studio in the Sanjo district) when I asked her about vegetarian options in Kyoto. I finally managed to get there for lunch on my last day in Kyoto and was very impressed. Lovely location by the riverside means you can enjoy your meal overlooking the river ( the day I was there I saw a heron, a hawk and plenty of other bird life while I enjoyed my meal). The place has a lovely vibe and had great music playing when I was there. Very friendly helpful service and the food is exceptional. I had the salad bowl which comes with a small side of soup, a blueberry smoothie and a soya flat white. All were made to perfection and full of flavour. Would definitely go here again next time I’m in Kyoto. Also highly recommend their sister cafe at the Sanjo yoga studio which does fantastic smoothies and incredible muffins....