Paprika shokudo Vegan — Restaurant in Osaka

Cute vegan restaurant and one of the few besides one in Tokyo Station that had actual other patrons there. It actually felt like a normal dinner crew was there and not just my husband and I eating slightly awkwardly with the waitstaff.

They do a lot of things right when it comes to vegan food in my opinion. While they do veganize some normally meat based dishes, they still have original options (the advacado salad was wonderful!) that are vegan by design. Since my husband is the vegan and I still eat meat, but try to cut back consumption, a major problem I have with vegan food is it trying to be something it's not. If you give me a soy based shrimp with soy cheese and tell me it even remotely tastes like shrimp parmesan I will laugh at you. A lot of it comes down to expectations and if people sell something as a replacement for the authentic thing, you're going to be dissapointed. But if you make it it's own dish without setting it up for failure it can be wonderful.

So while the eel donburi didn't taste exactly like eel (using seaweed to mimic the skin of the eel was clever though! The sauce was the normal one used for unagi (eel) as far as I could tell, maybe without honey? So it just missed the flakiness of real eel and some crispy bits from the skin), the salad and stir fried veggies with tempeh were great examples as dishes that just happen to be vegan and not veganized dishes.

They have a huge menu for a vegan place including pastas and pizza so there's something for everyone while still offering Japanese style food that was vegan. Wonderful staff that come promptly when you press the buzzer, highly...

I've been pretty underwhelmed by the vegan options in Japan, and I had high hopes for this spot based on the reviews and appetizing photos, but unfortunately, it was another disappointment.

I started with the gyoza, which arrived with a sweet sauce drizzled on top. I wasn’t expecting that, but even after switching to soy sauce, the filling tasted like mush. I could only manage to eat one. Next, I tried a sampler plate with a variety of items. The miso soup was the first letdown—just a bland broth with carrots and cabbage. Miso soup doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need a flavorful broth, tofu, and seaweed—simple and classic.

The vegan 'chicken' was so tough that it was impossible to bite into, and I ended up having to eat each chunk whole because it wasn’t chewable at all. Overall, I wouldn't return. I paid and left with most of the meal unfinished, which is always disappointing.

The search for great vegan food in Japan continues, and I’ll keep you posted when I find a good spot! The space itself is cute, with an outdoor seating vibe that reminded me of Paros, but sadly, the food here just didn't live up to...

This was a great final meal to end our trip in Japan! My vegan family was very satisfied with everything we ordered. We had no trouble finding a seat for our large party, as we arrived shortly after the restaurant opened for dinner. We ended up ordering a variety of dishes to share, including cheesy fried soy meat, cheesy baked avocado, gyoza, fries, and deep-fried "oysters." As you can probably tell, they serve quite a bit of fried food here, but they also have a good part of their menu that include more traditional sets with veggies. Everything was delicious and honestly some of the best fried food we've had. The "oysters" in particular were unlike anything we’d tried before—super flavorful and unique. Overall, we had a great experience and were left full with the large portions. The service was fast, and the cashier was very friendly. It was also a nice surprise to find a variety of snacks and goods available at their small shop—we ended up picking up some vegan jerky for the plane ride home, which we didn’t...