Ain Soph. Journey Shinjuku — Restaurant in Tokyo

The food is awesome, though on the expensive side for what it is, which is all plant-based. I wanted to order the pancakes but they were sold out of them and honestly I couldn’t fit anymore food in.

The store is easy to find, but also easy to miss… The store front kind of sits back a little from the street. I guess they must’ve had problems with people going in and sitting down for hours enjoying their food and/or atmosphere because as soon as I walked in they announced that it’s a 60? 70-minute lunch before they unceremoniously tell you after almost an hour that your time is almost up (and therefore you should leave).

If you’re like me and you like to take your time deciding which of the delicious dishes you’d like to order, then perhaps you should decide first before going by looking at their online menu. By the time you’re seated, have looked through the menu, made a decision, and have your food come to you, you’re at the half hour mark. But don’t relax! You have to shovel all that food in within the time allotted to you… and don’t think about ordering more because you’ll not have time to finish everything.

The waiter seemed really tired and nonchalant. He said everything he was obliged to say with zero emotion and clearly had already mentally clocked out at 2:10pm when I got there. XD

If you don’t care about all that and you’re just after vegan food though… this is one of the best places to try. They also sell vegan cookies near the register for all your...

3 stars because it is REALLY delicious! But they really have an organization problem... We came in around 3pm and were told we could only stay until 4pm30, which is perfectly fine. We ordered pancakes and drinks. Pancakes take time, we were told 20min wait. First they brought the drinks. An other couple came after us and ordered a pancake after us too. While we were talking without watching the time a staff came out of the blue to say sorry about the pancakes... He brought us a "service" small cup of fruits as we waited more and more, and finally an other waitress brought pancakes... To the couple next to us!!! We told her we were still waiting!! We kept waiting (happily we had many things to talk about) and again an other staff came... And put the note on the table!!! Saying thank you like "it's time to leave" We told her we were STILL waiting for our order!!!! We waited more than one hour! Not even talking about the fact that nobody told us about the alcohol inside the sauce and the ice cream (breastfeeding mom here... Luckily my friend noticed!), which is pretty standard in Tokyo as many moms or moms to be hang out together. When we left, nobody would have apologize if I didn't make the remark... We paid because we are well educated but I had customers in restaurants I worked who wouldn't pay for less problems than that... Go for the taste but be very insisting on asking if they didn't forget...

A friend and I came on a Sunday at 12:30, and had no trouble getting a table. Got the Heavenly Pancake Lunch Set that comes with a salad, a soup, pancakes, and a drink. The salad was fresh and colorful, and came with a dressing, as well as a bagna cauda-type sauce. Although aesthetically pleasing, I would have preferred that it had been served on a plate rather than in a parfait glass; since it was difficult to eat from the glass, I ended up tipping it all out on the plate provided. The potage wasn't the tomato soup as pictured on the menu, but a thick yellow potage, which was sweet; not sure what the yellow was, but whatever it was, I couldn't taste anything else besides coconut. The pancakes were pretty good, and went well with the cream, ice-cream, fruit sauce and fruit it was served with, although personally, I would have preferred slightly less sweet. The meal was concluded with the Herb Tea of the Day, which happened to be their adlai tea. Both the waiting staff and cashier were polite and efficient, but they were unsmiling and lacked warmth. I'm unlikely to come again. I find it pretty expensive compared to other vegan places around, especially with their price hikes and a smaller menu on weekends and holidays; I don't really feel that the food nor the eating experience is worth paying...