While Kyoto is famous for tofu and Kyōyasai (Kyoto’s heirloom fruit and vegetables), the dashi stock used to cook the tofu and vegetables usually contains bonito extracts. This is why you can’t just enter a restaurant and order the first tofu or vegetable dish you see on the menu if you are strict with your vegetarian/vegan diet. But don’t worry. The good news is there are several vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants near Kyoto Station. So you can always find a place to enjoy the nice food that Japan is renowned for!
The Vegan-Friendly Cafes and Restaurants Near Kyoto Station
- COYOTE the ordinary shop
- Hachidori Table Vegetarian Food & Coffee (ハチドリ table)
- Veg Out (ベグアウト)
- Food can be cooked allum-free.
- Hachidori Table Vegetarian Food & Coffee (ハチドリ table)
- Allum-free/suitable for oriental vegetarian
- Vegan Restaurant F (菜食料理エッフェ)
- Has gluten-free options.
- tu casa (トゥ カサ)
- waco crepes (米粉クレープ専門店 waco crepes)
- Other Vegan-Friendly Restaurants Near Kyoto Station
COYOTE the ordinary shop
COYOTE the ordinary shop (コヨーテ ザ オーディナリー ショップ) is your best option if you are after a plant-based café close to Kyoto Station. The internal decoration and the bright sunlight from the glass wall create an open and relaxing atmosphere. The staff here are friendly and will greet you soon after you enter, making you feel welcome. Most importantly, the coffee and vegan egg toast here are phenomenal!
For more information, refer to our article on COYOTE the ordinary shop!
Veg Out (ベグアウト)
Just a 10-minute walk from Kyoto Station, Veg Out is a vegan café with a relaxing vibe that makes you forget the hustle and bustle of Kyoto’s busy city center. Situated on the banks of the Kamogawa River, you can overlook the river view and enjoy the natural scenery that changes with the seasons from the café’s large windows. As it opens from the morning, it is the best spot to get your breakfast sorted before a day’s adventure.
The restaurant’s dishes are mainly made with locally grown organic vegetables and natural seasonings. If you visit Veg Out for lunch, try their Buddha Bowl. The deep-fried soy meat is a highlight. Amazingly, it is juicier than regular meat!
Another good option for lunch is the Tomato Curry. Cooked with plenty of organic vegetables and spices, the curry is rich in flavor. And don’t worry if you don’t like tomatoes. You can hardly taste it!
Tips:
☛ Arrive early if you want to try Veg Out’s Banana Pancake on the breakfast menu. The dish tends to sell out quickly.
☛ Let the staff know if you want your meal prepared without using pungent ingredients like garlic or onion. They may be able to replace a part of the dish with something else.
☛ There is a vegan-friendly Thai restaurant above Veg Out called Kinkhao (タイ&ラオス料理 キンカーオ). You can have lunch there and enjoy afternoon tea at Veg Out too.
Veg Out’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Veg Out is open from
- 9 am to 11 am for breakfast or until sold out
- The last order is taken at 10:30 am.
- 11:30 am to 3 pm for lunch or until sold out
- 3 pm to 6 pm for afternoon tea/café menu
- The last order is taken at 5 pm.
- 9 am to 11 am for breakfast or until sold out
- The café/guesthouse is just a 2-minute walk from Keihan’s Shichijō Station (七条駅) or a 10-minute walk from Kyoto Station (京都駅).
Hachidori Table Vegetarian Food & Coffee (ハチドリ table)
If you are an oriental vegetarian or travel with a group of people who want to eat different cuisines, Hachidori Table is a good spot to enjoy food near Tō-ji Temple and Umekōji Park. Its menu focuses on Chinese and Japanese cuisine, but dishes from other cultures can also be found. The restaurant’s decoration is simple, which gives you a sense of calm. It is almost like having meals in the dining room at home, especially with the exceptional service provided by the staff.
The food is prepared from scratch and cooked fresh in front of your eyes. Surprisingly, you won’t need to fork out a large amount of money for such good quality.
- If you are unsure what to order, the soy meat rice bowl, the curry udon, and vegan tuna sushi are all good.
- If you are a vegan, inform the staff to exclude milk and egg from the ingredients.
- If you have other dietary requirements, the restaurant will try its best to cater to them.
Hachidori Table Vegetarian Food & Coffee’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Hachidori Table is open from Tuesday to Sunday from
- 11:30 am to 3 pm for lunch
- 5 pm to 8 pm for dinner
- The restaurant is a 15-minute walk from Kyoto Station.
Vegan Restaurant F (菜食料理エッフェ)
Vegan Restaurant F is a restaurant conveniently located not far from Kyoto Station. The food offered by the restaurant isn’t just vegan, but all dishes are gluten-free except for the pasta dish. Aiming to provide healthy food for the customers, not only are the ingredients used carefully selected, but homemade seasonings are also used. Even their amazing vegan cheese is homemade!
The restaurant’s owner Mr Fujimatsu has had extensive training as an Italian chef, including over 30 years of experience working in 2-star rating restaurants in Italy. To open Vegan Restaurant F, Mr Fujimatsu acquired raw food Meister 1st-level certificate. With the extra knowledge, the food served in the restaurant is processed and cooked in a way that retains the ingredients’ nutrition as much as possible.
The dining experience at Vegan Restaurant F starts with kind greetings from the staff. The vibes here are great, despite being a small restaurant. Whether you visit it for lunch or dinner, you will be served a set/course menu of your choice. Lunch set menus are cheaper at 2,000 yen. So if you are on a budget and want to experience Vegan Restaurant F’s food and hospitality, visit it for lunch.
While the dinner course menu is more expensive, it is 100% worth it. You can also opt for the Chef’s Choice Light Course dinner menu. It suits someone who doesn’t tend to eat as much for dinner or doesn’t want to spend as much on food.
Tip: Make a booking. Vegan Restaurant F is regularly fully booked for days in advance for lunch and dinner. If you read Japanese, book through ikyu. Otherwise, give them a call at +81-75-708-6978.
Vegan Restaurant F’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Vegan Restaurant F is open from Wednesday to Sunday from
- 11:30 am to 2:30 pm (L.O. 1:30 pm) for lunch
- 6 pm to 9 pm for (L.O. 7:30 pm) dinner
- A reservation is required for dinner.
- The restaurant is just a 15-minute walk from Keihan’s Kiyomizu-Gojō Station (清水五条駅); a 2-minute walk from Kyoto Subway’s Gojō Station (五条駅), or a 15-minute walk from Kyoto Station (京都駅).
tu casa (トゥ カサ)
Conveniently located a few meters from Keihan’s Kiyomizu-Gojō Station, tu casa is a Korean vegan café and guesthouse offering a reasonably priced menu. The place is small but cozy. We are sure you will like the bright and plant-decorated space.
tu casa offers incredible Korean dishes, such as Bibimbap. With a zero-waste and healthy lifestyle concept, the café uses organic, pesticide-free ingredients as much as possible. In addition to the savory light meal menu, there is a dessert menu. The scones are fantastic. So if you find the food portions are not big enough, the scones can be a nice finish to the meal!
If you are unsure what to order, give their Korean bbq rice bowl (カルビ丼) a try. The faux meat will be one of the best soy meats you eat!
The staff at tu casa are friendly and welcoming. They can communicate in good English.
The guesthouse is located on the second floor. You can refer to its website HERE for some photos and the cost. It can accommodate up to 6 people.
Tip: Arrive early or make a reservation. tu casa is a popular cafe.
tu casa’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Please refer to tu casa’s Instagram Account for its opening days and hours.
- The cafe/guesthouse is just a 1-minute walk from Keihan’s Kiyomizu-Gojō Station (清水五条駅; a 15-minute walk from Kyoto Subway’s Gojō Station (五条駅), or a 10-minute walk from Hankyu’s Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station (京都河原町駅).
waco crepes (米粉クレープ専門店 waco crepes)
You might have encountered shops selling delicious-looking crepes when travelling in Japan. But because most of them aren’t vegan, you probably haven’t got a chance to try the Japanese crepe. So here is the good news: a vegan and gluten-free crepe shop in Kyoto!
waco crepes close to tu casa is a crepe specialist that makes thin pancakes with rice flour and can make the crepes vegan (remember to specifically ask for the vegan version for the ones marked vegan). The plant-based cream is really creamy and almost like a pudding, so remember to at least order one that has whipped cream.
For the savory crepe, we recommend the crepes with guacamole and vegan cheese.
While the price is on the higher end for crepes, considering the high-quality ingredients used, the crepes aren’t over-priced.
waco crepes’s Business Hours and Access Information
- waco crepe is open from 10 am to 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 5 pm.
- The shop is just a 3-minute walk from Keihan’s Kiyomizu-Gojō Station (清水五条駅), a 15-minute walk from Kyoto Subway’s Gojō Station (五条駅), or a 10-minute walk from Hankyu’s Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station (京都河原町駅).
Other Vegan-Friendly Restaurants Near Kyoto Station
Japanese Cuisine
- Osoba-dokoro Aoi (おそば処 葵)
- A traditional soba restaurant inside Kyoto Station.
- While the dipping sauce for the soba noodles isn’t plant-based, the restaurant has a vegetarian set and a couple of plant-based side dishes.
- Please double check with the staff to ensure the tofu’s dipping sauce is plant-based.
- A couple of dishes in the vegetarian set, such as tofu, are soba (buckwheat) infused.
- English menu is available.
- Men-ya Iroha (富山ブラック 麺家いろは 拉麺小路店)
- A restaurant with a few vegan options on Kyoto Ramen Street on the 10th floor of Kyoto Station.
- While the vegan noodles aren’t the best you can get in town, the restaurant’s location is convenient.
- Remember to let the staff know if you want the noodles allium-free.
- Kyo-Tofu Fujino (京豆富不二乃)
- A Kyoto tofu specialist at JR Kyoto Isetan’s 11th floor. The window seats overlook Kyoto’s city center.
- Let the staff know you are a vegan. The restaurant can prepare a vegan set menu for you.
- Food can be cooked allium-free.
- Kyoto Soba Morihei (京都生そば もり平)
- A soba noodle restaurant on Kyoto Station’s ground floor in the Kintetsu Miyakomichi shopping area near the Hachijō Exit (京都駅八条口).
- The vegan options include vegan soba noodles and vegetable tempura rice bowl.
- If you are unsure what to order, get a vegan kenchin soba noodles. You probably won’t be able to find it elsewhere!
- The Tounyuu yuba soba (soy milk tofu skin soba) is a nice choice for trying something unusual.
- Hyōto (瓢斗)
- A highly rated kaiseki ryōri (multi-course) restaurant chain with vegan options.
- They have a restaurant near Kyoto Station and Shijō Karasuma.
- The ingredients used are fresh and high quality.
- The restaurant has a traditional setting. But the vibe is cozy and welcoming.
- Service is top-notch. The staff will be around throughout your meal to ensure you enjoy every moment.
- Please reserve at least three days in advance.
- You can book Online or by phone. Once you click the reserve online button under each branch, the reservation page is in English.
- A highly rated kaiseki ryōri (multi-course) restaurant chain with vegan options.
Other Cuisines
- Kinkhao (タイ&ラオス料理 キンカーオ)
- A Thai restaurant above Veg Out. It can cater to different dietary requests by excluding certain ingredients.
- The restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere, and most seats give you a clear view of the Kamo River.
- Be careful choosing the spice level. The chef certainly has a more than-usual spicy tolerance.
- Vermillion Cafe
- A cafe on the main path to the Fushimi-Inari Shrine, which has vegan savory options.
- In addition to those marked vegan, some can be made vegan/vegetarian upon request.
- The food is fresh and flavorful. The coffee here is good too.
- Kitten Company Cafe
- This cozy vegan cafe was opened in honor of the owner’s late cat, who passed away in 2020. Depending on what you order, your dish might be cutely presented!
- It is a great spot for a relaxing afternoon tea or a light meal. Just note the portion of the light meal is generally small.
- The seasoning of the soy meat is nice.
- You can also take away a couple of vegan baked goods.
- As its name suggests, the place is decorated with cat images and decor.
- The staff here is super sweet and accommodating.
Discover Other Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in Kyoto
Now you know where to find vegan/vegetarian food near Kyoto Station, it is now time to discover other vegan-friendly spots around Kyoto. The good news is the prefecture has other vegan-friendly restaurants close to spots in the rural area. While the options can be limited, there might be a restaurant close to where you want to visit serving delicious vegan or vegetarian dishes that satisfy your cravings!
Refer to our Guide to Kyoto’s Vegan-Friendly Restaurants for more information!
