Gluten-free vegan restaurant located a short walk east of Keihan Sanjo station. Menu items include fermented vegan cheese (also for sale), veggie burgers, soups, brown rice risotto, organic pasta, quiche, pancakes, raw cake, smoothies, hot drink. No fried food. Open Mon-Tue 9:30am-3:00pm, Thu-Sun 9:30am-3:00pm. Last order for lunch 3pm, dinner 8:30pm.
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89-1 Sanjo Street, Ohashi-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, 605-0009
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- Accepts credit cards
- Free Wi-Fi
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Last update on 11 Oct 2024 by najav
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313 Reviews
First Review by jennjt
jalapenohands
Points +536
Alright option - Edit
Ended up here after my first two choices weren’t accepting more customers, so was thankful to have found this place. Menu is mostly pizza and pasta, as well as desserts, but I went with a tofu egg rice dish and a green smoothie. Both were just okay.
Read moreGuest
Kittybiscuit
Points +8595
Needs improvement in several areas - Edit
I normally feel bad giving a 2 star review to a vegan cafe but we first walked in, it was like we were a nuisance. We were the only customers and arrived as they opened. They had one menu and so we stood at the counter. At breakfast they have 2 options, pancakes (either sweet or savoury) and a yoghurt.
Read moreI opted for pancakes (one is the standard serving) and paid for another pancake as 1 isn’t enough for me. I also asked for chocolate sauce. My partner did the same thing except he had maple syrup.
The pancakes were dry. The flavour was ok but they weren’t great. They also come with vegan butter. I was glad we got different sauces as I needed some maple syrup to make my pancakes less dry and my partner needed chocolate sauce for more flavour.
When it is a breakfast item and you only have 2 things on the menu, I’d expect these to be amazing. They were disappointing. Please consider adding fruit and/or ice cream. The cafe looks nice but the breakfast looks like they’d given up. Coffee was ok, my partner didn’t love the orange juice.
The person who said goodbye as we left was much more pleasant but I wouldn’t recommend for breakfast.
Tiggy
The pancakes look like miniature deserts 😱 (not desserts 🧁)
Read moreKittybiscuit
Exactly Tiggy!
Read moreGuest
Birgit
Points +1731
Pancakes - Edit
They offer a breakfast set with salad and soup and a fluffy pancake. No worries to add too many calories here. All very light and only one pancake. Delicious though and just enough. Lovely space and friendly staff.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2019-10-23
Guest
IronJuice
Points +1213
Great service, poor taste - Edit
Ordered pesto penne and chocolate cake for dine-in, mushroom curry to go.
Read morePenne was bland, chocolate cake tasted more like oversweetened brownie, my wife didn’t like the curry either.
But their service was wonderful, so was the music. I’d have given it 5 stars if the food taste matches their music taste.
Updated from previous review on 2024-10-15
Pros: Great service, Great vibe, Great decor
Cons: Poor taste
Guest
leakim
Points +237
Great food and location - Edit
Lots of menu choices and great vibe with plenty of seating. Pricing is good and so is portion size.
Read moreWent here for dinner, had a cold soba dish and a parfait. The parfait was huge and super tasty!
Guest
NadjaDelany
Points +97
Leckeres Essen - Edit
Das Essen war lecker, die Portionen aber ziemlich klein. Das Dessert war eher Mittelmaß.
Read morePros: Guter Burger/Pizza
Cons: Eher kalt im Restaurant , Sehr teuer , Schokokuchen war nicht recht gut
Guest
LisavanHeereveld
Points +79
Excellent - Edit
Went here for breakfast. had some pancakes. They were more like biscuits but we loved that. Would go again
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-09-29
Pros: Nomnomnom
Guest
SimonPitts
Points +230
Nice food, great cheese! - Edit
We stumbled across Choice and were tempted in by both their own brand cheese and vegan soba.
Read moreThe food was lovely - the noodles were great and I could've drunk the walnut dip straight from the bowl.
The rice dish was good too, and the mozzarella cheese was really high quality.
We also had a craft cola, made with a variety of spices, which was delicious.
Some reviews have commented on the cost and the decor. The restaurant is quite western and sterile, so if you're looking for a more old style environment then this won't be for you.
As for the cost: we paid about 4,500 yen for our meal and drinks, around £12.50 each. For a major city and tourist centre, we didn't think that was too bad. Yes, there are cheaper options, but we didn't feel cheated.
Pros: Soba and dipping sauce, Craft cola, Cheese
Cons: Atmosphere
Guest
Daenvil
Points +327
Decent but overpriced - Edit
Tbh the food was just ok. The quantities are very small and the prices are the highest I have seen around here. The menu seems to be centered around their vegan cheeses, a small platter with just 6 small portions of cheese (see photo) is 1500 yen, and I think that's one of the cheapest things in the menu. The cheeses were good, but it's not worth that price IMO.
Read moreIn the counter they sell whole cheeses which are at a more sensible price for some reason and also some desserts like muffins to take away which were very good. I do recommend that but idk if they let you buy that stuff without eating in first.
Guest
Francis.crl
Points +395
Good food - Edit
Tbh I didn’t like the place and its atmosphere tooo much, but it was okay ! The prices were expensive compared to the really small portion size, so don’t expect too much. The pizza was good and the pasta was okay. Wouldn’t necessarily come back but if you’re looking not only for a vegan, but also for a gluten-free restaurant, this may be for you !
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-09-09
Pros: Friendly staff
Cons: Small portions, Taste was a bit bland
Guest
soiboi3000
Points +79
Not worth it - Edit
This made me think of what non-vegans picture vegan dining to be like.
Read morePortions were laughably small. Mushroom Stroganoff was more like Mushrooms in a sweet tomato-sauce (instead of mustard-sour cream). Pizza was comically small, but better than expected taste-wise, if a bit overly greasy.
Definitely not worth the price.
Pros: Nice ambiente, Friendly staff
Cons: Asking to order 1 drink/dessert per person , Ludicrously small portions at high prices, Bland taste
Guest
Heike.St
Points +1086
Better than expected - Edit
As they aren’t many vegan restaurants open on a Tuesday for dinner and we wanted to meet a friend in that neighborhood, we decided to go to Choice, even if we weren’t super convinced of the food options.
Read moreAfter heavy rain we were the only guests we got served quickly.
We got the buckwheat pasta with tomato sauce and mozzarella, which was a great pasta. (But then also just pasta.) We also had the pizza which was small but not so bad for a gluten-free. Our non-vegan friend enjoyed the Soba noodles.
For dessert we got the amazake ice cream (with cornflakes and as parfait) which was really good. Took me a moment to get used to the amazake taste (fermented rice), but after a while I enjoyed it. Our friend got the chocolate cake which was really dense and rich, and probably also part of the parfait.
All in all, better and less “healthy” tasting than expected.😄
Guest
Sineblue
Points +282
Eine kleine unerwartete Offenbarung - Edit
Frisch, gesund und lecker. Besonders gut ist der selbst gemachte Cashewkäse!
Read moreGuest
AngeVP
Points +138
Très bon mais rapport quantité/prix peu rentable - Edit
Nous avons commandé un plateau de fauxmage, la pizza, ainsi que deux boissons (cola fait maison / eau de coco). Tout était très bon cependant les portions sont très petites alors que les prix sont élevés.
Read moreGuest
DariaRoseK
Points +66
Burger & Muffin were good - Edit
The burger, corn soup and choc chip muffin was good!
Read moreThe place is clean and roomy.
The service ... Was strange ?
We came in around 10:50 and were only offered the breakfast menu which had two options - pancakes and salad but the pancakes were sold out... So only option was salad.
We got the salad ... But were hopeful it would be a bountiful salad considering it was the only option and was 1,600 yen which is incredibly expensive (our 2 coffees, muffin, brownie and salads were close to 7,000 yen which is ridiculous compared to everywhere else).
It took awhile to come out and to our dismay it was 97% basic lettuce with very few & thin slivers of avocado, radish and carrot and some dressing.... While eating our bland salad other customers came in and were given the full lunch menu.... They could've just given us the lunch menu too considering they were only offering a really basic salad for breakfast.
Still hungry we asked for the lunch menu and ordered a burger. It was really good! So I'd recommend that.
Service was slow and not super welcoming. Coffee, salad and brownie weren't good.
Updated from previous review on 2024-08-17
Pros: Burger , Muffin, Clean
Cons: Odd service , Expensive , Slow
Guest
jollyhoe
Points +964
Delicious food and calming atmosphere - Edit
Such a gorgeous little restaurant! The staff were so lovely and friendly. The cheese is amazing- the smoked cheese is incredible !! We loved the pizzas too. 10/10!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-07-20
Guest
Geri
Points +83
So happy to find good vegan food - Edit
I arrived in town after a week in Korea where it is challenging to find vegetarian food, and Choice was close by my hotel. I was so happy to have a vegan burger, and I got two other items for takeaway meals for later as well. The staff was friendly and helpful. This is a great place to land when you are fresh off your flight and haven’t yet caught your bearings.
Read morePros: Good vegan food, Friendly staff
Cons: Limited menu selection
Guest
HappyKiwi
Points +84
A great find in rainy Kyoto - Edit
A wet afternoon saw us hunting down Choice. Fabulous food, lovely staff and a great ambiance. Book selection was impressive.
Read morePros: Food choice, Location, Staff
Guest
IsabelFernandez
Points +167
The best!! - Edit
One of our favourite places we ate on our last trip to Japan! We wish we could eat that pizza every day! The food is all incredible and the restaurant is lovely. The staff are so friendly. Highly recommended!
Read moreGuest
ThavamK
Points +17
Nice Ambience - Edit
The vibe of the place is really good. Cosy and welcoming. Nice homey feel. I had the pancake, salad and soup breakfast. Unfortunately, the pancake was somewhat dry and crumbly. The salad was mainly lettuce with mere shreds of cucumber, beet and avocado. Would have been nice if there were nuts or some form of protein in the dish. Green tea was refreshing.
Read moreGuest
EvaliseDexter
Points +394
Good pancakes - Edit
The pancakes and green smoothie was good! Nice atmosphere! I wish the pancakes had some fruit with them though
Read moreGuest
Joonatan
Points +78
Delicious vegan cake! - Edit
We stumbled in soaking wet, on a rainy day. Delicious coffee and cake lifted our spirits! Great atmosphere.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-05-28
Guest
LigeiaSmith
Points +614
Relaxing way to start the day - Edit
What initially drew me to this restaurant is its hours of operation, being the only vegan restaurant open in the area before 11am.
Read moreThey have an English menu and you order and pay at the front before sitting down.
The atmosphere was nice and quiet with relaxing music playing.
I ordered the salad and soup which was nothing special, but good (soup was a corn soup). But what I really liked was the Craft Soda! It was so flavorful with all kinds of neat slices in it.
I also really liked the
"Allernon", a probiotic cultured yogurt made from rice, served with date syrup. It was such an interesting mix of flavored, the yoghurt bring tangy and the date syrup being sweet.
Pros: Friendly staff, Good food, Nice relaxing atmosphere
Guest
valkanoe
Points +16
Choice is a good choice. - Edit
The serving size was perfect. Service was quick. We arrived at a little after 12.00 and were finished by 12.44. I got a soup with my burger and it was a corn soup that was very fresh and good. The pesto pasta was not oily like others. Loved it.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-05-12
Pros: Service, Price, Food
Guest
JascintaMorton
Points +68
Decent all gf and vegan - Edit
The portion sizes were large but lots of salad! I wanted to try their Vegg sandos but they were sold out sadly. The food we did get was pretty tasty though! I probably wouldn't recommend the pancakes but everything else was nice. A little bit on the pricier side compared to other cafes around but I think that's for the gf aspect ! The desserts were particularly good though!.
Read morePros: All gf , Desserts
Guest
FlorenceM.
Points +67
A bit disappointing - Edit
Food was good, but portions were a bit small considering the price. The pizza is really small, more suited as an appetizer or a child's meal but the menu does say that it's only 16cm. I find that gluten free food tastes a bit weird sometimes but here you couldn't tell it was GF. Their home made cheese was really good.
Read moreCozy atmosphere.
Pros: Good food, Cozy atmosphere
Cons: Portions sizes, Pricey
Guest
cronch
Points +165
Worst meal I’ve had in Japan - Edit
I genuinely don’t understand how this place has such amazing reviews. Everything i ate here was terrible and I tried several things off the menu. I swear the chefs here don’t know what salt is! No flavor anywhere, felt like I was eating cardboard and it’s expensive to boot.
Read moreGuest
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