Vegan
Pizza
Japanese
Western
Beer/Wine

Vegan restaurant on Horikawa-dori at the corner of Kamichojyamachi, on the west side of the Horikawa river canal. Offers a large selection of mains like noodles, burgers, and pizza as well as some cakes and desserts, drinks, and set meals. Last orders 2pm and 8pm. Reported to close earlier than stated times, call ahead. Reported closed, Jul 2020.


Venue map for Morpho Cafe
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168 Reviews

First Review by Jessqi

huangalexc

Points +128

Vegan
27 Apr 2022

Cheap, Fast, and Tasty

We had the Thai curry ramen, vegan burger, and vegan pizza. Each was good, but especially the ramen. Service is kind and fast and the atmosphere was good.

Updated from previous review on 2018-03-20

Pros: cheap, fast service, so tasty

Cons: none

Veganbea

Points +150

Vegan
28 Jun 2020

Tasty

I really like the fish burger and cutlet plate. The soy meat burger was disappointing though

Pros: Inexpensive, Tasty

Cons: Some of the options aren't that great

annafents

Points +20

Vegan
07 Mar 2020

Delicious, creamy ramen in an atmospheric setting!

Some of the best vegan food we had whilst travelling in Japan. We both had the ramen, which was so creamy and delicious - perfect spice level, with chilli, garlic, sesame, peanut, spring onions and sweetcorn. Especially delicious after a week of vegetable-based clear broths! Would 100% recommend and can’t wait to return.

Pros: Fully vegan, Variety of options (Japanese & Western), Super tasty

AliceLBM

Points +41

Vegetarian
27 Feb 2020

Great place! Delicious pizza

We are here twice during our stay, both times food was really delicious. Has the pizza which was the best vegan pizza we’d ever had, and finished off the meal with the chocolate which was just divine

Pros: Lots of options, Cosy place

Wood4est

Points +16

Herbivore
24 Feb 2020

Kyoto’s Vegan Treasure

I lived in Kyoto for half a year and out of all the good restaurants in this vegan-friendly city, this was my absolute favorite. A very relaxing atmosphere, while getting pampered by delicious meals.

Pros: Excellent Ramen , Reasonable Prices, Very nice owner / staff

reisemone

Points +1139

Vegan
19 Feb 2020

Delicious western food

If you're looking for a change, Morpho Cafe does have very nice burgers and pizza. They were almost closing when we came, but still made us dinner. Please make sure, you are there on time😄

Den28

Points +331

Vegan
17 Feb 2020

New favourite

Big portions, reasonable prices, lovely place and most importantly, the food was A MA ZING

Rab96

Points +34

Vegan
15 Feb 2020

Fully vegan, cheap, delicious

We arrived with a party of 2 at 5:30 and the reatuarant was quiet but many reserved tables, so I would recommend arriving early or making a reservation.

We ordered the first burger and the eggplant tomato pizza, food came out quickly and the portion sizes were large. Probably one of the best vegan burgers I've ever had, and the pizza was cooked to perfection. We ordered the chocolate cake and a tart for dessert and they were delightful. Overall, we both agreed it was one of the nicest meals we've eaten on our trip to Japan. Please eat at Morpho Cafe, you won't regret it.

Pros: Fast and polite service, Very affordable, Large portion sizes

Cons: A bit out of the way of main sights

Sophiel

Points +406

Vegan
05 Jan 2020

Amazing food

We had the ramen and the pasta dish - both delicious and big portions. Amazing value for money- couldn’t believe the price. Friendly and accommodating and the restaurant is relaxing. Helped us choose allergy friendly dishes.

Pros: Delicious , Big portions, Value for money

StefanWilliams

Points +18

Vegan
29 Dec 2019

Cute, cozy, delicious and cheap!

Highly recommended, if you're vegan and even if you aren't, this is a must do in Kyoto

philip.s

Points +68

Vegan
25 Dec 2019

Vegan cafe with large variety

Lots of diversity such as ramen, noodles, pizza, burgers, lunch sets and vegan cake. Friendly service and the food was delicious.

christytt

Points +36

Vegan
25 Nov 2019

Yuuuuuuum

We tried a few items after going there 2 nights in a row. The corn potato pizza is a damn winner, literally gonna do my best to recreate at home. The eggplant pizza is also really good, person preference lies with potato and corn but honestly that’s who I am as a person. My friend got the fish burger twice. I tried both the ramen both were finger licken goooood, the curry one is pretty spicy but like the best kind. And the vegan ramen soup was just lit. Really cute decor, I wish I could have tried the cake but was to full. And the price point is amazing.

fannie.chiasson

Points +30

Vegan
21 Nov 2019

Great place for comfort foods

Good comfort foods and great place to go if you are craving western food (pizzas, burgers, pasta, french fries). They also have asian dishes (curries, ramen soup). I ordered the eggplant and soy meat pizza wich was the best vegan pizza I ever had! They don't serve the vegan ramen at lunch so I will probably go back to try it out. It's the only place I found so far that serves vegan ramen (and not vegetarian ramen).

Pros: All vegan restaurant, Western and japanese food options

Cons: No appetizers on the menu, They don't have wifi for the customers

padi

Points +190

Vegan
10 Oct 2019

🤤

Everything was so delicious, especially those soy-ramen they offer in the evening! 🤤🤤🤤

VeganEri

Points +92

Vegan
03 Oct 2019

One of the best in Kyoto

I live in Kyoto and have gone to this cafe run by a husband and wife numerous times. In fact it is my favorite and go-to restaurant. They are open for both lunch and dinner several days a week. The wife cooks all the delicious food from the scratch and the husband is a sole server. They have amazing burgers, fish (vegan) burgers, pizzas, doria, pasta dishes and two kinds of amazing ramen (dinner only). Yes, it is true they have a very reasonably priced lunch and dinner sets that serve many Japanese style small dishes along with three different main dishes to choose from (Gluten Katsu, Cream Croquet, seasonal dishes, etc) complete with brown rice and soup. Everything the chef makes is delicious including the sets. However, the problem is, like many reviewers have written before, is that lunch and dinner sets are only on the Japanese language menu! I am Japanese and noticed this, have wondered why it’s the case and asked the owner why a few years back. The owner (the server) said they used to serve the lunch and dinner sets to inbound visitors (non-Japanese) but many of them left food on the plate and didn’t eat it. It upset them as they are concerned about “Food Loss” issues. In this lunch and dinner sets, they use seasonal ingredients and make dishes that may be strange in appearance, texture and taste to non-Japanese people. So, that is why they decided not to offer the sets to non-Japanese people. If you insist on ordering these sets, tell them you will eat all of it and not leave anything on the plate and they may let you have it!

Pros: Everything is vegan, homemade and delicious, Nice and comfortable atmosphere , Very reasonable price and good serving size

Cons: They are too eager to close early, The server is a bit awkward, Their opening hours are very narrow

42TJ0NES

Points +227

Vegan
01 Oct 2019

Odd experience (like others on here)

Waiter was really unwelcoming and quite rude. No 'hello' when entering the restaurant, just quickly ushered to a table as if he wanted to go home (closed at 9pm; we arrived at 7.30pm).

I had a bad headache and wasn't feeling too great so I ordered a plate of chips (smallest thing on the menu) and my partner had the 'burger' and chips. I was given a weird look and high pitched retort when I ordered only chips and had my order double-checked (as if I'd made some mistake in my ordering...) making me feel awkward and out-of-place: like I should be spending more money in order to receive their ever-so courteous one tiny glass of water.

My partner said that her 'patty' was more like mushy soy mince: it all fell out of the bun and pooled into the back of her paper holster, seeping through the bottom in a very unappealing manner.

When dining, we were interrupted around 5 minutes in (at 8pm) to be told that 'Kitchen is closed now, OK?' and so couldn't have ordered a drink or dessert, had we wanted one. I found the waiter's mannerisms rude and odd, especially due to the fact there were 2 other tables still with their 'reserved' signs on, obviously awaiting customers.

When leaving we were literally pushed out of the restaurant with the waiter inches behind us continually uttering 'Sumimasen' and 'Goodbye, goodbye' until the door was closed and the 'open' sign flipped to 'closed' (around 8.10pm). He even had his head stuck out out of the door for a few seconds after we left, watching us walk away, as if making sure we didn't try to turn back!

Worst dining experience in Japan, and honestly one of my worst ever. I am so shocked people are giving this place more than two stars; if I could give this restaurant 1, I would do.

Pros: Chips were thick, Nice interior, Comfy seats

Cons: Rude and odd staff, Zero attentiveness, More that I can't list due to constraints

nguill

Points +25

Vegetarian
08 Sep 2019

Amazing selection

Great selection of all vegan food, traditional japanese and western. Would recommend the Burger and the green curry most of all.

ValaBeneath

Points +1294

Vegan
04 Sep 2019

Good burger

The burger was good and juicy. Good Chay latte and chocolate muffin!

Cons: Small selection

jamesdeanmcdonald

Points +216

Vegan
19 Jul 2019

Two Yummy Pizzas, Cute Atmosphere

My partner and I headed to this quaint, well-lit, easy-to-find restaurant and ate the two different kinds of pizzas there. One of the pizzas has a creamier sauce, corn, potatoes, and tiny mushrooms; the other pizza has a rich marinara sauce, soy meat, eggplant, and mushrooms. The crusts were average thickness. Both pizzas were tasty and healthy-feeling.

The only pictures I saw of the interior made the restaurant look badly lit, cramped, and uninspiring. My experience, however, was that the restaurant had lovely, soft lighting; plenty of seating; and a cozy, warm feeling that was perfect for this rainy evening. The restaurant could probably accommodate 20 people: three tables for 2, one booth for 4, 2 bar seats, and a Japanese-style table (where you sit and hang your feet below the low table) that could seat at least 6. The tables had live edges. A gauzy tapestry hung in front of the restroom. What I'm saying is, this place was quite lovely.

We didn't eat anything else, but a Canadian girl we talked to there said she'd been twice and had the burger and that the burger was good. The desserts that we passed up were a chocolate cake and a caramel pizza.

Though we didn't talk much with our server, I got the impression he was comfortable with English. Our menu was in English, too.

m@earthville

Points +9240

Vegan
07 Jul 2019

Fine if you’re in the area

The food here is well prepared, tasty, and reasonably priced. Service was OK, even if a bit officious.

I join others here in recommending you arrive early. I arrived at 7:45pm (45 minutes before closing time) and the first thing he did when I walked in was look up at the clock and tell me they were about to close (not the warmest welcome in Kyoto, but no biggie).

laiansu

Points +188

Vegan
03 Jul 2019

Good service & tasty

Me and my company had a very tasty meal here and I enjoyed the location and the food which was excellent in my opion. I didn't check reviews before but now that I did I remember also seeing japanese people with a meal I didn't see on the menu. However we were treated well and I didn't se any discrimination otherwise towards us foreigners. Food was excellent and I would have gone again but it is slightly off the city center.

Pros: Many options

Geektesse

Points +84

Vegan
21 Jun 2019

Very tasty

I actually didn’t want to go there as I read the reviews of the set meal. However the restaurant I actually wanted to go was closed that day and Morpho Café was the nearest still open.
The Japanese women next to me actually ordered the set which I could not find on my menu, and it looked quite nice. However the ramen I ordered were easily one of the tastiest things I ate in Japan. I ate the all the contents from the soup bowl and the owner even made a remark „thanks for eating everything clean“ or something which made me unsure if I insulted him or he intended to insult me or what was happening.
I’d still recommend to go there even if you feel stupid for being non-Japanese.

Diddleh

Points +20

Vegan
13 Jun 2019

Great food.. but

I read some of the reviews regarding the set meals being for Japanese people only and turns out they are true, we didn’t even have the option of ordering them, seems to be a different menu for english speaking people. Though we wanted to try it, it wasn’t too bit of a deal as the other food we did order was lovely. So if you’re staying in Kyoto its a good place to go for vegan food, just be careful of the tight opening hours, better to come right after opening for either lunch/dinner so they don’t run out of food.

Pros: Delicious food, Not too far from Kyoto station

Cons: Separate menu for English/Japanese people

Ruzha

Points +3315

Vegan
09 Jun 2019

Very delicious food

I guess I was one of the lucky ones to go to this cafe with my Japanese husband and his family. I was not refused the set menu when we ordered it, no one even questioned it. We arrived for lunch on a Sunday, and the service was impeccable from the moment we walked in until the moment we left. The food was incredible! When we walked out at around 1 p.m. there was already a sign out that they had run out of food, so make sure you go there early, I guess.

FrancescaLada

Points +18

Vegan
01 Jun 2019

Odd experience

This is a quaint cafe/restaurant near to the royal gardens in central Kyoto.

I had wanted to order the set menu which is advertised on happy cow, but this was not on the dinner menu. Assuming this was perhaps only a lunch item, I ordered the doria and my partner got the soy fillets. The fillets were very good - some of the best according to my partner. This doria was a bit underwhelming and watery but otherwise okay. We shared a chocolate cake which was one of the best we have tried in Japan and the yuzu tea was also tasty.

Things started to get weird when the set menu was taken over to some neighbouring Japanese customers. We checked our menu again and it was not listed. The waiter explained that it was only available to Japanese customers as it contains a seaweed that non-Japanese people may be allergic to. As we eat seaweed of all different types, at least weekly, we said any allergy risk would not be an issue and could we order one to share. We were then told again that it is not recommended for us, and it became clear that we would not be able to order this option. We paid up and left feeling very confused. The only explanation we could think of for this situation is that perhaps an element of the set menu contains a non-vegan ingredient that would have to be disclosed as an allergen. Pure speculation of course but it was suspicious to be told only Japanese people could eat something as ordinary as seaweed. Looking at other reviews we were not the only ones to have this experience of being refused the set menu. It’s a shame as otherwise it was a nice place but with that we will not be returning.

Pros: Good value , Some tasty vegan options , Central location

Cons: Different menu for non-Japanese customers , Wouldn’t recommend the doria

David_SongBai

Points +75

Vegetarian
23 May 2019

Great flavors

Would eat here again in an instant. Amazing bowl of ramen with great flavors. The staff spoke enough English that we had no problems.

HistoricalMarkers

Points +222

Vegetarian
23 May 2019

Hello Doria!

This was my first experience with doria, a creamy gratin-like casserole. A yummy, filling comfort food.




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