Vegan
Chinese
Taiwanese

Casual restaurant specializing in Taiwanese cuisine, in particular herbal dishes and hot pot. Food is all vegan, no onion or garlic used. Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-3:30pm, 5:30pm-8:00pm. Closed Sun.


Venue map for Cafe Ren - Nakagyo
© OpenStreetMap contributors

60 Reviews

First Review by lemurcat

Arobed

Points +636

Vegan
17 Nov 2024

Loved it

Calming place with a great menu.

jonnothebonno

Points +72

Vegan
14 Nov 2024

Great little find

Food was excellent, a nice little find on the streets of Kyoto with friendly staff. They also have a little shop of vegan / gluten free goodies for you to buy.

Pros: Healthy food, Friendly staff, Snack shop

Usename

Points +22

Vegan
13 Nov 2024

Delicious Vegan In Kyoto

Down a tiny alley we found this delicious cafe. The food was amazing and the staff so friendly. Absolutely worth the effort of finding it! Highly recommend it.

Nameless_Demon

Points +312

Vegan
11 Nov 2024

Lovely place & great food

Although it is called a vegetarian cafe, the selection of vegan options is quite wide. The staff was nice, the atmosphere was relaxing, and the food was amazing :)

Kittybiscuit

Points +8716

Vegan
28 Oct 2024

Amazing food

Wow! This place is amazing. We came here for lunch. I ordered the Chinese dumpling hot pot. I also ordered the shojin curry steamed bun. The hotpot was delicious. The dumplings were filled nicely and I enjoyed all the sides that were served with them. The curry steamed bun was exceptional. I think I could live off these. Generous portion with the curry being perfect. My partner really enjoyed the Shojin curry set.

We had a smoothie each too. My green one was incredible. I don’t know what was in it but flavour wise and consistency wise, perfect. My partner loved the blueberry one too.

Lovely staff and gorgeous decor.

Went twice! Tried the vegan eel plate and it was delicious.

Updated from previous review on 2024-10-27

IronJuice

Points +1261

Vegan
15 Oct 2024

Great Taiwan Japanese fusion

I liked their lunch special set meal, a solid option at a decent price, I also tried their steamed dim sum which failed to impress.

Pros: Great options, Great service, Decent price

MickelVanSlobbe

Points +1491

Vegan
05 Oct 2024

Gezellig en goed

Gezellig en goed restaurant. Vriendelijk personeel. Heerlijk ijs

NarayanDas

Points +279

Vegetarian
05 Oct 2024

Very tasty

I took set, little from each, and it was really good, especially "fish".

Pros: Taste, Very neat waiters

Cons: No so big variety

Interface

Points +170

Vegan
03 Oct 2024

Cozy Atmosphere; Great Food

I was fortunate enough to have Cafe Ren nearby my hotel and visited early one morning.

I got the vegan eel bowl and loved it. It's got a delicate lemony flavor that was very enjoyable, and a super memorable presentation. The eel is a bit on the pricy end, but their other options are pretty reasonable.

They also offer takeaway bentos that I didn't get the chance to try.

I'd absolutely visit Cafe Ren again if I'm in that area of Kyoto.

(Review based on Spring 2024 visit)

Updated from previous review on 2024-10-03

Jalan333

Points +389

Vegan
02 Oct 2024

Delicious vegan set menu

Closes at 8pm but they shut the doors for last orders at 7pm. We went in at 7.05pm cheekily and they didn’t send us away. Food was amazing. So much flavour and the fish side dish was just the best!
Really recommend the set menu but the hot pot also looked special.

The miso wasn’t the best sadly. Not sure why.

Pros: Set menu, Fish side dish, Quiet and friendly

Cons: Miso was an acquired taste

PatJanzer

Points +78

Vegan
17 Aug 2024

Delicious!

If delicious had a name it would be Cafe Ren. We really loved the cosy little cafe and the staff. They were all so cute and friendly. The food was just amazing and the vegan desserts... Mhm.... You just have to try it!!

TarraGreen

Points +81

Vegan
05 Jun 2024

Fresh and tasty

Had the “eel”, curry, buns and the apple almond cake. Everything was extremely fresh and delicious!
The restaurant is small but the staff were lovely
I did order an iced coffee which was a bit ordinary but other then that I highly recommend this restaurant

Pros: Fresh, Tasty, Filling

Akari000

Points +523

Vegan
22 May 2024

Vegan eel bowl was AMAZING!

I used to eat eel before I went vegan, and their vegan eel bowl was exactly what I was used to eat..! I highly recommend to try it.🥹
My bf ordered soymeat cutlet, cutlet was also super delicious.
Everything was just so perfect, thank you so much!! 🥹🙏🌱

Updated from previous review on 2024-05-22

AnyaLatthe

Points +119

Vegetarian
18 May 2024

Cute place, nice food

We got the Soy cutlet bowl which was very tasty. Also got the curry dumpling and a vegetable dumpling. Dumplings took a while to come out but tasted pretty good.

jessyekl

Points +203

Vegan
18 May 2024

Must try!

I meaaann…it’s amazing! Simple cafe with incredible food. The staff is very kind and helpful. I loved the vegan eel plate and wish I was able to try more! Can’t wait to come back soon.

Pros: Delicious food, Many options

Clamavi

Points +28

Vegan
10 May 2024

Delicious food

A small place but the food is delicious, service is friendly, highly recommend !

madomado

Points +433

Vegan
10 May 2024

Super adresse vegane $$

Nous avons très bien mangé.
Ici des questions lats qu'on ne mange pas habituellement faisant partie des plats classiques japonais, nous sont proposés en version vegane.
Comme le katsudon, le unagi (anguille) ainsi qu'un plateau shojin ryori (régime végétalien dans les temples)
Tout est très bon état beau.
Je dirais que les pâtisseries sont bonnes mais peu sucrées
Boissons en version lait végétale comme le matcha latte ou encore le smoothie a la myrtille qui est une tuerie.
Le prix est plutôt de 3000¥ si on prend plat/dessert et boisson.
Mais c'est délicieux et si gentiment servi 😁🙏

Pros: Les plats originaux et délicieux , Boissons , Service, propreté

Cons: Attente pour être servi , Pâtisseries bonnes mais peu sucrées

FlorenceM.

Points +67

Vegan
02 May 2024

Great food, Nice staff

It's a super cute place with cozy vibes, the food was great and nit expensive. They had a kid's menu which is not that common in Japan. Nice and accommodating staff, we arrived after last order (they close early) but they didn't say anything. The desserts were amazing. Definitely worth making the detour for their food.

Updated from previous review on 2024-05-02

Pros: Amazing food and desserts, Kid's menu, Cozy vibes, friendly staff

KadiHarmon

Points +8258

Vegan
28 Apr 2024

Adorbs

Not only is this place cute as could be, it is delicious! I got the set and the dumplings and the bun and everything was great! Lucky to get a seat! Staff was so welcoming and I loved everything about it.

CoRa81

Points +47

Vegan
16 Apr 2024

Super ristorante a Kyoto

Favoloso! Cibo ottimo, personale carinissimo! Torte favolose. Ci siamo stati ben due volte in tre giorni

JaredxRisa

Points +473

Vegan
06 Apr 2024

Cozy, delicious and welcoming 🌸♥️

Absolutely gorgeous vegan Japanese food at a fully vegan restaurant based in Kyoto. I ordered the soy meat rice bowl which was very similar to a Japanese dish of Katsu Don. My partner ordered the Gyoza Nabé (Hot Pot). For dessert we ordered the sweet potato and Cashews Cheese Cake which was presented so nicely. Would definitely recommend!!

Alternatively they also had vegan eel, spring rolls, and other dessert.

Updated from previous review on 2024-04-06

swaninspired

Points +466

Vegan
25 Mar 2024

Warm atmosphere

Warm-hearted staff, delicious food and so many desserts to choose from! We had a hot pot, dumplings and the daily set. All very good, some of the vegetables were new to me. I recommend you try their homemade plum juice. Decided to try a tofu chocolate cake (gluten free) and a burdock root (never heard of that before) walnut chocolate cake. Both yummy. Very satisfying meal!

NathaliaZimmermann

Points +318

Vegan
25 Mar 2024

Amazing food!

It was such a nice place to eat! The restaurant is small and cozy, we felt really comfortable. The food was amazing, really tasty and perfect for the rainy day. We had the bento plate and one of the hot pots, for dessert we had a cake (no photo of the cake). Very delicious!

Updated from previous review on 2024-03-25

Pros: Delicious comfort food, Cozy place, Friendly staff

Kim-Oliver

Points +19

Vegetarian
25 Mar 2024

Small, Cozy and delicious 🙂

Everything was very nice, from the friendly employees to the location.
The food was very organic and tasted healthy.

BrayRoberts

Points +69

Vegetarian
07 Mar 2024

Cosy, warm and inviting

We visited the Cafe on a cold and rainy evening. I had the Shojin Medicinal Curry which was super tasty and just what I needed after all the cold!

The staff are super friendly and the space is inviting, despite being tucked away (all the goodies seem to be)

We also ordered the curry buns which were pretty good, but the curry was definitely the highlight for me

litano

Points +248

Vegetarian
04 Mar 2024

Healthy for sure Seems like it was Buddist environment ,nice.

Okay, good spiritual vibes.

Pros: Peaceful

yungveg17

Points +1169

Vegan
13 Jan 2024

Lovely ambiance and food

We had a great dinner here our first night in Kyoto. Just be aware they close fairly early (like many places in Kyoto) - we were grateful to get a place as people were turned away after us.
The food was really nice - super cool work on the vegan eel - and the staff were lovely. Def recommend!




This page has been viewed 16550 times.