Choice Cafe and Restaurant

As someone who loves wheat-based staples I was a bit suspicious of the pasta, but the pasta bolognese turned out to be absolutely fantastic. It's about the right size, too- it looks small, but the sauce itself is quite filling.

This place has been refurbished since the first time I went, and it is such an improvement. It feels a lot more fancy now, and the decor is warm and trendy, so cosy. I had the quiche and my friend had the cheese burger, and we were both happy with our food. They also do a really great soy latte. Next time I want to try their desserts!

I had a light dinner here, just the teriyaki pizza and some pancakes. Very good flavours and lovely staff. Perhaps a little pricey for the portion size.

I've been to Choice twice now - first time just to try their cheese platter with a friend, and then for brunch with my husband. The cheese platter was really nice, but we found it was just a bit too pricey for the amount. Also, although I understand, we really just wanted to share the platter but were asked to order 1 menu item each. I really enjoyed going for brunch, however, and although the portions were still small, it was delicious. The chocolate pancakes in particular were SO YUMMY. The atmosphere is nice and the staff are very polite (first time we went they were a little cold, but second time they were super friendly). They had no objection to me staying for a long time working on my computer after my husband left, and offered to let me use the power outlet without me even asking. I was incredibly impressed when they gave me a free soy latte because I voluntarily moved to a counter seat when the place filled up! This isn't somewhere I'd go regularly, due to the expense, but it still gets 5 stars because I think the quality deserves it.









Updated from previous review on 2017-02-11

Food was so lovely. Had a pizza and taco salad. Even the husband loved it! The vegan cheese is insanely good.

This was my first vegan restaurant visit in Kyoto and I must say, I was not disappointed with the absolutely delicious food! I had the vegan basil pizza with a soy latte and a chocolate cake for dessert. I didn't want the food to end! My only complaint with this place was the portion size. The pizza was really much too small for me, I was still quite hungry when we left.

I know it's can be a bit complicated to survive as a vegan in Japan but this place is like a gem in Kyoto. I went there twice and I will go and go there while I'm in Kyoto. My recommendation it to go here for breakfast 8-10:30 you can get an amazing vegan breakfast in this place. They also has a big vegan cheeses edition. Mozzarella is insane, it's literally so good. You can try it on the Margarita pizza. Food it really good, but still healthy. There is a lot of gluten free options as well.

I really tried to like choice, hence I went there twice, but each time I went the food was not anything to rave about and the portion size is very small. It is a very nice, well lit, and neat cafe but it feels like a doctor's office (the owner of the restaurant is a doctor, which is probably why it feels that way).

The first time I went with friends, we ordered a pizza, and two pastas. The pizza crust was very thin and a bit oily. The cheese texture was almost like real cheese but overall it did not really taste like a pizza and was quite bland. There were two different pastas that we ordered, one was a mozzarella and tomato pasta and the other was a cheese cream sauce one. Again the cheese was very good, almost like real cheese, but both pastas did not leave a lasting impression. There were three of us and the amount of food we got was probably enough for two people at most.

The second time I went, I ordered the burrito. For about 1000 yen I was expecting the burrito to be medium size but when I got my food it was almost a kid's size portion. It was good but it was not filling and surprisingly very oily (but the oil was what gave it any flavor). I decided to give the cream sauce pasta another chance and ordered it again, but the result was the same as the last time.

Overall this is a good place for tea time or a light meal, for vegans and vegetarians, but I do not recommend this place for lunch or dinner because you will definitely leave hungry and disappointed,

Updated from previous review on 2016-09-27

We went here for breakfast, and amongst 3 people enjoyed the chocolate pancakes, the teriyaki burger and the basil tomato burger. All food is gluten free, making it a great choice for celiac's. The pancakes are Japanese style; meaning they are thick & small. The teriyaki burger was my personal favourite. It was drizzled with teriyaki, and topped with caramelized onions! The cafe is also a relaxing refuge from the heat. It's fitted out with plants, comfortable seating and a selection of books to flick through whilst you eat. Additionally, the staff are helpful & friendly. Overall a lovely cafe.

Excellent food. There's less expensive places in the world but that's Japan.

Had açai bowl (1200¥) and GF pancakes (1400¥?). Good and tasty but nothing special and thus a bit expensive.

Maybe I'm spoiled living in California and being a shareholder of the best vegan cheese in the world, in any case, the five cheese platter had tiny portions and was very expensive -2000¥. My pizza was tasty, but it was actually a crepe and the burrito was a rolled up crepe. The burger was the winner of the night. The desserts were pretty good too

It was a relief to find this cafe being a vegan coeliac. All of the menu is gluten free except for the pasta. Portions are small and on the pricey end but any coeliac would be happy to pay for a tasty, safe meal in Japan. After just a few days I've found it hard to get anything without wheat. So thank you choice for a great meal. I will be back again while I'm in Kyoto.

Agree that the time and location listed are not correct. If you get to Sanjokeihan tube stop you are close, don't give up! It's not in the nearby block/section of 5-6 restaurants where I initially thought it would be. It is only over the other side of the river so very possible to visit if you have been mainly hanging around the center.

Sadly we failed to find this on our first attempt and only revisited twice before our time in Kyoto was up. We would have loved to try the breakfast/brunch as it is near impossible to find a vegan breakfast anywhere.

However, once we had found it it was worth the effort. Service good, staff spoke good English and there was quite a good variety for dinner. All in all if you are in Kyoto for more than a day or two, you will probably want to try this place.

The pizzas, while nice, would probably make an Italian confused, arguably I would say they are savoury crepes more than pizzas. Although I have no idea how to make a gluten free pizza so credit to them for this. The pasta dishes we had on our second visit were a bit more interesting and filling. The wine, beer and sake are all reasonably priced.

The star was the chocolate pancakes though which comes in a size sufficient for two to share with chocolate faux ice cream.

Everything is gluten free though neither of us had an issue with this. There are interesting Japanese books and comics around which appear to be informational/educational about various dietary issues. However the staff aren't pushy about this if it concerns you that you might get a lecture!

My boyfriend is coeliac and I can't have cows milk and prefer vegetarian. Particularly gluten-free is difficult in Japan, and so we didn't book in any breakfasts in any hotels, knowing that most wouldn't be able to cope. Come in this amazing place. Great location next to one of the major tube stations/roads. We ate breakfast there every morning during our stay in Kyoto and always was the service lovely and quick. It's usually quite quiet, which is actually quite nice and peaceful. To have both vegan and gluten-free has been amazing. The vegan cheese is very creamy and flavourful - I wish I could take some home with me. We were also there for an evening and again service was nice and food delivered quickly. I personally think the price is not expensive for such special food at all!

Firstly the closing time and location on Happy Cow are slightly wrong. They were open Sunday until 9 and it is a little further down the street than what the map tracks.
I had the risotto which was nice but nothing special.
My partner had the Teriyaki Burger and was so disappointed. The dough for the bun wasn't completely cooked and it had such little lettuce, if you even wanted tomato you had to pay more. For these two, quite small portions and a juice it was $3,300.
Restaurant was empty and we weren't too surprised after

Tasty, cheesy, comfort food! Pasta with cream sauce very satisfying, particularly in combination with the cheese plate and organic wine. Pancakes are a perfect dessert (if you're sharing and still have room! Loved it all.

I had the veggie burger. It was tasty, filling but not too heavy. The bun definitely seemed homemade, and was perhaps gluten-free (?). My partner enjoyed the oil-free curry and the pancakes. The "Italiana" vegan cheese for sale at the counter is delicious. I think it is quite pricey, so I have only bought it a few times. I haven't tried the other three flavors.