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075-7621233
Gluten-free vegan restaurant located a short walk east of Keihan Sanjo station. Serves breakfast 9-10:30am, lunch 11am-3pm, dinner 5-9pm. 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-Sun 9:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-9:00pm. Last order 8pm.
Categories: Vegan, American, Pizza, Japanese, Macrobiotic, Western, Take-out, Gluten-free
86 Reviews
First Review by jennjt
Contributions +18
Awesome, flavorful & filling. - Edit
I went here for lunch & wanted to sit outside as it was a beautiful day. They had me order and pay first which I didn’t mind. I got the cheese platter which was an absolute must and the falafel style veggie patty with gravy and rice. I ate everything and the meal felt really clean and nutritious. A but $$ but so is life. Glad I went.
Contributions +26
Vegan Cheese Boards! 💓 - Edit
My husband and I really enjoyed their cheeseboard as an appetizer. A real treat! I also enjoyed the vegan bocconcini mozzarella in my tomato pasta dish. Great service and really nice atmosphere.
Contributions +1874
Good overpriced food - Edit
The place is really nice and comfortable. Staff is friendly. Food is 100% vegan and good. We had a quiche, which was very tasty but small. The vegan bolognese with mozzarella was good too, and such a great option after several Japanese meals! The vegan cheese salad was extremely disappointing: the cheese is ok, but I paid 1300 yen for a dish that was not a real dish. I was expecting more veggies and actually something filling, but it was just a side dish (overpriced). After dinner we had to stop at a convenience store for some snacks, this was our most expensive dinner in Japan and we were still hungry. I don’t feel like recommending it.
Pros: good food , 100% vegan , nice place
Cons: overpriced , small servings
Contributions +365
So good! But too much of a good thing? - Edit
This vegan cafe seems to specialize in vegan cheese dishes. I got the five-cheese sampler plate, tomato pasta with mozzarella, soy latte, and raw strawberry lemon cake.
I thought the cake did not have cheese, but it seemed like a strawberry layer and a cheese layer rather than a strawberry layer and a lemon layer! So I thought it was actually too much cheese in one meal. Maybe I should have read the menu more closely...
The layers of cake were smooth, not gritty at all like some raw cakes. I think it may be one of the best raw cakes I have had.
The pasta was tasty. The mozzarella was a perfect replica in shape and texture of those non-vegan/vegetarian mozzarella spaghettis they serve at family restaurants in Japan. Unfortunately the mozzarella did not have much flavor. There were only 5 small pieces on top so it was no big deal.
I loved three of the five cheeses. The pink pepper and chlorella cheese was amazing and the koto was good as well. There was another with capers on it, I think, that was interesting. I hated the smoky cheese but I never liked smoky cheese anyway. The plate also came with figs, raisins and tomatoes.
You can choose between 3, 4 and 5 variety cheese plates but you cannot pick the varieties you want! That makes me not want to order it again because I absolutely loathe throwing away food. It is a real shame because the pink pepper and chlorella cheese was to die for.
The soy latte was almost cold when it was brought out. I think the soymilk was insufficiently steamed. The flavor was good, though.
The only kind of food I have trouble tolerating is really rich food, so I wish they had more non-cheese choices like salads so you could create more balance in your meal. If I went back I would ask for the mozzarella pasta without mozzarella...
The sofa seat I had was very comfortable and relaxing and I stayed until closing.
I would like to go again to try different items. It is the only vegan cheese cafe in Japan that I know about and the concept is very interesting.
Pros: Unique menu, Some very tasty items, Nice atmosphere with comfortable seats
Cons: Hot drink was lukewarm, Menu lacks balance and has a majority of rich food, Cannot choose the cheeses for the sampler plate
Contributions +3927
Good, though limited Japanese food - Edit
Choice is a friendly upscale café with a health-conscious menu. The main focus is on items that incorporate their very good house-made vegan cheeses, but there are other options, too. I went for the risotto, which came with a side salad, followed by the vegan cheesecake and an amazake latte. All of it was well prepared and tasty, so I would've happily returned a few more times were it not for the fact that there's very little Japanese food on the menu, and for me dining in Kyoto is all about the local flavor.
Service was warm and welcoming. I'd recommend it highly for dessert and drinks, and for anyone in the mood for pasta. It looks like it would be a good option for breakfast, too.
Enjoy!
Contributions +38
Pasta good, veggie burger not so, and at a price. - Edit
I'm sure the ingredients were top notch, but the veggie burger was pretty tasteless. Wasn't cheap, and wasn't big! The spinach and chlorella pasta was reasonable though.
Certainly not the worst food we had in Japan, but far from the best. Possibly poor choices from the menu, but prices were too high to give it another go.
Contributions +28
loved it! - Edit
Our guide knew this place and took us there for lunch. I had the quiche and it was wonderful!!
Contributions +62
The vegan cheese is great! - Edit
A nice place. Limited items on the menu, but great food. Portions aren’t massive, but that is to be expected in most Japanese restaurants. The vegan cheese is amazing!
Contributions +48
Overpriced, disappointing cheese. - Edit
I would only recommend this place if you really need vegan and gluten free food in Kyoto. Otherwise, it seems very overpriced and the portions are small. I bought one of their $20USD cheeses, which was sold frozen. After thawing it had the consistency (and flavor) of oily yogurt. Not horrible, but definitely not worth that.
Contributions +30
Excellent! - Edit
A beautiful place to eat. There many options - 3 pasta options, 3 salads, hamburger and a lot of desserts
Highly recommend! Will come back again
Pros: Lots of options Excellent service, Gluten free
Cons: Gluten free
Contributions +13
Excellent for lunch - Edit
Excellent smoothies, I am go there to in morning before going on excursions then I came back to eat there for lunch. Good salads and a rich menu of choice. Excellent I highly recommend! Both for meals and for pancakes! I would return soon !
Cons: it is a little expensive. 1400¥ for salad. 1400¥ f
Contributions +76
Pretty good - Edit
The appetizers and the desserts were delicious but the main courses we had were merely decent. The venue is great, tasteful and casual. Overall, pretty good.
Contributions +73
Good place for Vegan - Edit
Nice place to eat for Vegan, a lot of choices.
Pros: Lot of choices
Cons: Prices are high
Contributions +48
Cher et plutôt fade - Edit
Le hamburger vegan etait très sec, j'ai surtout apprécié la salade qui l'accompagnait et qui etait bien assaisonnée. Le pain du hamburger et son contenu etaient quant à eux vraiment fades. Le gâteau au chocolat que j'ai pris en dessert etait lui aussi très sec et trop consistant.
Cons: Beaucoup trop cher
Contributions +59
Surprisingly good. - Edit
Although it's quite expensive, I'd say it's worth it to try it because the food we got was of very high standard and tastes delicious.
Pros: lots of different foods made vegan, e.g. beef Stro
Cons: Desserts are very small portions
Contributions +24
fresh food, great pancakes! - Edit
I am vegan and Intolerant to gluten and i have to say that finding vegan food in Japan has been quite a struggle. This cafe was the perfect lunch stop after a long morning walking in the sun. Fresh salad, really tasty pancakes and vegan cheese. Good coffee. Will return for sure!
Contributions +530
Lovely hangout place with friendly staff but overpriced and small portions - Edit
Choice Cafe used to be good before they revamped their menu. I remember going there for lunch and they had decently portioned set lunches with fresh veggies, veggie patties and a choice of gluten free pancakes or brown rice for about 1080yen. Now they only have main courses which are small and overpriced. Even their delicious cakes used to be plated with more beautiful toppings and garnishes, now it's usually just the cake on a plain plate. I remember really liking their creamy cheesy vegan risotto when I went there last year but when I returned this year it tasted different. Their homemade cheeses are fairly good and taste great on their pizzas. I guess they must have changed their chefs for the quality to change that drastically. I still go there occasionally because I like the relaxed atmosphere which is good for working but I wish they would improve on the quality of the food so that it tastes as good as before. I want to love it more because the staff are always so nice to me. They do breakfast so it is a good option if you're looking for vegan places that open early.
Updated from previous review on 2017-07-17
Pros: Nice and relaxed atmosphere, friendly staff, Central location, opens early for breakfast, Nice homemade vegan cheese
Cons: Overpriced and small portions
Contributions +42
Overpriced and mediocre - Edit
Not much else to say about that...
Contributions +44
great vegan food and good atmosphere - Edit
We went to Choice twice during our few days in Kyoto and enjoyed our food on both occasions. I had the pancakes and quiche and my partner had the quinoa burger both times. The staff were very friendly. They use and sell their own vegan cheese which I had in my quiche which was lovely! Highly recommend
Contributions +209
Excellent vegan Western style food in a relaxing atmosphere - Edit
My visit here was really relaxing. I enjoyed great food, while sitting on a comfy sofa and listening to smooth jazz music. The friendly staff gave me an English menu, which contained pictures of all dishes. Many of the dishes contain home-made vegan cheese, which seems to be their specialty, but there are also dishes without fake cheese. I ordered a
corn soup (600¥) and Bolognese noodles with mozzarella (quinoa based with mushrooms, 1400¥). Both, but especially the noodles were very well flavored and the fake mozzarella was a yummy plus. As a dessert I had a delicious chocolate cake, which kept the promise made by it's name... Can't imagine how to put more chocolate into a cake. The portion sizes looked small (as most times in Japanese restaurants), but were quite filling. Although I was really hungry, soup, main dish and dessert was a bit too much for me.
Contributions +56
not the best option - Edit
We ordered the burger and a soup. Soup was good (small) burger was really average.
Major issue with the dessert, we wanted to order 1h before it closed down (so 8pm), and we couldn't because it was too late?! We couldn't order before not knowing how big the portions were.
All in all would recommend as a last resort.
Contributions +58
The cheese. - Edit
Get it (the cheese sampler plate). Delicious.
This place is very handy for accommodating friends with gluten allergies who visit.
Contributions +121
gluten free vegan in Sanjo area - Edit
I had a bolognesa pasta. Sorry guys it was tasteless, loads of pepper killed any hint of flavor. My boyfriend had the burger he said taste was great but portion little. It was also a tiny pricy but again that's what the combo gluten free & vegan means in some places.
Pros: cheese cake was delicious, they accept credit card
Cons: price, bolognesa pasta tasteless, small portions
Contributions +21
excelente! - Edit
Muy lindo lugar con muy rica
Comida toda vegana! La atencion increible como en todos los lugares que visite en japon
Contributions +152
Good Location - Edit
It was located in a nice place for me. I frequently passed by so went there twice. I tried the pancakes and the strawberry lemon raw cake. I was more interested in eating Japanese food, so I didn't try their main dishes. Pretty pricey for what you get! The cake was really good though.
Pros: Gluten Free , Convenient Location, Open for breakfast
Cons: Small portions for the price
Contributions +54
Great Meal - Edit
Nice modern vegan restaurant with friendly staff. Had the pasta with bolognese sauce which is made with quinoa and also included the restaurant's homemade cheese, which is really good. Yummy pancake dessert too!!
Pros: Homemade Cheese, Pancakes
Contributions +946
An option - Edit
For me it was pushing a 3 but my wife thought it was a 5, so we compromise in 4 :)
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