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Vegan
Japanese
Organic
Beer/Wine
Vegan Japanese restaurant with branches in Japan and UK - this one is in King's Cross. Serves tapas style Japanese classics like grilled onigiri, vegan sushi, noodles, and tofu-steaks. Rice, root vegetables, seaweeds, soya beans, and soy by-products are recurrent ingredients in the cuisine. Also art gallery and weekend live music. Lunch is cash only. Open Tue-Sat 12:00-14:00, 17:30-22:00.
276 Reviews
First Review by feorag
Edz
Points +68
Ok - Edit
Very slow service. It took about 40 minutes to clear the plates from the table.
Read moreThe set main for £13 was nice but a little plain.
Guest
Jayjazz
Points +151
Authentic - Edit
Having travelled Japan for a month a few years ago I met a friend who is not vegan but did live in Japan for 4 years here. It is very authentic I had the tofu set which was delicious and kimchi was awsome. If you like Japaneese food this is the place for you. It was quite expensive at £20 for lunch for 2 but it is London so probably not that bad really. Wouldn't say the staff were friendly or unfriendly. Anyway I loved it
Read morePros: authentic, delicious, generous portions
Cons: not cheap
Guest
Akane
Points +30
Excellent vegan/macrobiotic Japanese/Korean food! - Edit
This restaurant is now fully vegan (they changed their kimchi that used to have fish/shrimp paste in it). Went there for lunch and everything was delicious. I had the sushi lunch, which had unique nigiri sushi (okra, fried nori, etc.) instead of the usual boring veggie rolls. My friend ordered the kimbap (Korean sushi) roll lunch, which was good as well. The decor was also really nice - crisp and clean. They have sushi and other food available for takeaway. Portions are on the small side by US (or probably UK) standards. They advertise a 10% student discount, which we forgot to take advantage of. (BTW, I would give five cows, but I can't since it's still listed as non-vegan.)
Read morePros: delicious, unique veg sushi, nice decor
Cons: smallish portions
Guest
Jan Hicks
Points +116
A lovely place - Edit
My husband and I honeymooned in Japan last year and, while visiting London, wanted to try out this vegan Japanese cafe/restaurant near St Pancras Station. We went for lunch, and arrived just as a large-ish family group were sitting down. This meant that we had to wait a bit for our food, as there only seemed to be a couple of members of staff running the place. The wait was worth it, though. We both had the Kempan set, which came with a nice salad of tofu and kelp and a serving of miso soup. We also had the Sasou tea, a bamboo tea of amazing clarity and a mildly nutty flavour. We had a generous side portion of kimchi to share, too, which was perfectly spicy. My husband had a latte made with soy milk, which he reported was the nicest coffee he had ever had. All of this came to just under £17.00 in total, which is great value for money. The food was perfectly prepared to order, made with fresh ingredients, and was more than enough to satisfy our lunch-time appetites. We will definitely visit again next time we are in London.
Read morePros: healthy food, good value, delicious
Cons: slight wait for food
Guest
Sammy
Points +56
Nice - Edit
I enjoyed my lunch here, it was a little quiet, but the food was good. The noodles tasted fresh and home made. I didn't feel it was overpriced. The waiter seemed shy and we didn't get exactly the right tea ordered, but this wasn't a problem for us. The Sushi was lovely.
Read morePros: Nice food, Well decorated, varied menu
Cons: Quiet, no green tea on drinks menu
Guest
feorag
Points +580
A little expensive, but worth it - Edit
I am a massive fan of Japanese cuisine, so news that a vegan japanese restaurant had opened in London almost had me looking forward to visiting the city. My excuse came in early January, during the best snow in my lifetime. A short walk from King's Cross Thameslink, the space was light and serene. The menus were printed on handmade Japanese paper, and the napkin folded in a different way on each table. Ours were in the form of a lotus flower around a small bowl, and it seemed a shame to undo them.
Read moreTo drink, we both went for one of their specialised "teas" - Itadaki Tea - a creamy, somewhat nutty soya milk concoction served in miso bowls. Just right for the cold, snowy weather.
I ordered the lunchtime sushi set, and my partner had Misinikomi Udon. My set arrived in a bento and included two spring rolls and a mashed potato salad, as well as two types of gunken (carrot and okra), two nigiri (nori tempura and inari) and a pair of matching rolls. The shouyu came in a small clear plastic dalek with instructions clearly printed on top: ここをプッシュシてくださ, it said. Fortunately, that's simple enough for me to read - "please push this", where "this" is the nipple the text surrounds.
The Udon were served in a miso broth with julienne strips of aburaage fried tofu), carrot and cabbage - another dish which really hit the spot.
We were impressed with the food and decided to have dessert - this is supposed to be an indulgent break, after all. The desserts were mostly kanten - agar-based jelly - and my partner opted for a sesame one. Feeling adventurous (I can make kanten at home!), I tried warabimochi - small mochi made from potato starch instead of rice and dusted with toasted soya flour. The latter proved very difficult to eat with the implement provided, but was considerably better than it looked. It wasn't too sweet, which suits my tastes.
At nearly £30 for lunch for two, it's not a particularly cheap place, but also not expensive by London standards. I'd like to go back in the evening to try one of their set meals, but have no time on this trip. It looks like I'm going to have to find an excuse to come back to London - at least Itadaki Zen will make it bearable.
Pros: sublime food, Japanese, lovely space
Cons: a tad expensive, not rib-sticking
Guest
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