Vegan
Japanese
Beer/Wine

Est. 2019. Vegan izakaya serves typically two main dishes of kara-age and gyoza. Does not accept reservations. Between 12-3 pm, only lunch sets are served. May stop accepting customers during busy days if maximum capacity is reached. Open Mon-Sun 12:00pm-9:30pm.


Venue map for Izakaya Masaka
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402 Reviews

First Review by Tomo Okabe

doomsandal

Points +367

Vegan
01 Jun 2025

Nice food but not so great staff

Update 6/2025: I’ve been here 3 times now, this time the service was sub par. Wrote our names on the list to wait, then waited for 45 minutes while about 5 groups that wrote their names after us got in. Finally the staff member asked what our name was and it was already crossed on the list. He just said ”oh, okay”, went back inside and called us 15 minutes later. No apology at all for having to wait for an hour. I undestand it was a human error but the least they could do is apologize for the mistake. Very disappointed altough the food itself is good!

Original review from 2023:

Went there at 13, had to wait about 15 minutes for a table which wasn’t too bad. It’s quite a traditional izakaya but all vegan which is really awesome. You order through a QR code. We tried the karaage and gyozas, the lunch set also included a soup, (big) bowl of rice and kimchi or something? The price for lunch is about 1100 yen. Gyozas weren’t the best ever but karaage was quite tasty so I’d recommend that one instead! The lunch portions are quite big, but you can choose to get less rice when you order. They also offer several drinks from soft drinks to whiskys. Overall I’d definitely recommend visiting this place!

Updated from previous review on 2023-06-09

Pros: It definitely isn’t the healthiest food, Izakaya experience for vegans, Inexpensive

Stephyjadee

Points +342

Vegan
27 May 2025

Delicious vegan Japanese fried foods

We tried the fried mushrooms which were incredible 10/10 as well as the mapo tofu and gyozas

Pros: Delicious authentic food, Inexpensive

nadialefebvre

Points +154

Vegan
27 May 2025

Get there latest at 7pm

Even though it says it closes at 9pm, they don't let anyone wait in line after 7:30 or maybe even 7pm. I tried on 2 occasions and both times they refused me. They should change their opening hours. Thanks to this, I got recommended Jikasei Mensho ramen, which is a few meters away on the same level, which ended up to be the best vegan ramen and tantanmen of my life (get the one without soup).

If you're stuck like me, go to Mensho, it's worth the wait.

alyssabp

Points +209

Vegan
20 May 2025

5/5

Had the karaage, fried mushrooms and braised bamboo shoots. All were really good! Karaage had a good texture and the tartar sauce was good too.

KitanaWins

Points +65

Vegan
17 May 2025

Riquísimo!

Me encantó! Amo las gyozas y estaban buenísimas. También pedimos un tofu bastante picante que estaba muy bueno y rollitos primavera deliciosos. Me quedé con ganas de probar el Mapo tofu. La comida sale súper rápido. Hicimos unos 15/20 min de fila y al ser 2 entramos bastante rápido.

Pros: Comida , Fácil de encontrar , Atención rápida

AnitaDollar

Points +5675

Vegan
16 May 2025

Nice food

It's hard to get in at dinner, lunch was easy tho! I do like the food and vibes, service seemed a bit annoyed when I was there 😭

HaikuReview

Points +991

Vegan
10 May 2025

Haiku Review

Lots of fried options
Plus ice cream, salad, and drinks
Say no to mapo

Pros: All vegan, large variety, Cool, uncommon dishes, Gets a star just for being vegan in Japan!

Cons: Squeeze your own fruits for drinks, Mapo sauce has weird flavor to me

majka24

Points +398

Vegan
09 May 2025

Vegan Izakaya experience

Nice food, small portions and quite pricey for the portions size. Very long waiting time

Pros: Opportunity to try traditional Japanese snacks

Cons: Waiting time , Impossible to pay separately

TaraLMcLeod

Points +30

Vegan
08 May 2025

True Izakaya style food

I was initially concerned over how busy the area was, and the fact that the whole district feels very tourist-oriented, but I was perfectly able to relax with three friends for plenty of time with good drinks and outstanding food. This is the only place where I've gotten vegan karaage that stands up to what I remember from before being vegan. My friends, all non-vegan, were also quite impressed and satisfied with the food available.

Drinks are good and reasonably balanced, but slightly limited in variety. Cocktails, for instance, are the same sort of highballs and sours popular throughout Japan, you won't find many spirit-forward options as you might in the US. They're still well made, and go well with the food on offer.

I recommend getting the Mapo Tofu (with or without rice). Its possible that it might be considered rude or gross, but I found myself spooning some of the leftover sauce from the tofu over gyoza, cabbage, and other dishes for more flavor. Not necessary by any means, but delicious.

As others mentioned, get there early! They seem to occasionally run out of stock early, in which case some items (such as sides of rice) may be unavailable, and they may stop taking reservations as early as 8!

The price is also admirable. 5 drinks and 7 dishes set me back only about ¥10,000 (≈$70 USD), and proved plenty for my group of 4, unbelievably good price for such quality in a tourist-rich district.

Pros: Fantastic Karaage, Excellent price

Cons: Limited drink options, Inconsistent during later hours

enterusername

Points +66

Vegan
30 Apr 2025

Superb izakaya small plates

Went on a midweek lunchtime and didn’t have to queue. We got a big selection of stuff that ranged from the unspectacular (marinated to cucumber) to the incredible (both teriayki & spicy karage). Unfortunately a few of the things we wanted were unavailable but it was a really tasty meal, with fast service. Highly recommend just make sure you get the karage!

bramhubbell

Points +981

Vegan
27 Apr 2025

Tasty dishes

Masaka is amazing! We loved their vegan chicken. The sauce on the mapo tofu is excellent.

RishanShah

Points +13

Vegetarian
26 Apr 2025

Best food in japan

This place is fully vegan but doesnt compensate on flavours. Punchy and heavy hitting spice. Absolute gem

Pros: Speed of service, The spicy vegan karage, The small local shop atmosphere

jtyburski

Points +1262

Vegan
24 Apr 2025

Convenient but busy vegan spot in Shibuya

Each time I’ve been to Izakaya Masaka there has been a fairly long wait. This makes sense because it’s your normally small Japanese restaurant but also because it’s in the Parco in Shibuya, a prime location.

While I definitely like the food, the main standout is really the karaage. There are a few varieties and they are all good. Other than that, the other dishes are ok but don’t wow me.

Queensland

Points +46

Vegan
24 Apr 2025

Can close before closing time

We came ~2 hours before stated closing time on a weekday and they weren’t accepting orders even though they still had 4~5 seats left. Had a sign they’re at capacity or something.
Can’t rate their food but I guess this is more a warning that you should come early if you want to get in.

Pros: Easy to find

Cons: Stopped accepting orders way before closing time

MarleysHuman

Points +12

Vegan
22 Apr 2025

All vegan!

You order small plates like tapas but quite generous portions! All vegan which is great. Probably not top class cooking but still very satisfying and central in Shibuya. At the bottom floor in B building at Parco (shopping mall).

Pros: All vegan, Central on Shibuya

sanj123

Points +54

Vegan
20 Apr 2025

Good vegan snacks

Good option for vegan snacks while exploring Shibuya. Most of the items are rice based plates.

carolvegan

Points +4851

Vegan
18 Apr 2025

Marvellous!!!

The only sad point is that lots of dishes were already sold out - unfortunately very common in Japan, I think they do that in order to not waste food. But all we ordered was really delicious!!! We left there very satisfied.

Pros: Price, Staff, Cozy small place - eat like a local

Cons: Lots of dishes already sold out :(

pops2107

Points +103

Vegan
18 Apr 2025

Amazing vegan Japanese food

Loved the vegan food here at izakaya! We got cucumber salad, maitake mushrooms, karaage with yuzu pepper mayo and mayo tofu. The maitake mushrooms are a must and to someone who hasn’t had meat in 7 years it felt like fried chicken. Our only complaint was the mayo tofu was very salty. Other than that I’d fully recommend you come here for some very tasty food!

Pros: Fully vegan!, Japanese style foods

DougieBarber

Points +32

Vegetarian
17 Apr 2025

A must visit

A fully vegan menu was so refreshing for Tokyo. Being able to actually choose rather than just pick the one veggie/vegan option was a god send and it was all delicious. The deep-fried Broccoli was a standout of my whole trip

Pros: All veggie/vegan menu, Delicious, Good service

stephengomez

Points +20

Vegan
17 Apr 2025

Super delicious!

This restaurant is located on level b1 of the Parco building. Try to get here early because it gets packed, even on a Thursday.

I went with my mom. We each got an order of the yuzu mayo karaage, an order of rice, an order of the fried spring rolls and an order of the deep fried maitake mushrooms.

The texture on the karaage was perfect and meaty. The sauce was amazing!

The mushrooms were fried to perfection with a delicate and tender texture.

The spring rolls were great too. They had bamboo and other veggies inside.

The cost per person was about $12. Great value for great quality food!

Pros: The food, The price, The atmosphere

getsir

Points +6

Non Veg
15 Apr 2025

Amazing Vegan restaurant

Vegan versions of many Japanese dishes.
We tried Gyozas, Karage and deep fried Maitake mushrooms. All of them were good but the karage was excellent.
Prices are reasonable but there could be a bit of waiting as it’s a popular place.

lilimonade

Points +170

Vegan
14 Apr 2025

Yummy!

Get there early if you want to make sure to get a table!
Food was pretty good, prices a bit high

Harpy23

Points +1776

Vegan
12 Apr 2025

Best chicken in town

I generally find the standard of mock meat in Japan is good but the chicken kaarage here are a cut above anything else I've had here. There's a good bite to the meat and it's moist. The crispy coating is also very well seasoned. The lemon yuzu mayonnaise is an excellent choice of sauce to go with the kaarage. The lemon and spring onion topping was also enjoyable but much more lemon than onion.

I got a rice set to go with my kaarage and it helps to round the plate out into a nice balanced meal but it feels like a better idea to just get another plate of something exciting. My partner got a mapo tofu to go with her kaarage and she loved it. It was generous with tofu and sauce and really well spiced with a good level of spice from the chilli and the Sichaun pepper. It was served in a hot stone bowl so the rice got good and crispy in places too.

ShaneSmithMattsson

Points +30

Vegan
12 Apr 2025

Best food in 2 weeks in Japan

The karage...do not skip!!!!
This place was my favourite on my whole 2 week trip to Japan. Great value for money. I will never forget this place. 5 stars despite being busy and hard to find

Pros: Best karage ever, Good value, Nice atmosphere

Cons: Busy, Hard to find

Purposely_Vegan

Points +2157

Vegan
11 Apr 2025

Excellent!

A fully vegan izakaya. Amazing experience and incredible food! Proper greasy bar food great for when you’ve had a few drinks. The karaage was the star and the gyozas were amazing as well.

TomRajagopalan

Points +624

Vegan
10 Apr 2025

Brilliant vegan izakaya

This place is well worth visiting if you're in the Shibuya area!

The food is really tasty, well portioned and offers plenty of variety, so is great for getting a few plates to share!

Everything we tried tasted brilliant and was satisfying filling!

The food was also really reasonable priced, so was an easy decision to get a few more things than we normally would.

The service was also really good and friendly!

Pros: Great food, Affordable and tonnes of variety, Friendly staff

gigglygarbanzo

Points +96

Vegan
10 Apr 2025

I am one happy cow

The food was so delicious here and we ate so much of it. Hits the spot if you’re looking for something greasy, salty, & flavourful.
Highly recommend the Szechuan karaage.




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