Serves meat, vegan options available. Natural food restaurant. Uses brown rice and vegetables without pesticide. Offers an array of choices from hemp tofu to a simple bowl of brown rice, electron-charged soy ice cream "tofu blamagae," black sesame tofu-ice with sweet beans, and tofu for dessert. From Harajuku station, Meiji Street by Jingumae ichomae junction, turn right. Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm, Mon-Sat 5:00pm-10:00pm, Sun 5:00pm-9:00pm.
Categories: Japanese, Organic, Beer/Wine, Fusion, Non-veg
14 Reviews
First Review by Baza
Contributions +45
delicious and authentic - Edit
loved the food here, authentic japanese dishes veganized!
Contributions +841
One of my favorite places in Japan - Edit
Most of the menu is vegan. The service is great and the food quality is worth every penny.
I had the tempeh steak and it is probably the first time I’ve tried good tempeh (not like the chewy dry thing we have in the West). But the highlight was the plate of DELICIOUS vegetables that came with it.
The tofu salad is also nice and they offer vegan desserts like sweet potato cake, chocolate cake and peanuts ice cream
A must try. My non-vegan friends love it as well.
Updated from previous review on 2018-02-05
Contributions +58
hidden delights - Edit
What a great place, easy to miss if you're not looking for it as it just seems like a small shop from the outside. The food was delicious, a bit on the light side, but understandable considering the high quality of the produce. The service was excellent and we would love to come back. Calm and warm ambience. Great selection of menu items and drinks. You can also purchase some items to take home.
Pros: intimate
Contributions +25
Delicious food great atmosphere - Edit
Being foreigners travelling with children we needed an unpretentious venue with a good range of foods. The food was tasty and interesting, there were non-vegetarian options for my non-veg children, and we knew that what we ordered for my meat allergic husband would not induce anaphylaxis.
Particularly memorable were the gluten dumplings and veg gyoza. The restaurant itself is beautiful and cozy, with pictures of famous visitors, a beautiful grand piano, and tiny mezzanine dining areas that create a very welcoming atmosphere. Staff are friendly.
Expect Home style healthy cooking, low on fuss or glamour, high on taste and nutrition.
Pros: cozy, good food, not overpriced
Cons: quite slow service
Contributions +310
Not great - Edit
The person helping us seemed fairly grumpy and not friendly, even though we were speaking polite Japanese...not sure if it was an off day or what. Spent ¥3600 on a set meal, the soy meat was tasty but everything else was just ok or not good at all. The cake for dessert was tasteless. I'm grateful there's a vegan option in this area, but honestly I'd way recommend Re:nature and Hanada Rosso due to their friendly staff/much better tasting food.
Pros: Tasty soy meat, nice background music
Cons: price for the quality is much too high, food is mostly only so-so, not a friendly or welcoming atmosphere from staff
Contributions +26
Plain good food - Edit
It's not all vegan but good. I had the set menu meal with fried soy meat, it was plain but good. Not the most inexpensive place but worth it. Friendly english speaking staff and nice atmosphere with bookshelves and old tables.
Contributions +45
quiet place, vegan options. - Edit
Came here after not being full after a visit to the Baird Taproom in Harajuku. Place was almost empty, but still open. Service was good even if our drinks got delayed. Had the dumplings which were not bad but maybe a little dry.
Pros: Vegan options, Quick service (although place were almost empty)
Cons: too quiet?
Contributions +128
The oldest vegan restaurant in Tokyo - Edit
I came here after a tiring walk through Harajuku. It was already a few minutes after the L.O. time, but they told me to have a seat. I was a bit confused about the menu, because the meal I ordered wasn't in the vegan menu, but when I asked they told me that it was vegan too. So I ordered the Udon which came with another plate of 5 different vegetables. The kitchen is macrobiotic and it was a very plain but tasty meal. The atmosphere is great, when also a bit dark, but the owner is super friendly and speaks English very well.
Pros: Healthy food , Atmosphere of 30-40 years ago, Friendly staff and owner
Cons: Maybe a bit too plain food for some people
Contributions +761
Great atmosphere - Edit
I walked here after spending the morning exploring Harajuku. The location wasn't quite where Google Maps lead me to, I had to go around the corner to find it, a random guy the street pointed the way for me.
The atmosphere was great, most veg places I've been to in Japan have been a bit sterile, whereas here were wooden bookshelves and little nooks. The guy waiting the tables was also great, he had really good English and was helpful, albeit a bit busy as he seemed to be doing everything himself.
As for the food, it was a bit disappointing, though maybe I brought that upon myself. I ordered the curry, after confirming that it was both vegan and Japanese-style, but found it lacking quite the right flavour that I remembered in a Japanese curry. I'd already tried once before in Kyoto, and this curry was better than the Kyoto one, and certainly not bad, it just didn't have the right "Japanese curry" flavour balance.
I then ordered dessert, choosing what the waiter told me was "traditional vegan Japanese jelly". Turned out it was made with Adzuki beans, which I would have realised if I looked more closely at the menu. I personally dislike those beans, so unsurprisingly, I was not particularly impressed with that dessert, though someone who likes Adzuki beans would probably have enjoyed it.
I therefore didn't particularly enjoy my food, but I think I simply ordered the wrong things, and would have enjoyed myself a lot more if I'd ordered differently.
Updated from previous review on Monday March 02, 2015
Pros: Great atmosphere, English menu available
Contributions +592
Good energy - Edit
This is one of the few places in Tokyo that is actually worth eating at. Unlike the others, it is not trying to be something that it is not. It's just real, good, food.
We come here all the time and it never fails to satisfy. The menu is wholesome and delightfully varied. The owner tells us the ingredients are mostly organic but we don't need him to, as we can feel it in the energy and taste it in the flavours.
Try the tempura, the gyoza, the kimchee hotpot... in fact, anything that sounds Japanese is a good bet. Best to avoid things like the gratin - the Western food isn't up to the same standard as the local fare but that's to be expected.
Very cozy little place with a handmade and historic feel. Some natural foods and household items sold near the doorway.
Oh and as others have mentioned, the location couldn't be better - right where you'd least expect to find good food but most need it. Here's to another few decades of Mominoki House!
Pros: ingredients with intergrity, extensive menu , robust local flavours
Cons: not all menu items are of same standard
Contributions +67
Love this place - Edit
Well located restaurant, the interior decoration is beautiful.
Food is delicious, every bite tastes like heaven
Pros: Delicious meals, Good value, Location
Contributions +371
Tasty, healthy, and friendly - Edit
We visited Mominoki back in April 2008. The food here was sooooo tasty. And the owner was really nice. It has a great atmosphere, too--very cozy, and his record collection is on display. It was kind of hard to find, but so was pretty much everywhere in Tokyo for us.
There's some chicken and fish on the menu, but not much. We had the tempeh steak, which was really good, the white bean salad (nice), gyozo-not the best but tasty, and the vegetable gratin with soy cheese that was really good. Oh, and a delicious black sesame soy cream for dessert. The set menus advertised outside are expensive, but there were plenty of cheaper options on the a la carte menu, which is what we ordered from. The wine was good as well.
I rate this place higher than most macrobiotic restaurants I've been to. Unfortunately, many of these places are all too distinguishable by a general blandness. Mominoki does not fall into this category - everything we had was full of flavor. We will definitely return the next time we are in Tokyo.
Pros: excellent, healthy food, cozy atmosphere, friendly staff and owner
Cons: hard to find, not enough desserts
Contributions +95
A must experience for quality of preparation - Edit
This place is a must try. It is almost perfect. Quality is downright outrageously great.
It is almost perfect because prices are high.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that the owner, Eichiro Yamada, is one of the pioneers of macrobiotic cuisine. Please follow my advice and dish out the 5000 to sample this restaurant. Or just go like me and pay 8000 yen to order anything you want with a limit of two hours. If you can make the money flow, just this one time, you will experience a macrobiotic cuisine of unclassifiable quality, ie. really yummy.
Pros: Delicious., Refined menu., Paul McCartney,StevieWonder have visited
Cons: High Price
Contributions +91
Great - Edit
I really liked this place, not cheap but I think it would be better at lunchtime (pricewise). One of the few places in Tokyo that does vegetarian miso soup.
Pros: excellent food, excellent service, nice ambience
Cons: location, portions　a bit small
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