Ukishima Garden

This place is great for taking a vegan out for a romantic dinner, with great atmosphere and beautiful crockery. However it feels overpriced (be prepared to pay upwards of ¥8000 for dinner, and that's if you're not drinking!). The servings are also pretty small, and the food isn't really top-dollar good (ie. Little Heaven level!)

Given there are other cheaper options around Kawaramachi with food 90% as good, they need to provide better value in order to compete. After all, why would non-vegans come here with a ton of other Kyo-yasai restaurants in Kyoto that also serve meat as an option? Or take their money to an established shojin ryori place, if that's the experience they're after?

While the savory dishes are great, do not get dessert here. The chocolate cake was dry and awful, while ¥600 got us two tiny balls of frozen azuki beans.

Very nice restaurant! We ate the full course and though it was a bit expensive, it was delicious, traditional but inventive.

Good food and good service. Easy to find

Had an awesome meal here. It is not cheap but you get lovely food and great service.

This top notch restaurant is really beyond any star rating system. We came there for dinner and from beginning to end we were in complete awe before the perfection of our dishes and their execution - the wonderful tastes, different textures, mixture of colors, the creative way they were served and the dedication of every staff member. It seemed they all felt they're a part of some higher cause, and indeed, they were. This place proves that food can be much more than merely food.
We strongly recommend this place, and if you can, sit by the counter -- this way you could watch the food at its making. Be assured it'll be fascinating.
Can't wait to return!

Everything about this restaurant is excellent: the vegan food, the atmosphere, the wine and the staff. Highly recommended.

They have extraordinary dishes. It's a really fancy place. Reserve for dinner. A nice place for a stylish evening out, but not casual. The service is very friendly and helpful. Pricey though, and not very big portions

We are so glad we found this all vegan restaurant in Kyoto!! Even though we made a rule that we wouldn't eat in the same place twice when holidaying in Japan, we broke this rule for this restaurant only!
There is always an English speaking staff member available to help with questions which is a great convenience. The staff are all so lovely, nothing is a hassle to them. There is heaps on the menu also, therefore it accommodates most tastes.
The decor of the restaurant is lovely, we sat facing the kitchen both times which I recommend, watching the freshly cooked meals in front of you adds to the experience.
The food itself was so fresh and great portion sizes. We loved each and every plate of food.
Overall a must try when in Kyoto, vegan or not!

The presentation of the food was awesome, but the taste was somewhat lacking in my opinion (especially considering the price.) I would go elsewhere as there are better options in the area.

It's great to have another vegan restaurant in Kyoto, and this one is easy to find in central Kyoto.
Location: on Tominokoji-dori btw Sanjo-dori & Rokkaku-dori. Restaurant entrance is clearly indicated.
Menu: we ordered several dishes to share : Caesar salad with cashew dressing (a special of the day) ,hummus-okara rolls, kofta "meatballs" of quinoa & buckwheat in tomato sauce, Japanese pat as with mushrooms & garlic, bagna cauda (raw/lightly steamed veggies with dipping sauce . I especially enjoyed the Caesar salad , which was big enough for two to share. On the menu there is a "chef's choice" prix-fixe option, from soup , tapas to dessert & coffee/tea, for $48 approx. this was beautifully presented at other tables, and I also saw other diners enjoying the tofu caprese and the chocolate tofu cheesecake.

Ambiance: the space has a sleek modern design, with an open kitchen, counter seating, western style tables and chairs in front and tatami seating in the back. The multilingual waitstaff was welcoming & attentive; the noise level, with jazz playing in the background , was comfortable.
Natural wines, draft beers and other, non-alcohol drinks are available .

We didn't make a reservation and were seated immediately .

We had the best experience. The food was amazing. We ordered the sweet carrot & hummus rolls as an entree, chilli con carne & taco salad for the mains and the platter for dessert. Everything was delicious. The staff were lovely and the venue had a great atmosphere. Definitely recommend for a wonderful evening!

We went there for dinner and we enjoyed every single plate. Very fresh vegetables and nice staff. We will go back...one day!

About 5000 yens for one person dinner set not my favorite in Kyoto

The place is simply wonderful both outside and inside, with open kitchen and great service - plus, one of the waiters is Italian so that made us feel at home right away. The food is great, tasty, and very delicate (despite the small, Japanese-style portions), perfect for a dinner with non-veg friends trying to discover the possibilities of this cuisine. Expect to spend at least around 3000 yen (30 USD or 27 EUR) each, drinks included.

Thanks to my fellow vegan friends @ Happy Cow I discovered this lovely place on my first night in Kyoto. The place is cosy, the food delicious and the staff very friendly. Everything on the menu looked great, I'll have to go back to taste some more!
It's definitely a place I recommend.

Beautiful food and service, lovely decor and ambiance. the sushi and inari, quinoa kofta balls and chili con carne were outstanding. The same goes for the cake of the day which was a matcha cheese cake. Reasonably priced and open until 11pm. Highly recommended!

Beautiful interior, not casual by any means. Highly trained staff with great english. I was there for lunch and there was only three 'set options' but they all sounded nice. I think i chose badly though as their signature taco rice was not good. The portion size was great and the presentation beautiful but it was very lacking in flavour. It tasted like tomato paste mixed with white rice and there was no salt. I suppose it's not the kindof dish that has vegetables usually, but some more on the side would have been good. The teeny cake was very dry, but I'm not a fan of cake anyway so not the best judge. The coffee was good quality but the offer of either sugar or soy milk would be good.

All the same, i would like to go back. The other branch in Okinawa is lovely so i think this has potential too.

It's not the place for a chatty group, more a quiet couple sort of place.

We ordered the chef's menu afraid that it would be too much food. The waiter informed us that we would be satisfied with the amount of food, but not uncomfortably full. He was so right! The amount of food was perfect!

We started with three tapas that included a deep fried potato ball - very simple, nothing special-, three halves of tiny tomatoes and bitter collard greens with fried tofu (very tasty).

The zucchini soup was in dire need of some salt.

We got to choose one of the appetizers and one of the mains- the soba noodles with dipping sauce were really delicious!

For dessert we got the most amazing strawberry ice cream, a citrusy chocolate cake and a piece of dragon fruit -all excellent.

Great service, lovely atmosphere

After many disappointing (vegan) places in Tokyo, this beautiful place, with both modern european food and japanese, blew me away. The three courses were all amazing. From sesam-sautated kale to crazy sushi (best i've had in my life) infusions, ending up with a strawberry cheesecake. Amazing, helpful service. All english speaking. Great beverages. Quick service. Overall just a 10 out of 5 stars. We booked the table for tomorrow too...

Completely vegan restaurant and the food was AMAZING! We highly recommend it! Also the staff is lovely, we will come back.

Contemporary Shojin cuisine with a fair price for the quality, variety and ethos. There is a branch in Okinawa as well apparently, and at the time of our visit the Kyoto branch had been open for only 2 months or so.

You wouldn't have known though, the whole team are obviously passionate, friendly and knowledgeable about everything they do. Our host spoke perfect English (and presumably Japanese and his native Italian as well) and gave a full description of each dish as well as bringing the tapas options to view before ordering.

We had tapas to start. I had a pasta dish with a Japanese twist while my partner had the faux-fried fish tofu (something we have tried back in the UK).

The wine list looked very nice but the house white was perfectly good too and a fair price. It was slightly hazy but this was deliberate as they did not use conventional finings to clear the wine (I am used to hazy homebrew wine however I thought I would note this for other diners who might be concerned about veggie/vegan wines).

Chocolate cake for pudding and I had a sake (which again was described expertly by our server.)

The ambience is very nice inside with a good view of the kitchen. We turned up fairly early for dinner which is probably advisable if you aren't making reservations. There is another well reviewed vegan place in Kyoto that the one time we visited was already fully booked before opening - I can see this place doing just as well.

Even for a low-moderate budget, it is worth treating yourself here at least once if you are in Kyoto. We look forward to coming back... at some point!

I am visiting Kyoto for the first time and went straight to HappyCow to find a vegan place to eat - I liked the description of Ukishima Gardens and following the link to their website gave me an idea of the menu. I got a little lost trying to find them and it is easy to miss the restaurant as there is no signage to the front of the building yet - Gladly, I was lucky and managed to get seated and settled. The restaurant has a lovely clean and basic feel to it, it is open plan and you can see the food being prepared. The food was fresh and made to order; it was flavoursome and rich. The presentation was fantastic and the staff were friendly and informative about the options available. It is slightly on the pricey side and the portions could be a bit bigger (especially for a piggy like me!) but I would definitely return again. It was a treat and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience - Thank you!

Recently went to Ukishima. The staff were all lovely and our server spoke English and was very polite and went through the menu for us, explaining the options.
Beautiful look as well, with a nice garden in the middle.
Food was great but for 3 tapas, 2 mains and beer it was ¥5,100, I haven't had to spend that much in Japan yet. Definitely worth it.
There is a spicy tofu tapas that is incredible and the rice pasta was lovely too

We decided to try Ukishima Garden on our first night in Kyoto.

It wasn't just a good choice; it was the perfect choice. From the moment we walked in the door of this all-vegan restaurant, we were thrilled. The exquisite interior, which features an elegant inner courtyard garden, fostered a relaxed and refined atmosphere.

Still, the star here was the food. For vegans arriving in Kyoto from elsewhere in Japan -- where, as we know, dining options can often come down to "sure, I'll have my third plate of cold soba today," Ukishima Garden will be a revelation.

The menu featured an exciting array of options, including small tapas dishes, appetizers and well-crafted mains, representing fusion of Japanese, Okinawan and global cuisines. The famous vegetables of the Kansai region are featured prominently; everything is expertly prepared.

On our visit, we tried all of the tapas, three mains and several desserts. Of the mains, the vegan Okinawan taco rice was a delight, but the real star of the show was a vegan version of Japanese fried fish, made of millet wrapped in nori with a creamy sauce. It was buttery (figuratively speaking!) and comforting. Finished off with a matcha tiramisu and an interesting purple potato vegan ice cream, it was a spectacular meal.

The bill came to $9,300 yen -- not bad at all for three people, in a meal that included nine different tapas dishes, a glass of wine, a beer, three mains and three desserts.

Service was polite and knowledgeable, with an English menu. The wine was nicely paired with the flavours of the available dishes. The all-female staff were a joy to watch, as they calmly and confidently prepared the dishes. A true revelation in the heart of Kyoto, and a restaurant we look forward to visiting every time we return to tnis very special city.

Updated from previous review on Thursday April 14, 2016

This is a beautiful restaurant near Gion Shijo and Sanjo Stations. There was a nice variety of Shojin and fusion dishes on the menu. All were of superb quality. The directions on the Happy Cow website are quite accurate, however, be careful searching for Ukishima on the Google Map app as it will lead you to a distant parking lot! It is on the expensive side, however, worth it for the quality of the food and the atmosphere. I highly recommend Ukishima!