Ovo
Japanese
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. 善Zen is an okonomiyaki restaurant. Has English menu with vegetarian options - check which ones of these are or can be vegan. Open Tue-Sun 5:00pm-10:00pm.


Venue map for Zen
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56 Reviews

First Review by CandieCat

SamGilbert

Points +46

Vegan
31 Jan 2024

Delicious Japanese Food!

They have a specific section at the back of the menu for vegan dishes. I went for dinner twice during my stay in Tokyo, got the delicious okonomiyaki modern (savoury pancake with vegetables and udon noodles) with a side dish of edamame. Was served with a small portion of soft tofu topped with spring onions and ginger 🔥👌🏻 Also peanut-free which was important to me having an allergy. I would definitely recommend!

digitalmimi

Points +1794

Vegan
27 Dec 2023

Good Okonomiyaki

Happy to find a place in the city center with vegan options. Vegetarians beware, the “vegetarian” options actually have fish broth in them, so aren’t truly vegetarian. Restaurant is able to accommodate larger groups.
The only thing I was disappointed was that you didn’t get to grill the okonomiyaki yourself

sophieliv8

Points +61

Mostly Veg
23 Dec 2023

Vegan okonomiyaki

Nice option that suits everyone, as they have a variety of vegan and meat options. The tomato vegan Okonomiyaki was pretty good and decently sized. Important to note that this place like most in tokyo, has a one drink , one food order per person rule.

jfarmer

Points +44

Vegan
13 Dec 2023

Brilliant !

Excellent service, and get options for not vegan and vegetarian! Must try !

d.vegan

Points +671

Vegan
23 Nov 2023

tasty and filling

a lot of vegan okonomiyaki and side choices!

Updated from previous review on 2023-11-23

SvB1987

Points +190

Vegetarian
20 Nov 2023

Complicated menu

Staff is helpful and will make sure your diet requirements are met.

Updated from previous review on 2023-11-20

Sanglier

Points +123

Vegetarian
17 Nov 2023

Bon mais confusion des genres

J'ai eu l'impression que Zen pense que végétarien = pescatarien et vegan = végétarien ovo-lacto. Des plats contenant du poisson sont sur le menu végétarien et du fromage sur le menu vegan. Pensez à vérifier !

Updated from previous review on 2023-11-17

Pros: bon produit, personnel sympathique , anglais courant

Cons: Pas sûr que vegan du Zen soit vraiment vegan

ssavoy

Points +24

Vegan
28 Oct 2023

Great dinner

They have many vegan options, food was delicious, and the waiter was fully knowledgeable about vegan food.

Updated from previous review on 2023-10-28

Pros: Traditional Japanese dinner experience but vegan, Non-alcoholic beer available, Knowledgeable waiter

DarkRequiem

Points +42

Vegan
25 Oct 2023

Delicious vegan okonomiyaki

Great cosy venue, really friendly staff. They all are knowledgeable about veganism, and everything is clearly labelled on the menu. Highly recommend!

jlhaves

Points +20

Vegetarian
05 Oct 2023

Awesome menu of options

It is incredibly difficult to find a restaurant that serves vegetarian, and to know what your options are, but this had an English menu that details both vegetarian and vegan options clearly. A welcome relief after much challenge. The restaurant is down a small side street, authentic and good food.

Pros: Huge servings, you won't be hungry, Great options on menu, Ability to eat with others, meat options too

Cons: Min order of 1 dish per person - big servings

Julie.x.taylor

Points +63

Vegetarian
15 Sep 2023

Great traditional food and friendly service

Great choice for everybody, meat, vegetarian, and vegan options. There was a vegetarian page and a vegan page to the menu, which allowed you choice and confidence to order. The waiter clarified his understanding of what we wanted to avoid using the pictures on the reverse of the menu. There was a lot of choice and I ordered the tomato okonomiyaki, a side order of grilled vegetables and a bowl of rice, planning to share the sides. The waiter expressed concern that we had ordered too much, as the dish sizes were large. He was correct, and we didn't manage to eat everything, despite it all being delicious. The grilled vegetables were amazing, enough for a meal on their own. The only downside was there were 3 of us and 2 main courses came out and the 3rd was a good 15 minutes later, which was a shame. However, everything was freshly made and delicious.

Pros: The amount of choice, The friendly service, The traditional dining experience

Cons: Waiting 15 minutes for our 3rd main course

hypercubes

Points +520

Vegan
22 Aug 2023

Good okonomiyaki and dessert

I got the regular vegan okonomiyaki and liked it. I also got the roll with red bean and walnuts for dessert (you have to ask for the vegan version). It was kind of like a crepe, and very good!

roosbij

Points +739

Vegan
07 Aug 2023

Delicious but slow

I had the basic vegan okonomiyaki and it was delicious. My sister ordered udon yaki and her food came out way before mine, so we couldn’t eat at the same time which was not so nice. Also there is a seating fee of 250¥, which is a bit strange in my opinion. The food was very good though.

nziv2

Points +31

Vegetarian
21 Jul 2023

Good service and food

Have an English menu available. When ordering the vegetarian option he asked to confirm I could have egg and cheese.

These are super rich so I think you could easily share one with someone

Pros: Service, Flavour , Ease of ordering

Cons: Unsure if I ended up getting vegan cheese or regu

armerfarmer

Points +18

Vegetarian
05 Jul 2023

Hidden Gem!

Zen was a true gem. Delicious food, good vibe, friendly staff, and accessible vegetarian and vegan communication tools. Also, I have found that many restaurants in Japan listed on Happy Cow tend to be catering to foreigners, rather than accommodating them. Zen is definitely in the latter camp, with foreigners welcomed, but by no means are they the core clientele.

vandermost

Points +1126

Vegan
25 Jun 2023

Bland food, not “the full experience”

The food was okay but not very tasty. They brought everything out on plates. Not great value for money or the real experience of okonomiyaki if you’re looking for that. Nice seating and easy to order vegan options though.

CrMcr

Points +40

Vegetarian
24 Jun 2023

Rude staff brought wrong food

Unfortunately this was a very poor experience.
They have a sign on the door in English saying they are full and not to open the door with no reservation. We were hungry so tried going in and they seated us and 4 more tables afterwards- this was a warning!
The vegetarian and vegan menus are the same and list fish and cheese options on both.
I ordered cheese as I’m vegetarian but got a seafood one and was told yes this is definitely the cheese one.
I ordered a non alcoholic beer but at the end discovered I was brought an alcoholic one.
No water.
The table next to use asked for some and they brought it to us not them.
There is a table charge which is actually a per person at the table charge currently 220 yen each.
There is a charge of 300 yen for not eating fish. It’s ironic that they tried to charge me for this when they also tried to get me eating fish despite having spoken to me about what I don’t eat when ordering.
Rip of and poor service and extremely rude and aggressive.
Avoid.

Cons: Rude service, Incorrect orders served, Sneaky charges

Dotty

Points +52

Vegan
13 Jun 2023

Authentic expirience

Very authentic atmosphere.
The staff was very friendly and there is a separate vegan menu which unfortunately includes cheese, however it's clearly marked in english. We asked and confirmed it's diary, not vegan cheese. Back of the menu also has all animal products listed with pictures so you can easily make sure to say no to all of them. We found it very helpful.
Food was amazing, I had ginger and basic okonomiyaki and my boyfriend had basic okonomiyaki and udon noodles. We also had some sake taking advantage of this traditional restaurant setting.
Highly recommend.

Pros: Atmosphere , Authentic japanese cuisine

Cons: Vegan menu included cheese

lobrien7

Points +15

Vegetarian
12 Jun 2023

Good, excellent vegan options

I think they do a great job of asking what you can or can’t eat. As I’m a vegetarian she went through whether I could eat fish or eggs etc. very understanding and kind and a fun experience.

Pros: Plenty of options for okonomiyaki , Different ways to customise

Cons: A little expensive for non meat options , Little bland but maybe less so with more , Ingredients added

doomsandal

Points +225

Vegan
09 Jun 2023

Tasty!

No waiting time at 19 on a Thursday. Got to sit right where they make the okonomiyaki. They have a separate section on the menu for vegetarian options and another for vegan options (some of them stated they have cheese tho, I don’t understand why). I got the basic vegan okonomiyaki. It was delicious!

Updated from previous review on 2023-06-09

Pros: Vegan okonomiyaki is a must try!

tzukideutsch

Points +22

Vegetarian
06 May 2023

great

Delicious and pleasant

Pros: Suitable for vegetarians and vegans

totallymaart

Points +89

Vegan
23 Apr 2023

Amazing

Really wanted to try okonomiyaki in Japan. This restaurant has a separate vegan menu. The basic okonomiyaki was amazing. Also recommend the cabbage salad on the side. All in all a must visit.

Tgmuko

Points +303

Vegetarian
23 Apr 2023

Good experience in a cozy Japanese bar

It’s available some options for vegan and vegetarian, where it’s used kombu and shitake stew in place of fish dashi.

I ordered a tomato okonomiyaki and had also a piece of tofu with soy sauce as side dish. All delicious.

Pros: English menu, Tasty okonomiyaki, Good service

Cons: It’s seems to be mandatory to order a drink

Evrinomi

Points +512

Vegan
19 Apr 2023

The okonomiyaki was ok

The food was good but not great. English menu with vegan section and friendly staff who knows what vegan means.

AnnalieseJ

Points +189

Vegetarian
25 Mar 2023

Nice and friendly

Very nice food with a large menu and attentive staff. They came over with a sign with pictures of different animals, dairy and eggs and you can tell them exactly what you do and don't eat which is really helpful. Had a great time.

WillH1

Points +485

Vegan
23 Mar 2023

Yummy

Very filling and fresh food - great being able to watch it be prepared and nice they accommodated with additional page of menu for vegetarians and another for vegans

Pros: Good portion, Fresh food, Nice experience

erint945

Points +553

Vegan
18 Mar 2023

Authentic Japanese

I visited Zen with work colleagues and was surprised at the number of vegan options. It was cool to be able to try something uniquely Japanese while sticking to my values.

Full page that covers vegetarian options and most are vegan. Just stay away from the ones that have cheese listed of course.




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