Vegan
Japanese
Delivery
Take-out

San Francisco vegan restaurant serving Japanese food. Menu features various vegetable sushi, appetizers like gyoza and fried tofu, udon and soba noodle, rice bowls, vegetable tempura, seaweed salads. Its first location is in Berkeley. Open Wed-Fri 12:00pm-2:30pm, Wed-Sun 5:00pm-9:00pm, Sat-Sun 12:00pm-3:00pm.


Venue map for Cha-Ya
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75 Reviews

First Review by Baza

maltman23

Points +4125

Vegan
19 Mar 2024

Very good vegan Japanese

I really like this place. I ate here all of the time when I lived in San Francisco. The menu is really big -- full of flavorful, filling vegan Japanese food. The staff is friendly, and the service is good.

Pros: Excellent vegan Japanese food, Friendly staff, good service

Serena-Myjer

Points +54

Vegan
18 Feb 2024

All vegan!!!

Everything here is delicious and there are so many options! Definitely recommend

pklehm

Points +93

Vegetarian
13 Jan 2024

Great vibe, great food

Great food in a soothing ambience — friendly, very helpful staff. What’s not to like? A respite from the urban SF mission.

Pros: Food’s very good, Friendly staff, Atmosphere

m@earthville

Points +9252

Vegan
07 Jan 2024

Uniquely creative take on Zen temple cuisine

Cha-Ya has been a favorite of ours for over 20 years (starting with the original location), with mouth-watering creative adaptations of shojin ryori, the traditional Zen temple cuisine focused on mindful preparation of plant-based ingredients in harmonious combinations, with mouth-watering results. Cha-Ya is best enjoyed with a group so that one can try many different items. Thanks to the salubrious ingredients, it’s a place one can feast without feeling heavy afterward.

Highly recommended. Enjoy!

The_vegan_itch

Points +52

Vegan
29 Dec 2023

Awesome atmosphere!

The tempura fried sushi was INTENSE! And I'm a total sucker for good udon, absolute beauty of a place. Very much worth the visit!

Pros: Right off the street, good for people watching. , Very quiet, good zen ambiance. , The best dang sushi I've ever hsd

Cons: Our chop stick game got some pratice.

hydomel

Points +338

Vegan
03 Nov 2023

Delicious agadashi, impeccable service

The agadashi tofu was immediate swoon worthy, so delicately flavoured. Then I had the hot udon noodles soup with tempura veg - the soup was a bit bland but the tempura veg on point. A definite A coming again place on the whole. Peaceful vibes sitting outside.

hailseitan9

Points +253

Vegan
12 Aug 2023

Good place

Pretty good food here. Friendly staff. Portions were a bit small, but I guess that’s SF.

Gopala108

Points +2612

Vegan
06 Jun 2023

Traditional Japanese Vegan Cuisine in SF

I grew up in a martial artist family. I started teaching karate in Japanese at the age of 13. I have backpacked around Japan. I would love to visit Japan again.

One of the most challenging things traveling in Japan was the language. There is Western Comforts like in the West yet followed Happy Cow in Japan to get some amazing vegan meals as don't think Yelp was in Japan when I was there.

Enter Cha--Ya! Cha-Ya might be my new favorite restaurant in San Francisco. A few years ago when I lived in the East Bay went to Cha-Ya there yet now in the Mission went here today for lunch.

I went with the Cha Ya Delight seasoned brown rice bowl. It comes with carrots, kombucha pumpkin, broccoli, lotus root, cauliflower, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, atsuage tofu, hijiki seaweed, yamamoto, shinzo and ginger.

The ingredients are fresh, well presented, and found the dish nourishing. It was healthy and came with a miso soup. The cuisine is based on traditional Japanese cooking popular in Buddhist centers in Japan I found and reminds me of that. So you might find the food a bit bland yet don't worry you can easily add a little soy sauce and chili powder like I did to give it a bit more flavor.

Vegan, vegetarian, and vegetable forward is the wave of the future right Now. I have been vegan 22 years now and seen the evolution of the movement. Many fast food restaurants now offer Beyond meat and the impossible burger yet it is refreshing to find places like Cha-Ya offering healthy and wholesome traditional cuisine.

For a trip to Japan in San Francisco come here. I look forward to coming back with friends to explore more of the menu that includes various sushi, noodle soups, tempura, and traditional salads that would be good to order family style.

Thank you Cha-ya! Arigato. I look forward to returning soon.

Updated from previous review on 2023-05-31

Pros: Traditional Vegan Japanese in SF, Friendly Service!, No reservations needed

Cons: Food is a bit bland yet can spruce it up, portions could be bigger

SaraStrickler

Points +102

Vegan
04 Jun 2023

Amazing curry udon

One of my favorite spots in the Bay! The vege tofu curry with udon noodles is my go-to order, with delicious broth and fresh veggies. Definitely worth a visit!

livegreenwearblack

Points +313

Vegan
03 Jun 2023

100% vegan homestyle Japanese food

This is the SF outpost of the original Berkeley Cha-Ya -- everything is equally delicious and amazing to the Berkeley location.

I highly recommend that you order the avocado tempura urumaki - it's my favorite dish. They also have an outstanding kinoko miso - and the kinoko noodles are also really good.

Do not miss Agadashi Tofu! Berkeley Roll & Shattuck Roll are also amazing - along with the Goma Ae.

This is the Mission - parking can be tricky. Weekends they have this section of the block closed for "slow streets" - and you can eat outside but people are generally oblivious and rude, I had pedestrians cutting past the back of my chair and a dividing marker - bumping my chair while I ate despite there being plenty of space to go around.

Pros: Agadashi Tofu, Avocado Tempura Urumaki, Goma Ae

Cons: Parking

stprevic

Points +136

Vegan
14 May 2023

Delicious, Fresh, Filling!

Really enjoyed eating at Cha-Ya. The Mission location offers a few sidewalk seats that are great for people watching. The service is amazing and the food is spot-on. Had the miso soup, Cha-Ya roll and hot pot. Everything tasted fresh and yummy. This will definitely be a new SF favorite!

veganwalrus

Points +168

Vegan
22 Apr 2023

Awesome Japanese. - most dishes vegan

Ordered a very filling 3 course lunch special for $16. Well worth it. The food was great and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Updated from previous review on 2023-04-22

joerayme

Points +146

Vegan
14 Apr 2023

Great lunch spot

I don't know why we were the only people in this place for lunch, it was so good! We all had the lunch menu ($16 for 3 dishes) and each had a mixture of sushi rolls, tempura, miso soup, gyoza and agedashi tofu. I really liked the fact that the sushi rolls weren't just the regular cucumber/avocado you get as a vegan; one of them had tofu in and both had a mixture of veg. 3 dishes plus a miso soup was almost too much for lunch so seemed like good value to us (for SF!).

jeffsheldon

Points +892

Vegan
27 Jan 2023

I never was a sushi fan. But this place is incredible.

So many places offer process vegan food. This is definitely not one of them. Fresh vegetables and flavors

Pros: All vegan. Something for everyone , No processed vegan meats. , Incredible flavors.

Cons: A little heavy on the ginger root

andyjng

Points +4563

Vegan
27 Nov 2022

Yes to Cha-Ya!

Cha-Ya was an amazing experience incorporating heart healthy Japanese cuisine that happens to be vegan. It goes back to its plant based roots with fresh ingredients and amazing flavors.

I came upon this by accident as another vegan shop in the Mission was closed the day I visited. I started with their Goma-ae with Broccoli Florets ($6) which was a fantastic, light appetizer. Who doesn't love steamed broccoli with a sesame-tahini dressing to go on top?

Our mains included their Cha-Ya Sukiyaki Nabe ($18) which was a medley of vegetables, tofu, and glass noodles in a sweet-savory broth very reminiscent of the former meat sukiyakis that I had consumed. The presentation was gorgeous, the flavors from the vegetables infused with the broth was a delight, and it made for a very satisfying meal. We also ordered their Sansai Soup Noodle ($15) not realizing we already had noodles in the sukiyaki. It wasn't bad but was too similar to the sukiyaki for it to stand on its own. If I were to go back, I would've ordered a Zaru Soba or something similar.

They have a few outdoor tables available for seating which is perfect on a nice day. Thank you Cha-Ya for your incredible dishes and focus on healthy, fresh ingredients that just happen to be vegan.

Pros: Fresh, seasonal ingredients, Comfort Japanese food

SergAMox

Points +364

Vegan
07 Nov 2022

Delicious

If you want a large healthy meal full of veggies and tofu, this is your place. Fast and friendly service.

TobieTusing

Points +65

Vegan
27 Oct 2022

Kitsune tofu Udon!

Highly recommend the kitsune tofu udon and Chaya roll. Staff are so friendly!

Chachachacha

Points +68

Vegan
10 Sep 2022

Cute, but food is not good

I gave this place a few tries, and each time it was equally bad. The idea is great, as there is so much great vegan food in Japanese cuisine — I SO wanted to love this place as a vegan Japanese who lives nearby — but can’t really take their food, sadly. Flavoring is so off, sometimes I was confused what dish it was supposed to be.

Conniemm

Points +1577

Vegan
12 Jun 2022

Will come back!

We had a great meal at Cha-Ya. As with other vegan restaurants, it was so exciting to have SO many choices! We ended up getting the gyoza appetizer and four sushi rolls which were all delicious. Different plates were brought out one at a time giving us time to enjoy them.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated and comfortable. The staff was attentive and helpful.

I had read in reviews that they accept cash only and made sure to have cash but they do have an ATM machine in the restaurant if you don't have cash on you.

I'll definitely come back again!

Pros: great choices, indoor or outdoor seating, pretty atmosphere and dishware

StaceyP

Points +609

Vegan
06 Feb 2022

Delightful!

Delicious unpretentious Japanese food.

Updated from previous review on 2022-02-06

Pros: Good wholesome food, Kind staff, Many options

Nooncares

Points +56

Vegan
29 Nov 2021

Very good vegan Japanese. Traditional dishes well made though not bold flavors

Very good vegan Japanese. Traditional dishes well made though not bold flavors

Pros: Tons of vegan options, Large sale list

Cons: Traditional flavors lack boldness

Mandelo

Points +60

Vegan
21 Nov 2021

Yummm 💚🌱

Rolls, sake, tea, soup, tempura. Everything vegan and done so well.

An.drea

Points +242

Vegan
14 Aug 2021

My favorite vegan place

This is my favorite vegan restaurant in the area. My favorites are the Hanagamoku, mushroom noodle soup and Japanese curry. Everything is delicious and full if veggies. Family run Japanese business with another location in Berkeley.

Pros: Food is amazing

Cons: They are not available on delivery apps , Parking is kind of hard at SF location

alexBracht

Points +68

Vegan
12 Jun 2021

Food that brings Happiness and Health. Love Everything there.

Always welcomed and never disappointed..

imdiesel

Points +18

Vegan
19 Nov 2020

Reliably good

Just a solid, no-frills, nothing fancy but dependably good Japanese V fare.

villain

Points +7015

Vegan
25 Sep 2020

Great experience

Staff is very nice, outdoor dining is cute and convenient with pretty flowers on the table. Food was amazing and we got it super quick, within 5-10 minutes.

Andi12

Points +215

Vegan
09 Dec 2019

Did not care for

I did not care for this place at all! It gets 2 stars because it’s all vegan, but that’s it. I’m glad others seem to like it, not my taste.




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