• CLOSED: Zen Japan

  • (16)
    3

    Closed

  • White Vegan
Vegan
Japanese
Beer/Wine

Late night vegan Japanese izakaya, sake & tapas bar. Serving snacks and drinks. Traditional floor seating plus some bar seats. Bring ID. As of Sep 2016 no longer offering takeaway. Confirmed closed Sep 2018.


Venue map for Zen Japan
© OpenStreetMap contributors

16 Reviews

First Review by Oscillate Darkly

Lufia

Points +227

Vegan
07 Sep 2018

The best vegan Japanese food I've had!

I love Zen Japan, it has such a lovely comfortable environment, friendly service and AMAZING food.
As the first vegan bar/eatery in Coffs Harbour, I was obsessed with this place when it first opened and went here very often.
I have tried some of the drinks and they were all lovely, but what I kept coming back for was the delicious, fresh food. I also loved all the cool Japanese snacks/items available to buy.

My personal fave was the matsuri udon - a yummy barbecue-flavoured udon dish. But I have never had any food there I didn't love: literally everything on the menu is good.

Since moving away I've been on the hunt for vegan Japanese food as good as this, but I've never found it :(

Pros: Delicious food and nice drinks , Lovely comfortable atmosphere, Kind and friendly service

economydreams

Points +1272

Vegan
07 Apr 2018

So unique!

In the over 3 years I’ve been vegan I’ve never had vegan Japanese food. On the way up to Queensland from Sydney it made sense to stop in Coffs Harbour to try this place out.
As it’s such a unique place I opted for the $40 Dinner set for 1 which includes gyoza, noodles, salad, Japanese curry and a drink so I chose sake.
It’s billed as a sort of tapas style menu where 3/4 options should be enough for one person. Each option is priced around the $8/9 mark so getting the dinner set worked out as good value as it included the drink.
I’ve not had much Japanese food in my life so I don’t have anything to compare it with but I thought it was delicious! Everything was incredibly tasty with the standout being the Japanese curry. However, it is a lot of food for 1 person! I could have probably just had 2 options and been full. Only go for the set if you’re incredibly hungry or have a big appetite!
I’m not a big drinker but I enjoyed the sake, especially how it was served (I assume) authentically.
The owners are really nice and accommodating, helping you out if you don’t know what you’re doing (me and my boyfriend definitely fit that category!)
It is a very small place however so when we first turned up we were turned away as they can only seat 20 people due to licensing laws. We went away and came back and it was definitely worth the wait. Glad to see such a unique place thriving in an unusual location.

brittanysiti

Points +37

Vegan
05 Apr 2018

My fave!

Haven’t been here in so long, but I can tell you- the food is spectacular. It’s so hard to find vegan eats around here- Zen is the best.

Louise234#

Points +58

Vegan
28 Dec 2017

loved this place!

Wow - what a find. So unexpected. The gyoza were sublime, rice balls, udon, so so yummy. All good and drinks are vegan. Such a refreshing little place to find.

Pros: atmosphere, food, plum wine

Lizmoo

Points +16

Vegan
25 May 2017

Fully Vegan Restaurant in Coffs Harbour

Zen Japan is a fully vegan and unique restaurant with an innovative concept. The food, the service, the music, the decor and the owners themselves make the dinning experience very exceptional and exclusive, yet very casual and relaxing. Take your shoes off, have a seat on the floor and enjoy a fresh, full with flavor, authentic and vegan meal in a sustainable bowl made of bamboo with chopsticks. Don't forget to look at the drinks menu for a wide vegan selection of quality sake, Japanese wine and beer. The modern Japanese music with hints of Bossa Nova and Jazz completes the ambience and makes this place a one of a kind experience. Emi and Funky, the owners, are happy to engage in a fun, informative and meaningful conversation with the customers. They both are characters, and this place is worth a visit just for the conversations alone. If you're around Coffs Harbour, don't miss this place, it's a gem. Five stars plus.

SamWright

Points +75

Vegan
17 May 2017

cool place

Nice small restaurant, food is nice and the owner is cool

Solarpowersunflower

Points +175

Vegan
12 Apr 2017

All time favourite

Wonderful food, drinks, atmosphere and staff. Try the "Emiri momo", it's named after me and is totally bomb!
Also would recommend the gyoza, salada and karee. These are my favourites :)

TaylorTheggie

Points +145

Vegan
21 Feb 2017

What a find.

I wish we had a place like this in Melbourne. We ordered the set menu for 2. Loved every dish especially the 2 noodle dishes. The cold one was something we would never order and it was the pick of the bunch. Also enjoyed a paddle faster of plum wine and my husband loved the beer.

lisaz3349

Points +282

Vegan
07 Feb 2017

Even my 3 meat eater friends like this

Unbelievable vegan restaurant located in Coffs of all places. Its also very good price for what it is. If this place was in Melbourne people would be waiting for days to go here.

Pros: vegan saki, beers and real traditional Japanese...

Cons: NOTHING!!!!!

SergeBrel

Points +57

Vegetarian
13 Sep 2016

Closed on wed 13/9 at 6.30pm

I was looking forward to visiting this restaurant for an early dinner. Restaurant is closed although sign on the window say open from 6pm, except Monday's. Their website is also down :(

Nina55

Points +40

Vegan
31 Dec 2015

Awesome!

Nice little tapas/bar style place! Food was really really good and you know it's being made fresh as you need to wait a while before you get it. Owners were very friendly, will definitely come back next time I'm in the area!

Pros: Good food, Friendly staff, Nice atmosphere

hairytofugod

Points +16

Vegan
08 Oct 2015

Zen Japan

Wow wow wow.....this place is awesome! Not only are the owners genuine fantastic friendly people but their food and alcohol is absolutely top notch. Vegan food in any regional town is hard to find but these dudes rock it with some fantastic flavours in both food and drinks departments.....I will definitely be back

cha222

Points +141

Vegan
19 Apr 2014

THE place to go in the area

Vegans and meat eaters will all have a happy belly after dining at this place. The concept is great: yummy Japanese tapas in a cosy room where you remove your shoes to kneel down to your table. The owners are really cool and fun people too, be prepared to clap your hands on the music!

Pros: concept, decoration, variety of food

Cons: no Japanese alcohol (sake...)

HippoCampers

Points +24

Vegan
20 Mar 2013

Great food & atmosphere

We ate dinner here twice during our visit to Coffs Harbour and absolutely loved it! The food is tasty and very affordable. The restaurant has an authentic Japanese atmosphere, and the owners are lovely (and both vegan.) Highly recommended!

Pros: price, taste, atmosphere

vegan mikal

Points +554

Vegan
18 Feb 2013

Hits the Spot!

Zen Japan is a brand new offering in Coffs Harbour - and along that part of the NSW coast. Opened in late 2012, we found the place almost full on a mild evening in mid-Jan 2013. That's not that hard to achieve, however; Zen Japan is tiny. As the photos show, (no more than 25 or so) guests sit on a raised wooden floor on some cushions, eating off low tables. In fact, it's a pretty good indication of what Japanese inns are like.

All food is strictly miniature in size and in price, but is very Japanese in flavour. The food is supposed to represent the types of beer/sake accompaniments that the Japanese would enjoy at a Japanese bar, the only difference being that all of it is vegan! Everything is bite-sized, so guests are supposed to buy a range of nibbles and fill up in that fashion.

There are three noodle dishes; three tofu dishes; different types of rice balls; and even some green soy beans (edamame). The prices are all rock bottom (from $2 for a rice ball), and by getting four or five of these little treats, one can fill up one's stomach with authentic Japanese flavours.

Zen Japan is enchanting in that it really is a piece of Japan in very un-Japanese Coffs Harbour. All in all, it is definitely worth a visit, even just so that you can feel like you've been to Japan without having to get on a plane!

Pros: Price, Tasty food, Very friendly staff

Cons: So small it can be a bit squashy, Novel ordering system

Oscillate Darkly

Points +13

Vegetarian
04 Jan 2013

Stunning

This little izakaya-style eatery announces its intentions at the door, with a sign proudly proclaiming that only clean, healthy, vegan Japanese food will be served inside. It lives up to this promise swimmingly, with a large selection of udon, vegetables, soups, japanese teas and the best selection of onigiri (rice balls) I have tasted outside of Japan.

The staff are friendly and attentive, happy to share stories about Japan as they serve customers from the bar.

All dishes are < $5 and you simply order a selection at the bar, then relax on the cushioned floor seating and eat your meals in waves. My recommendation is ordering a selection, then eating them before ordering another round. Though they serve no alcohol, you are allowed to bring your own at $2 corkage per person - that covers you for the whole evening.

All in all, highly recommended with amazing staff and delicious food. Remember to bring cash to make paying for the rounds of food nice and simple, and take your shoes off (as per proper Japanese style) before stepping onto the seating floor.

Pros: Friendly staff, Excellent food, Great value

Cons: Its not in Sydney




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