Serves meat, vegan options available. Small cozy modern cafe, accessed via the stairs on the corner. Serves fresh vegetable-based food. Some English is spoken, but bring a language dictionary if you don't speak any Japanese. Address in Japanese: 京都府京都市中京区三条通東洞院西入梅忠町28, Ｍ＆Ｉビル２Ｆ. Name in Japanese: 自然派レストラン びお亭. Reported closed October 2021.
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Southwest corner of Sanjo-dori and Higashinotoin-dori, 2nd floor (at Karasuma-dori Main St, opposite post office), Kyoto, Japan
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Last update on 06 Oct 2021 by VeganEri
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27 Reviews
First Review by Veganfriend
emmalovesplants
Points +100
Tofu meal set was good! - Edit
Good food and great customer service
Read morePros: Vegan options , Meal sets
Guest
Phoenjx
Points +407
I expected more - Edit
The staff was very friendly - it hurts to give this restaurant only three stars - but the food really wasn't that good, considering the price. The salad was very tasty, the miso was good, but the rest of the food could have needed a bit more flavor.
Read morePros: Very friendly staff, Cozy atmosphere, Menu in English
Cons: Charge 200 yen extra for vegetarian dinner menu, Rather expensive drinks, Food not that good
Guest
LauraWagner
Points +110
Good ! - Edit
Nice place, good dishies !
Read moreGuest
AbbeyWhit.e
Points +19
Very nice - Edit
Nice food, menu is 80% vegetarian which is good. Located upstairs, it is very small and cozy
Read morePros: good value, cozy
Guest
NinaMizrahi
Points +43
Best food i've had so far! - Edit
this was a quaint hole in the wall restaurant. The food was amazing and the staff was so sweet!
Read morePros: tasty, cheap, great staff
Guest
kat.ross
Points +206
tasty and good size portions! - Edit
Biotei has plenty of vegan options and the serving sizes are really filling. The food is comforting and delicious.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Good central location , Good value
Guest
lilliade
Points +33
Cadre agréable, croquettes de tofu un peu écœurantes mais salade bien garnie - Edit
Du choix qui tourne surtout autour du soja. Pas de la grande cuisine
Read moreGuest
ViCao
Points +77
Fairly average - Edit
Nice setting located hidden upstairs on a corner street near Karasuma Oike station. Small restaurant and gets quite busy, only one chef and one waitress. They serve vegetarian with vegan options and have an english menu. We ordered crumbed croquettes with mock meat and green salad with tofu dressing. Interesting meals and enough to fulfill our hunger but not amazing.
Read moreGuest
MarieRouge
Points +25
Très agréable - Edit
Service adorable et souriant, nourriture manquant un poil de goût selon moi mais mon amie a adoré. Belle ambiance !
Read moreGuest
CFBL
Points +348
Go for dinner - one vegan set lunch at lunchtime - Edit
I went here with my meat-eating husband. Set lunch at lunch time, daily special (block of fried tofu the day i went), chicken curry or fish.
Read moreI had the tofu (ask for it to be vegan). Came with a miso soup (state no dashi) and rice and salad. The salad was the highlight.... tofu was, well, a block of tofu deep fried in a light soy broth.
My husband wasn’t impressed with his chicken curry so I doubt i’ll get to try dinner. Dinner menu was a la carte and looked more interesting.
The staff spoke enough english so communication about dashi etc was not an issue
Guest
VeganBillCA
Points +34
Wonderful, vegan friendly for sure - Edit
Two of us had dinner there last night. They have a vegan option to their set dinner menu that they charge ¥200 more for it (maybe ¥250, I cannot recall exactly). The place is small and cozy and the service was very attentive especially since it was so busy. They have an English menu which helped a lot and also helped the woman from Taiwan who sat next to us.
Read moreThe kitchen and the cook are right there, so if you sit at the counter you have a somewhat obstructed view. It's amazing that she (the cook) was able to produce such good food with great presentation so proficiently.
The miso was super tasty and totally vegan (normally has fish flavoring?). Overall, the food was great and the portion size enough to fill me up completely for the first restaurant meal in Japan. One of the better all around meals for the value I've had thus far. The main course for dinner set was pan-fried tofu. It was tasty, but would have hoped for a little more creativity for the vegans :). The sides were wonderful.
It's located on the second floor right at the corner of the building up a tight spiral staircase.
Pros: Good, large (for Japan) portions , Cozy and inviting
Guest
Cam
Points +2088
Tasty japanese food - Edit
Very small place in thé second floor. Few tables only but the food was good and filling. Set dinner under 1500 yens and when fish is used it is clearly labelled.
Read moreWould recommend when in this are a.
Updated from previous review on 2017-06-23
Pros: Options, Organic
Cons: Size
Guest
veggie_traveller
Points +173
Veg and vegan friendly - Edit
This restaurant is small and seemed to be very popular with both locals and tourists with every seat full. The staff were very nice and the food was OK, not amazing but was nice enough and I would go back again if in the area.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2017-04-18
Guest
saffron_summer
Points +105
Nice food - service slow - Edit
Accommodating for vegans, they kept on checking with me if ingredients were okay or not! The food was very enjoyable, however it was busy and I found it difficult to get my leg under the table with the seat so I was a little uncomfortable.
Read morePros: Accommodating
Cons: Busy, Slow service
Guest
Komiyan
Points +39
Fairly nice, but don't go if you're in a hurry - Edit
I've been to this place three or four times now, and the food has been delightful every time. While there are some non-vegetarian options on the menu, these are marked, so that it's easy to navigate around them. The owners do not speak too much English, which is not a problem for me, but as someone else already advised it might be wise to bring a dictionary or phrase book. They do have an English menu available, so pointing might also work out.
Read moreWhat is less that great is the speed of being served. The place is very tiny, but even so the usual waitress is not very fast. Once I ordered something to go and had to wait over an hour for it to be ready, even though people who came in after me had their food quicker. If you're not in a hurry though, I would certainly recommend this place. The food is good and not very expensive. I'd especially recommend trying the vegetarian miso soup and the spring rolls.
Also a note: my Buddhist vegetarian friend, who can't eat onions, leek, garlic and several other herbs as well as not eating meat, fish or gelatin, was helped very well when she asked, and could eat several items from this menu. Not sure if there are many strict Buddhists on this website, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Pros: Good food
Cons: Service is a bit slow
Guest
katy3
Points +185
English menu, reasonably priced lunch sets - Edit
After failing to find any vegan restaurants that were open today (Thursday) for lunch, we found Biotei through Happycow. The place is on the second floor, small and quaint. The server was a very nice and friendly lady. She offered us an English menu and did her best to explain the choices to us. Vegan options are clearly labeled. They have a vegan-version of the lunch special, which costs 200 Yen more (like the other reviewer mentioned), but it's worth it, since you get a vegan-friendly miso soup too. The lunch set comes with a soup, hot tea, a bowl of rice, a salad-type dish (mine came with tofu at the bottom), and another dish (mine was a curry mashed potato). Everything was delicious! My husband ordered the curry spring rolls (which is also vegan). He said it was very tasty. Highly recommend this place!
Read moreGuest
sathya1709
Points +73
Nice place - Edit
Went to this restaurant for dinner. They had an english menu and was staff was friendly. Delicious food. Had meat options also. Vegan option was 200 JPY costlier but still the price is comparable to what you pay at other restaurants for dinner. Food portions were sufficient and also delicious.
Read moreChose Japanese dinner set. It was a bit different here that they gave dishes one by one instead of everything in 1 go. But then, I could drink the hot miso soup at the end!
The restaurant is very small and hence, the first time I went, they said not enough place as it can seat around 12 people I think and I had to find another restaurant. But the next day,there was place. Would again visit if in that area.! Seating, i.e., tables were a bit low for my comfort but then, hey, it is Japan and I have to adjust for my height!
-1 for seating and space.
Pros: Location and staff, Food delicious, Moderate prices
Cons: Space cramped, If full, you may have to go elsewhere
Guest
Tbms1992
Points +123
Wonderful food and staff! - Edit
We really liked the atmosphere here, the vegan option was traditional Japanese style and the staff had no problem understanding what we wanted. It was nice to see plenty of locals enjoying the food. The climb up the narrow staircase was fun and the vegan Florentines they were selling at the time yummy. Wish we were returning to Kyoto this trip so we could eat again!
Read moreGuest
Kookiez
Points +127
nice place - Edit
They have lots of veggy options, nice food. The place is very small , serving only 10 to 12 people at a time. So don't come too late :)
Read moreGuest
Meggie and Ben
Points +1786
Macrobiotic place in Kyoto - Edit
Biotei serves macrobiotic food, which is essentially just vegan + fish. Almost everything on the menu can be made vegan and they have an English menu. The staff spoke English just enough to communicate.
Read moreThe inside has a small town cafe feel and there were very friendly locals hanging out.
The food was Japanese and fresh, we liked everything we got. I especially loved my homemade ginger ale with fresh ginger! They even had vegan cookies for dessert!
Pros: Mostly vegan, Great atmosphere, Vegan dessert
Cons: Small (not a lot of seats), Slow service
Guest
Lenny Travels
Points +40
Inexpensive, good vegetarian food. - Edit
Biotei was my favorite inexpensive vegetarian restaurant in Kyoto. The food was good, with a range of vegan options. By Japanese standards, the servings were ample. The set meals came with a variety of tasty small plates and a main course. As one might expect for Kyoto, there were always interesting tofu options. The miso soup was wonderful, as were the pickled vegetables. I had several great salads there and a memorable soy based vegetable soup. As for price, my wife and I ate there, with drinks, for less than we would pay in a comparable restaurant in New York City! In fact, I wish this restaurant were in New York. It would be up on my list of favorites. The staff was always friendly, and despite my limited Japanese, I had no problem communicating. The place is easy to find if you know where Sanjo-dori and Higashinotoin intersect. Check your map before your visit. It's up a flight of stairs, over a clothing boutique.
Read morePros: Good Japanese vegetarian food., Friendly staff., Relaxed atmosphere.
Cons: None in my experience
Guest
Nancy Cadet
Points +1142
Upstairs-worth the trip - Edit
Biotei has a varied menu with vegetarian set meals and options, and an English language menu. The servings were generous, the waitstaff friendly and the price (for Kyoto ) reasonable. We had dinner there and plan to go back for more.
Read moreIt's located at the intersection of Sanjo & Higashitoin- dori, on the 2nd floor. There's an imposing brick Post office across the street.
Higashitoin is an interesting street to walk along, with many shops, patisseries, artisans, etc.
Pros: Vegan options, Quick and friendly service , Reasonable prices
Cons: Hard to find without clear directions
Guest
Spamelula
Points +33
Fresh and tasty food - Edit
such fresh and tasty food. very busy and crowded with an informal feel - mostly frequented by locals. great value for money and well worth a visit but was just too hot, steamy and overcrowded - so busy they forgot one part of our order but we enjoyed the food very much and are glad we went!
Read morePros: fresh tasty food, very good value, great atmosphere
Cons: too hot & busy
Guest
cheryl_downes
Points +73
Friendly fast service and a favourite for locals - Edit
Plenty of food available for the hungry vegan. With a few locals dining there I was happy enough. I recommend the spring rolls. Very nice. Pretty easy to find as well which is a plus.
Read moreGuest
backpasher
Points +161
I love this place - Edit
I visit this place every time I'm in Kyoto. It's a simple, cramped little restaurant at the top of a winding metallic staircase and not terribly easy to find, though if you have a map of the area, you should be able to find it OK - Lonely Planet's Japan/Kyoto guides list this restaurant and it is on one of their Kyoto maps.
Read moreThe food is really good value - you can get a main for 700-800 yen, though if you want to try a couple of things, you are looking at more like 1500-2000yen.
The fried gluten is scrumtious, as is their tofu steak. Their salads are tasty and the fruit is super fresh.
As another reviewer mentioned, the restaurant isn't 100% vegan/vegetarian. Last time I was there, a lady next to me was eating fish. But it is mostly vegetarian food and the staff have a pretty good understanding of vegetarianism/veganism - which is pretty amazing for Japan!
The ladies who run the place are very warm and welcoming.
There is an organic food shop underneath this restaurant that is worth checking out too.
Guest
MicheleFerguson
Points +21
The most pleasant dining experience in Japan - Edit
Fantastic food - tasty, filling and nutritious. Great variety - lovely set menu. Pleasant service - amended the set menu to ensure I got a dish that didn't have fish in it. Small and cosy so great atmosphere
Read morePros: So so tasty, Good variety, Pleasant service
Guest
Veganfriend
Points +29
Great food! - Edit
I'm not vegetarian but I went here with another non-vegetarian and a vegan and we all loved the food. It's right across from the post office on the second floor and easy to walk to from the subway station. The food was great, the service was good, the prices were good too and the menus were in English.
Read morePros: Friendy staff, great food, lots of options
Cons: Small room, but not bad
Guest
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