Vegan
Japanese
Beer/Wine

Vegan izakaya est. 2019. Serves typically two main dishes of kara-age and gyoza. Does not accept reservations. Between 12-3pm, only lunch sets are served. May stop accepting customers during busy days if maxium capasity is reached. Open Mon-Sun 12:00pm-9:30pm.


Venue map for Izakaya Masaka
© OpenStreetMap contributors

330 Reviews

First Review by Tomo Okabe

WillH1

Points +528

Vegan
04 Apr 2023

Delicious!

Great fully vegan place with great selection and all great for sharing (came as a group of four). Waiting was needed but very worth it.

Would recommend trying the different karra-age as super yummy and great texture.

Pros: Great vegan options, Fully vegan , Great flavours

Cons: Waiting time but shows it’s good

veoh1989

Points +80

Vegan
28 Mar 2023

Fried food

The staff was great. I suggest getting there when they open because the wait can be very long. The shopping center that it is in is nice. Rating 4 stars because some of the flavors were lost in being super fried. It's probably a great option for someone looking for a beer and fried treats

jollieduck

Points +2280

Vegan
21 Mar 2023

Come early to get a seat

I tried going to lunch but they were full and not taking anymore names for the list, so I came back for dinner soon after they re-opened at 5pm. It’s a really small place. Got the kara-age with spicy sauce, which was delicious but a bit greasy, and the mac salad. It was much less “cheesy” than a Mac and cheese.

kendallpink

Points +68

Vegan
20 Mar 2023

Worth it!

I recommend going earlier in the day. My partner and I tried to go multiple times, and we eventually decided that we had the best luck going for lunch. So delicious! We couldn’t help but continue ordering multiple rounds of kara ge.

Updated from previous review on 2023-03-20

soapy

Points +203

Vegan
20 Mar 2023

An izakaya experience for vegans

All-vegan izakaya with an English menu and staff who can speak English very well. We also noticed that the customers were mainly foreigners when we went. The gyoza were just alright but the deep-fried mushrooms were god-tier. I miss them. Karaage was pretty good but they drizzle your choice of sauce on top so it changes based on that.

Pros: Amazing deep-fried mushrooms!

Cons: Gyoza were only alright

hotmilk993

Points +452

Vegan
18 Mar 2023

It’s good but damn it’s hard to get a table

Finally got a table the 3rd time I tried to go, and I still had to stand on the waiting list for about half an hour. The other two times the waiting list had filled up for the night. All the other vegan tourists were there 😉
But I finally made it! The gyoza were good, I wasn’t actually that into the base flavor of the karaage “meat” but the texture was really good both in terms of meatiness and fried-ness.
It’s inside Parco on the Chaos Kitchen floor. Go there early to get a spot!

Updated from previous review on 2023-03-17

ClaudiaGruber

Points +132

Vegan
16 Mar 2023

Brilliant vegan Izakaya!

Delicious!!! I’ve never eaten such a good karaage before! All is perfectly seasoned, the consistency is great and it’s an amazing Japanese culinary experience for vegans😄service is also very friendly. Can 100% recommend😄

gerrardould

Points +4307

Vegan
10 Mar 2023

Great food

Tasty food. 100% so you can relax reading the menu and ordering.

Pros: Tasty food, 100% vegan, Popular (so it must be good)

reggiebenn

Points +72

Vegan
26 Feb 2023

Not really worth the wait

It was ok, tasted nice enough, but given there are other vegan options in the mall it really wasn’t worth the 1 hour wait.

Pros: Lots of options, Cheap

Cons: No atmosphere, Long, undetermined waiting time, Msg

Prady

Points +259

Vegetarian
23 Feb 2023

Deep fried stuff. It's going to be good.

The fried stuff is good and tasty. The cold soysauce soba noodles were like rubber. Mapo tofu had 0 spice to it, still tasted okay but I was expecting it to be much spicier.

Pros: Waiter is a manga fan

Cons: Had to wait in line for well over an hour

ttsita

Points +15

Vegetarian
15 Feb 2023

Pésima experiencia.

Le daría 0 estrellas. Tuvimos que esperar dos horas, siendo que había espacio para comer adentro. La persona que atendía era extremadamente lenta y cuando queríamos ordenar estaba casi completamente agotado el menú (y llegamos temprano, a las 6pm, una hora después de que el restaurant abriera). La comida no era buena, éramos tres personas y nos llegó todo en un mismo plato, con una porción pequeña de ensalada en el centro para las tres. El plato de champiñones estaba muy salado, tuvimos que dejarlo porque tenía muy mal sabor.
Cuando estábamos esperando, después de dos horas, pusieron un cartel que decía que ya no permitirían a más personas dentro. Le quisimos preguntar a la persona que atendía y en vez de escucharnos nos puso el cartel en frente de la cara. Le dijimos que estábamos en la lista hace dos horas y nos aceptó.

No contaban con servilletas, las mesas eran incómodas.

Pros: Las papas fritas estuvieron bien

Cons: Excesivo tiempo de espera , La comida es muy salada, Estaba agotado el menú casi completamente

andyjng

Points +5372

Vegan
14 Feb 2023

It's Fried, So It Must Be Good?

Masaka (meaning 'no way!') is a great name for a vegan izakaya. Who would've thought that there'd ever be an entirely plant-based Japanese pub? That alone gives it its flowers, but looking beyond the name or concept, I think there are better spots in Tokyo for the vegan diner.

Located in the B-1 floor of Shibuya Parco, Masaka is a tiny shop that seats 4-max to a table, so it's really best for smaller parties. The menu is found online by scanning the QR code and along the wall.

On my recent visit, we noticed that a LOT of items on the walls were written as sold out. So instead, we opted for two types of karaage (teriyaki and regular), fried mushrooms, and two beers. The karaage is all homemade and admittedly were quite juicy, albeit extremely salty. I would say the same for their mushrooms as well. Everything was quite salty and without any rice to cut the sodium, you'll leave wanting more water.

Afterwards, we got our bill which was roughly ¥5000, which felt really off considering we only ordered three dishes and two drinks. Turns out that they also tact on a service fee (similar to most izakayas) so we ended up paying quite a lot for what I felt was cheaper food.

Although their homemade karaage was really good, the lack of diverse options as well as the weird pricing means I'm unlikely to return to recommend it as a 'must-eat' spot for vegans. I am happy this exists but there are other vegan restaurants in Tokyo that will probably offer better value for money.

Pros: The concept of a vegan izakaya itself is great

Cons: Long waits, Many items seem constantly sold out, Lack of diversity in food

jerojeri

Points +152

Vegan
14 Feb 2023

It’s ok

Really just ok food - unless you really like deep fried vegetables. We tried 5 or 6 items including the soy balls and the tofu noodles. If there’s a line eat somewhere else because it’s not worth it. We were 2nd in line for 45 minutes, but stuck it out because of the reviews.

Updated from previous review on 2023-02-13

Pros: Friendly staff

Cons: Long wait, Mediocre food

ToraKo

Points +464

Vegan
12 Feb 2023

Worth the wait!

Delicious food and very nice staff! I was really looking forward to the gyoza, but actually the karaage was the star of the show! Delicious mapo doufu as well. I definitely want to come back and try everything on the menu!

DeanoWilso

Points +50

Vegetarian
05 Feb 2023

Amazing

Despite the longish wait, it was well worth it! The food was fantastic.

You order through your phone after scanning g a QR code. There was limited options on the night we went but what was available was fantastic!

AnieBananie

Points +82

Vegetarian
03 Feb 2023

Yum!

B1 of the Nintendo/Pokemon store building!
My meat-eating partner who never enjoys even the most amazing veggie places we visit actually complimented this one so that says so much!
Very protein heavy which was lovely since most of the V restaurants we’d been to so far seem to lack it.
We went on a weekday from around 5:30-6 and it was quiet. We just ordered a bunch of small plates to share, it was really yummy and of course the karage was the star ⭐️

Updated from previous review on 2023-02-03

Hayden5780

Points +176

Vegan
26 Jan 2023

Long wait to get in but delicious food

We went here twice - the first time was good and the second time was amazing. It's worth mentioning we first went here on New Year's when they were only offering one set lunch meal.

We came back on our last night in Japan and regret not coming much more. The karaage was arguably the best we had on our trip, the maitake mushrooms were amazing, and all sides were delicious, especially the pickled veg. May be our best meal in Japan.

As others have said, there is a wait. We got here at 6pm and were third in line and waited an hour. We heard other groups complaining about the wait, so I wouldn't risk coming if you're in a rush. I would definitely recommend arriving for 5pm opening as we walked past this place a few times during our trip and there was always a queue. Once seated though, our food came out really quickly. It seemed that they may have been short-staffed or people were staggering their orders and taking a long time. Regardless, highly recommended eating here.

Mondpudding

Points +620

Vegetarian
22 Jan 2023

Huge Vegan Karaage

This retro flair Izakaya is so fun to go because it's entirely vegan and you don't have to worry about what food you can choose.

I tried their Gyoza and Yaki-Onigiri before, but my favorite is definitely their Karaage!
They are honestly huge, which we didn't expect for the price and come with various different toppings. For me the best one until now was classical lemon.
Definitely going back to try more.

meagabug

Points +335

Vegan
15 Jan 2023

Amazing food. All vegan.

Nothing else to say. I doubt there’s a single menu item I wouldn’t like 😋

Cons: Small place so there’s often a wait

tracy18

Points +31

Vegetarian
10 Jan 2023

Really Delicious but the staff is a bit slow.

Very delicious food. the teriyaki soy meat and the maitake mushroom are exceptionally prepared. But we were waiting quite a while. The place is small yes, but there are quite a few staff (4 people) and no one move fast to clean the table for the next customer to be able to enter

Pros: Delicious food, Portion is just nice

Cons: Most of the main dishes sold out

MicciM

Points +1882

Vegan
07 Jan 2023

Nice and quite good

We had a pleasant time. The green brand tempura is really good. Unfortunately most main dishes were sold out.
Update : We came back and tried other options, really good indeed!

Updated from previous review on 2022-12-15

Shira_Botzum

Points +68

Vegetarian
01 Jan 2023

Cheap and delicious

Overall recommend this place! Food is cheap and really good, fun to have a vegan izakaya experience. Make sure you get there at least an hour and a half before closing, maybe ideally 2 hours - we got there the first time too late and they had run out of food. Karaage was a little on the oily side, make sure to get some of the pickles and salads too.

xavierkt

Points +93

Vegetarian
29 Dec 2022

Great all vegan Izakaya in central Shibuya

Small shop in the basement of Shibuya Parco with friendly staff and decent prices. Lots of dishes in a Izakaya style. We came for an early dinner, but I can imagine later in the evening it would be a great Izakaya experience for vegos/vegans with drinks flowing.

Pros: Delicious fake chicken (huge range too!), Friendly staff, Central location inside Parco

bumibonbon

Points +92

Vegan
27 Dec 2022

Cozy and delicious.

A cozy spot underneath a mall, their 'chicken' karaage and their dumplings were delicious. The service was quite slow though but thats ok😄

Vegan.honey

Points +964

Vegan
11 Dec 2022

Amazing karage

I’m so glad I came here!
I ordered the gyoza and the karage.
The gyoza was good but the karage was amazing!!
Definitely try this! It was very heavy and filling but every bite was delicious!

·X·

Points +21590

Vegan
09 Dec 2022

Izakaya Masaka

OMG, the karaage with spicy sauce and mayo was so delicious my non-veg dining partner was blown away and continued to talk about it days later. I can’t wait to eat here again. Another notable item was the tofu noodles dish, which was incredible but was overshadowed by the karaage. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ejtrittonhalls

Points +295

Vegan
06 Dec 2022

Great local place

Tiny place with no reservations but worth a wait

Pros: All vegan




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