Vegan
International
Take-out
Gluten-free
Uses only 100% plant-based ingredients, with a focus on carefully selected Kyoto vegetables from producers all over the country. Gluten-free choices are available. The lunch menu changes every day but could include salads, soups, dumplings, desserts and drinks. Address in Japanese: 祇園町北側313-7. Open Mon-Sat 12:30pm-7:30pm, Sun 12:30pm-7:00pm. Check Instagram for hours as hours vary.
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Higashiyama Gionmachi Kitagawa 313-7, Kyoto, Japan, 605-0073
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Last update on 12 Dec 2024 by Guest
Update business info -
Added by AnnaZirael on 17 Sep 2022
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91 Reviews
First Review by AnnaZirael
Happytraveller
Points +265
Amazing Spot, Food and Owner - Edit
Super great vegan restaurant down a quiet alley. This place only has 10 seats but well worth the wait. The food was so fresh and healthy. There is a giant salad on each plate as well as the vegan meat. The atmosphere is lovely. The owner is talkative and comical. It’s a treat all around!
Read morePros: Fresh ingredients, Giant salad on each plate-hard to find in Japan, Delicious Soy Meat
Guest
MavisLoh
Points +17
Excellent food with nice ambient - Edit
Friendly chef who makes you feel at ease. Serves excellent food. Highly recommend!
Read moreGuest
surajvarma
Points +62
Excellent - Edit
Tried steamed dumpling, ginger fried soy and chocolate cake and all tasted excellent. Highly recommended.
Read morePros: Steamed dumpling, Ginger fried soy, Chocolate cake
Guest
giovern
Points +438
Fresh and delicious! - Edit
Such a nice break from the heavy ramen we had eaten the past few days. The ingredients are fresh, the dumplings are some of the best I’ve ever had, and the owner is friendly and takes such pride in the restaurant. It only seats 8 at the tiny counter, so you may need to wait. At about 1:30 on a weekday, our group of 4 sat immediately. One of our best meals during our Japan trip!
Read morePros: Fresh and healthy , Great dumplings, Friendly staff
Cons: Limited seating
Guest
DaniChalmers
Points +40
Fresh and delicious vegan food - Edit
This place is such a great find! Tucked away but it is absolutely worth it. The dumplings and salad plate was incredible, the dressing was like nothing I’ve had before and the dumplings are the best I’ve had not to mention the VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE. Seriously the most rich and tasty chocolate cake, I wish I could take it back home
Read morePros: Tasty food , Fresh food , Amazing customer service
Guest
LemonardoDaVinci:)
Points +44
Great host - Edit
The food was very good!
Read moreThe owner was very nice and spoke English. He was very polite and energetic.
Updated from previous review on 2023-06-07
Guest
yungveg17
Points +1355
Friendly service and yummy light lunch - Edit
Another tiny place so you may have to wait a bit. We really enjoyed the colorful salad with local ingredients. The chocolate cake was also super good! #Veganuary
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-01-29
Guest
vickerbasket
Points +1399
Light and Friendly - Edit
I think dinner starts around 5pm. I arrived 4:50 and I was already the 2nd to last seat of 7. There were definitely people waiting outside by the time I left before 6pm.
Read moreI ordered the dumpling set as this seemed to be the most popular. I kind of wish I had ordered the katsu curry that was the special that night. The dumpling set was quite mild. The chocolate cake was good.
The owner is very friendly and definitely tries to chat with everyone.
Guest
PieraRiccio
Points +27
Such a nice experience - Edit
The food was super nice and light, including the amazing chocolate cake. The owner and the staff are extremely nice, welcoming and talkative. It was a very nice experience, I felt lucky to be there!
Read moreGuest
Cbeans
Points +62
Light and delicious - Edit
This tiny place is tucked away on a side street, but not too hard to find. The staff were really friendly and welcoming. A local neighbor (the cutest little elderly man) was eating there and was also very welcoming. I had the ginger soy meat plate and my husband had the dumpling plate. Both dishes were plated beautifully and the chef explained all the ingredients when presented to us. The soymeat was very tender and flavorful, as were the dumplings. Very delicious, light, and fresh. We followed it with a piece of chocolate cake, which was slightly dense but very yummy. Highly recommend!!! #Veganuary
Read moreGuest
AnitaDollar
Points +4879
Amazing! - Edit
Staff is so lovely and food is delicious and fresh! The salad is made with seasonal veggies and I really enjoyed the ginger meat.
Read moreCan't wait to go back soon :)
Guest
the_rusty_knight
Points +134
Hidden little restaurant serving healthy, tasty food - Edit
One of the first vegan restaurants I tried in Japan, the food at Zirael was fantastic and refreshing. It was a bit tricky to find as it’s tucked snugly between two buildings. The chef recommended the dumpling platter and that’s what I went with. The food at Zirael comes in the form of platters including a fresh salad and rice. I also had the vegan yuzu beer. Really enjoyed my lunch here, would definitely recommend if you’re in Kyoto. #Veganuary
Read morePros: Dumplings and salad, Service, Ambience
Guest
benedetta98
Points +36
Nice vibe and great food - Edit
Only serves few plates but they all taste really good
Read moreThe staff is friendly and really try to make you feel at home
Guest
sreyz
Points +34
Dinner in Kyoto - Edit
The food was amazing, and the owner created such a relaxing and open environment. It was easy to speak to fellow travellers. The chocolate cake is the best I’ve ever had, better than the ones back home in Toronto!
Read moreGuest
hwing
Points +1286
Hearty and healthy vegan meal and a friendly owner - Edit
Arrived about an hour before closing and waited for about 15-20 minutes but it was well worth the wait! The owner is fluent in English and very welcoming, which adds to the small and intimate vibe of this lunch spot (as the restaurant only sits about 8 people counter-style). The other waitstaff are also very kind.
Read moreThe lunch menu changes daily. They had run out of the Hamburger platter by the time we arrived, but we were happy with our order.
We ordered the Dumpling platter and the Zirael platter as well as a side of the fried soy meat so we could try all the main proteins available for the day. The owner said the Dumpling platter is the most popular option, and I can see why! The soup dumplings were quite possibly the best vegan dumplings I’ve ever had—very flavorful and great texture! The curry soup that was the main staple of the Zirael platter was also delicious. The side of fried soy meat was crunchy and well seasoned. The salad was very fresh and colorful. Wish there was a higher ratio of protein to salad. Ordered the orange juice which was good but not the best I’ve had.
Updated from previous review on 2024-11-13
Guest
gggggggggg
Points +134
Friendly spot - Edit
Very friendly staff, perfectly good food
Read moreGuest
pgtips2001
Points +54
Great food, intimate place - Edit
Exactly what I was craving- a load of veggies and some vegan dumplings! Great food, lovely owners and an intimate vibe so it was nice to chat but not the place to go for a private meal
Read moreGuest
Kittybiscuit
Points +8978
Excellent food - Edit
Came here for lunch, keep an eye out for the sign entrance to Zirael. There is a square counter and stools all around. There are 5 or 6 different plates. I had the dumplings and my partner had the zirael plate which consisted of chickpeas and vegetables. The dumplings were delicious. The filling was really nice. I also had a decaf coffee which was nice, tasted different to what I normally drink. The salad served with it had sesame seeds on it and it was really nice. I enjoyed it and I felt like I had a filling lunch.
Read moreStaff were absolutely lovely. Very friendly and kind.
Guest
such
Points +20
Lovely place - Edit
Delicious food, served by super friendly and accommodating staff - it was an amazing dinner experience 👌 .
Read moreGuest
Whocindah
Points +293
Lovely experience - Edit
We enjoyed eating at this little restaurant. There are only a few seats and most of them face into the cooking area. The owner, Toyo, is very friendly and enjoys chatting.
Read moreThe food was really good. We had the dumpling plate and the soy meat plate. Both came with a lovely green salad and rice. We preferred the dumplings but the soy meat was still really good.
Updated from previous review on 2024-10-28
Pros: Fresh ingredients , Cozy welcoming atmosphere , Lovely host
Guest
NatashaPerera
Points +142
Cozy and tasty - Edit
There is a set menu for the day with three different plates to choose from. We had the fried soy chicken plate with rice and the most colorful salad, and it was delicious. The owner is one of the friendliest people I've ever met, and we had a lovely chat. The restaurant is very small (seats about 8 in total), which led to a lot of talking between the guests. It felt like having dinner with friends. Highly recommend. Go before the dinner rush to avoid queues (we got there around 17 and had no problem finding seating).
Read morePros: Amazing fried soy chicken , Very cozy atmosphere , Very friendly staff
Guest
Sebe
Points +49
Good food, lovely people - Edit
The restaurant is tiny thus very charming. You got to chat a lot with the staff who are very friendly and also speak a bit of German.
Read moreThe food was okay. The dumplings could have been saltier for our taste. The fried soy meat was a bit chewy and hadn’t really anything meaty to me. Taste was good though and we really enjoyed the rice and the salad.
Pros: Friendly atmosphere, Salad, Very clean
Cons: Fried soy meat
Guest
NarayanDas
Points +279
Friendly small place - Edit
Friendly staff, very small place, practically offering 3 meals, which contained same salad, only what differes is the "main dish", which is either beyond patty, or momo dumplings or fries so meat. It is tasty, but to be honest, it is not real "cooking".
Read morePros: Friendly owner, Beyond meat patty, Location
Cons: Small variety, Half-instant food, Quite small place
Guest
LloydMillenstead
Points +15
Great food! - Edit
Great food and friendly service!
Read moreGuest
fie302
Points +293
Big recommendation - Edit
The staff was so nice and friendly. The food was delicious and quickly prepared.
Read moreThey have a menu and tell you what they can still offer you.
We tried the dumpling plate and the fried soy meat plate which were really good.
They also have chocolate cake and soy bean „coffee“ which was really tasty.
Big recommendation! It was really nice! And you can pay with credit card
Pros: Food, Staff, Credit card works
Guest
Tsukimi
Points +5638
At home atmosphere - Edit
Had a hamburger plate. The patty was very yummy! 😋 The plate is basically rice, salad and you choose a main, like hamburger, gyoza, soymeat ect. I had a nice chat with the owner and staff. They were so welcoming. I just recently moved to Kyoto, and they gave me local recommendations. They speak English and the owner Mandarin as well.
Read moreWill definitely go again.
Updated from previous review on 2024-09-14
Guest
Lsimd
Points +1212
Great healthy vegan food - Edit
The menu changes everyday, but it usually offers a soup, dumplings, burguer...Every dish comes with salad and rice.
Read moreWe chose the zyrael menu, which was a chickpea soup and the dumplings menu. The salad dressing was great. The amount of food is filling, but we still had place for dessert, and the option they had was raw chocolate cake, very dense and strong chocolate taste, we loved it.
The food was great, the owner really nice and the vibes were very chill and laid back.
In the restroom they have the environment friendly option of using cotton towels instead of paper towels for drying your hands.
The opening hours can vary, since they close when they run out of veggies.
Would totally recommend this place and would definitely come back if we have the chance.
Guest
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