Kyoto goes deep on ramen with 28 venues serving it, and AYASAI leads that lane in the essentials. Phalam Cafe, OyOy, and MANDARACHA round out a five-venue top tier where every spot rates a perfect 5.0, and OyOy doubles as the salad pick across 5 venues. Vegan Sushi Kyoto takes the sushi top spot, while the Japanese and Indian cuisines both run 10 deep.
Ranked by overall rating, signature dish strength, and how much reviewers praise the food. If you only have a weekend, start here.
Enjoy the set meals that include six small vegetable appetizers and a vinegar drink.
Try the avocado sandwich with its delicious aioli base and red onions
Try the dedicated vegan ramen varieties like Shoyu, Miso, and Dang Dang Men
Ask for the vegan set menu to see the illustrated English ingredient list
Dishes ranked by how well this city's plant-based venues make them, compared to the other 157 cities we track.
28 places worth stopping for ramen
Enjoy the set meals that include six small vegetable appetizers and a vinegar drink.
Try the creamy vegan ramen with extra mushrooms and spring onions
Try the flavorful vegan ramen, a standout dish
Try the dedicated vegan ramen varieties like Shoyu, Miso, and Dang Dang Men
5 places worth stopping for tempura
Try the green onion tempura with vegan tempura sauce
Request the separate vegan/vegetarian menu to see all vegan options
Try the vegan tempura fried in separate oil by request
Bring cash as this venue is cash only
5 places worth stopping for udon
Request the separate vegan/vegetarian menu to see all vegan options
Try the soy meat cutlet rice bowl and curry udon
Try the green onion tempura with vegan tempura sauce
Try the fresh vegetable salad bar and miso soup
spinach · Vegan Food Guide All 424 Kyoto venues on the map. Filter by what's open, save what you'd return for, get walking directions in two taps.
Completely plant-based kitchens. No swaps, no asking, no surprises.
Enjoy the set meals that include six small vegetable appetizers and a vinegar drink.
Try the soy meat cutlet rice bowl and curry udon
Try the avocado sandwich with its delicious aioli base and red onions
Try the obanzai and vegan grilled meat set meals
Mainstream restaurants where the vegan side of the menu is treated seriously.
Try the carrot cake and vegan cheesecake
Try the samosas, praised as outstanding by multiple reviewers
Try the dedicated vegan ramen varieties like Shoyu, Miso, and Dang Dang Men
Enjoy oat milk lattes and matcha on tap
Open before 10, good coffee, the kind of place you walk back to on day two.
Weekday fuel and weekend stretches.
Try the samosas, praised as outstanding by multiple reviewers
Try the obanzai and vegan grilled meat set meals
Try the croquettes, highly recommended by multiple reviewers
Try the aloo tikki and okra curry
The reason you planned the trip.
Use the clearly labeled English menu to identify vegan options
Try the dedicated vegan ramen varieties like Shoyu, Miso, and Dang Dang Men
Make reservations at least three days in advance
Try the tsukemen dipping noodles for a spicy and flavorful experience
Date night. Birthday. Tell them you're celebrating.
Try the vegan Obanzai side dishes for authentic Japanese flavors
Book reservations well in advance to secure a spot, as the restaurant is popular and seats are limited.
Try the soy cutlet rice bowl and Thai noodles
Try the cheeseburger, a standout dish highly praised by many visitors.
Where the coffee is the reason to come.
Ice cream, pastry, and the honest dessert case.
Quiet rooms, unhurried pace, under $$.
Wifi, outlets, no judgement for a 3-hour sit.
Try the muffins, especially the spicy and seasonal flavors
Try the vegan egg toast, highly recommended for its egg-like texture and flavor
Enjoy the soy-based vegan soft serve ice cream and floats
Try the tofu hummus sandwich
Busy rooms with tables big enough for eight.
Try the obanzai and vegan grilled meat set meals
Try the soy cutlet rice bowl and Thai noodles
Try the dedicated vegan ramen varieties like Shoyu, Miso, and Dang Dang Men
Use the elevator to access the restaurant on the 3rd floor if stairs are difficult
Menus kids recognize, staff who don't flinch at strollers.
Try the carrot cake and vegan cheesecake
Try the banana, chocolate, and vegan whipped cream crepes
Try the mango lassi, a highly recommended vegan drink
Try the tofu hummus sandwich
Try the soy cutlet rice bowl and Thai noodles
Try the Japanese curry, highly praised by many guests
Try the vegan Obanzai side dishes for authentic Japanese flavors
Book reservations well in advance to secure a spot, as the restaurant is popular and seats are limited.
Try the soy cutlet rice bowl and Thai noodles
Try the mango lassi, a highly recommended vegan drink
Try the aloo tikki and okra curry
Ask staff to specify vegan versions of samosas, curries, and vegetable biriyani
Cities where the ramen signature also earns a spot in the top essentials — pack a weekend around one.
Yes — Kyoto has 424 vegan-ready venues. The top-ranked are Phalam Cafe, OyOy, AYASAI. Spinach ranks them daily on overall rating, signature dish strength, and reviewer praise for the food.
Kyoto scores 76.4/100 on the Spinach vegan city index. The city has 92 vegan-friendly venues and 129 high-quality restaurants out of 424 analyzed.
Kyoto has 67 fully vegan restaurants and 32 vegetarian restaurants. 92 venues score B or higher on the Vegan Friendliness grade.
Kyoto's top signature dishes for vegans are ramen, tempura, udon, and the city also does pancakes and salad well. Signature dishes are ranked by how the city's venues score against the other 157 cities we track.
The vegan scene in Kyoto leans Japanese, Asian, Indian. Japanese is particularly strong, with 10 venues serving quality plant-based options.
Phalam Cafe is ranked #1 in Kyoto by the Spinach Essentials algorithm, which weights rating, signature dish performance, and reviewer praise. See all 15 Essentials for the full ranking.
Spinach ranks vegan venues using the same algorithm the mobile app runs: a composite of Google Maps rating, the Spinach Rating (Wilson-confidence scored), dish-quality Wilson scores from extracted review signals, and city-specific signature dish strength. Essentials add a tier weighting; category lists add their own mood/occasion weights. No pay-to-play.
The ranking refreshes daily from Supabase. The last refresh is stamped at the top of this page. Venue data comes from Google Maps, HappyCow, and Spinach's own review-analysis pipeline.