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Vegan
Japanese
Macrobiotic
Organic
Western
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Little cafe tucked away in the back streets serving lunch and dinner. Offers salads, fried soy meat bowl, a vegan plate that changes according to the season, burgers, and other Japanese dishes. In the afternoon there's high tea with cakes. Sake, beer and wine available. Chef owned, English is spoken. Lunchtime can be very busy, so reservations are advised. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-5:00pm, Sat 11:00am-8:00pm, Sun 11:00am-5:00pm.
187 Reviews
First Review by Stella774
Cherryboi
Points +133
High Quality Karaage Don and Desert - Edit
Found this place while in Nara, and while it was a bit of a walk from the sights and deer, it was extremely worth the walk there!
Read morePartner and I ordered large Karaage Dons, and found this to be more than enough food, with a variety of nice vegetables in the bowl, a large bed of rice, and a plentiful serving of the Chick'n itself (which was some of the best I've had, period).
Finished it off by sharing a Creme Brûlée Parfait, which was also of a high quality, and left feeling very well-fed.
Updated from previous review on 2022-11-21
Pros: High quality food , Great atmosphere and staff, Reasonably priced
Cons: A little out of the way from the sights of Nara
Guest
LimorRaviv
Points +316
Everything was perfect! - Edit
Delicious vegan and gluten free food, lovely staff, amazing cakes. Yummy!
Read moreGuest
Nikachu
Points +573
one of the best vegan places in Nara! - Edit
a very cute vegan place in Nara! they have delicious lunch plates and really amazing cake! the parfait is one of the best ones I've ever eaten.
Read morePros: many different cakes, seasonal vegetables/fruits used, kind staff :)
Guest
itsrinokt_
Points +6160
Lovely cafe - Edit
Been wanting to come here for a long time based on the excellent reviews. Amazing food and great service. Thoroughly recommended.
Read moreDon’t forget to order some cakes!!
Updated from previous review on 2021-12-30
Pros: Relaxed vibe and friendly staff
Guest
BethS76
Points +562
Great food but best to reserve - Edit
Visited for a friend's birthday lunch on January 9th 2022.
Read moreOnwa is quite small and get's very popular on weekends and holidays so it's best to reserve if you can. We reserved and were seated in a private room upstairs (floor seating). The food was fantastic as usual. I had the vegan delight plate, mikan soda and fruit Tarte. Everything was fresh and delicious.
I think the prices for the main dishes are on par with most vegan restaurants in Japan, but the cakes are a little pricey, so it can get expensive if you have main, dessert and drink like we did. The bill came to about 3,300yen each.
The young male member of staff was very friendly and communicated quite well in English with the non-Japanese speaking member of our party.
Pros: Delicious food and cakes, Convenient location for JR Nara Station, Helpful staff
Cons: A bit expensive, Location far from Kintetsu station & Nara Park, Can get very busy
Guest
daninhavegan
Points +198
Disappointed - Edit
We waited our food ONE hour after driving from Nagoya for almost 2 hours and half, we were starving, but as we were waiting our friend there, we were patient, but one hour?
Read moreWhen the food came we couldn’t believe that. The set was with hamburger, but the hamburger was too small, very small portion of rice, some vegetables, a salad with no tomato (???) and two pieces of fried soy chicken COLD, btw, all the hot dishes were cold, unbelievable, for ¥1800? For those who don’t like to seat on the floor I don’t recommend to go to upstairs, it’s uncomfortable, specially for old people. The cakes were good, but pricey! When I went to pay, the male staff asked sorry for the long wait but he didn't even give a discount for that. The male staff was friendly, the lady wasn’t friendly at all. Our lunch was very expensive and we left the restaurant hungry. I was following them on Instagram for years and I was so excited to go there to have their food, but it was a disappointing experience.
Pros: Cakes are good
Cons: Tasteless, cold food, Long wait, expensive
Guest
tokyonick
Points +296
The rave reviews are correct - Edit
Happy Cow used to list the wrong hours, so I barged in 90 minutes after the place had closed and everyone was preparing to go home. The chef revved up the kitchen and made me a spectacular bento. It was so good I went back the next day for more. Easily the best vegan food in Nara.
Read moreGuest
bthomas125
Points +18
MUST GO - Edit
I’m not vegan but my friend I’m with is, she got the vegan delight plate and every bite she was obsessing over it. I got the “fried chicken bowl” and if you were to tell me that it was actual chicken I would have believed you. The flavors were absolutely amazing and the staff is amazing. They speak English well, and are very nice. The atmosphere of the place is also perfect! We also got the cake and tea which was also delicious!
Read morePros: Flavorful
Cons: 2 entree options but both are delicious!
Guest
MissTrickster
Points +36
Wow! So tasty! - Edit
Totally rocked my expectations! The Vegan Delight was awesome! And dessert with tea💗#Veganuary
Read moreGuest
irisheyes317
Points +997
Amazing flavors! - Edit
What a feast! I had a taco plate which was exceptional and absolutely loved the tasty dessert! Definitely don't skip this one
Read moreGuest
AnitaDollar
Points +5814
Fantastic! - Edit
I loved the food, but the real highlight were the amazing cakes and tea. The employees are super friendly too!
Read moreGuest
VictoriaGarafola
Points +1023
Extremely disappointing experience - 1 star ⭐️ - Edit
November 2020
Read moreWe are in the middle of a pandemic. Perhaps I shouldn’t be eating out at all but over the last few months I’ve made exceptions to support vegan businesses practicing good “social distancing” measures. When I saw that this place only seated 6, I was delighted. However that sense of security quickly disappeared when we arrived. The female staff member WASN’T WEARING A MASK, at all. She came over, took our order, and then continued to talk loudly to the male staff member while they made our food. I noticed them both eating while cooking and not washing their hands or wearing gloves. From a Covid point of view, this place is a cluster waiting to happen. I should have just left immediately.
As for the food. It was expensive and there were only 3 non-desert menus options. All of which had fried soy meat as their main meals. I felt it was very unimaginative and made every option feel like the same meal. 🥱 The portions were tiny for the price ¥1800 for the set. It seems like they’ve really cut down on menu options since other HappyCowers have visited. My finally complaint may not apply to everyone but there were no alcoholic beverages available (I like a glass of wine with my dinner).
From a vegan point of view, their blatant disregard for Covid safety measures translated as a disrespect for life. From a “foodie” point of view, the options available lacked creativity and were too expensive. From a dining point of view, the staff talked loudly the entire time (with no mask) and the ambiance was nonexistent. I will never go back to, or recommend, this restaurant again.
Pros: Many dessert options
Cons: No masks worn during Covid , Expensive , Limited options
Guest
Asahi
Points +1156
Delicious cake - Edit
Their cakes are amazing.
Read moreGuest
MarilouVUILLAUMEY
Points +81
You must go there! - Edit
A cozy little restaurant/café. Amazing set of plates, and awesome soy meat '' nuggets''. We had a try at a local craft beer, which was really nice. The tea were also really nice and local (like everything there). We ended our meal with some delicious deserts, all gluten free. Definitely a place you should go to!
Read morePros: All vegan and local
Guest
JenniferDavies
Points +258
Get the cake! - Edit
Only had the cake here but the guy who served me was so nice and chill and it was almost therapeutic watching him pack up the cakes 😅
Read moreGave me a sticker too!
Loved the cake/tarts too. A really good cripsy flavoursome base on the tarts and the cream was tangy and cheesey. Unexpected at first but actually really good and went well with the strawberries.
Pros: All vegan, Great staff
Guest
turl
Points +24
Delicious and lovely owner & atmosphere! - Edit
We had a lovely dinner including their vegan delight and large nugget bowl. The restaurant was warm and cozy and the owner was friendly and spoke English very well. Couldn’t recommend highly enough!
Read moreGuest
LaniBreedon
Points +28
A must!! - Edit
Beautiful little spot with the most delicious food and 10/10 service. Highly recommend, cant wait to visit again!
Read morePros: All pros, No cons!
Guest
BenjaminG
Points +49
Best Vegan restaurant ever! - Edit
Fully vegan menu, simple and straightforward. We had the place to our selves, had the matcha (real and home made), the sake and the plum wine, all very very good. Chef gave personal suggestions, and spoke good English. Food came, soy meat was incredible, couldn't believe how good it was and have not found anything even close since.. everything is home-made, and tastes amazing. The ambiance, the chef, the food and the drinks really tie this place together to be really special, would come back in a heart beat!
Read morePros: Best Soy meat I've ever had, Friendly staff, Cosy place
Cons: None
Guest
SharonR
Points +3464
Can this be closer to me? - Edit
One of those places where I could just move in and eat there for every meal. Chef is amazing, speaks English, and can COOK. Dang luxurious experience.
Read moreDishes tried:
X Vegan Delight - various dishes with vegetables from Nara (changes with season). Included several types of pickles and salad
X Home made pickles
X Karaage, crispy!
X Cutlet Burger (with cabbage and sauce) in a vegan hamburger bun
X Fried Potatoes & Drink Set (extra 600 for choice of Hoji-cha, orange cider, or organic gingerale). We chose the iced Hoji-cha (roasted tea)
X Organic plum wine
X Banana chocolate tart
X Apple Matcha tarte - it was very reminiscent of a strudel, but without the typical oversweetness. Best strudel I've ever tried.
--- if you are a fan of tarts AT ALL, get tarts! We took 2 to go for the 5 hour train ride we had the next day, they kept amazing. They're dense and packed with flavor. The crust held together but had a lot of moisture to it as well.
The food may come "slower" since he's making many things from scratch. Worth. The. Wait.
Pros: Vegan, Delicious
Guest
minipirate
Points +96
Tiny little place ! Book in advance - Edit
Ring and book in advance if you can as they can only cater for a few people at a time , we visited on night and they apologised that they were full, he even rang another local vegan restaurant to see if they could fit us which was very kind , he asked if we were happy to book and come the next day which we did
Read moreThey were busy and food was served very slow but we were in no hurry and happy to wait for the beautiful fresh we’ll presented food! I wouldn’t bother with take away it was a good hour for food to arrive ! Again I was happy to wait , some customers seemed to be irritated waiting but I was in no hurry ! The food was a great price we had dinner I had a vegan plate which was full of pickles and fried soy nuggies and heaps of delicious items and my sister had one of there burgers ! All up lovely chef and tasty food but definitely don’t be in a hurry to eat here
Pros: 100% vegan menu , seasonal /local , Friendly owners , easy to find , Good price and delicious food
Cons: Don’t be in a hurry as the food is served slow, Only seats about 6 people comfortably , Forgot a few items we ordered
Guest
Lawgistics
Points +439
Bravo - Edit
The chief has managed to creat some amazing flavours. Definitely recommend. Nice cozy restaurant with free super fast WiFi.
Read morePros: All vegan
Guest
aprilnicole52
Points +503
Cute & Friendly Vegan Cafe - Edit
Slightly off the beaten path, but we'll worth the detour, Onwa provides a warm environment with masterfully built vegan dishes. Not only is everything delicious, but also beautifully platted. Would recommend!
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, English spoken, Friendly staff
Guest
Mita
Points +28
Very forthcoming! - Edit
We showed up at 20:30pm, but were still served kindly without rush.
Read morePros: Crispy and juicy burgers, Stayed open longer just for us
Cons: Nothing else around there
Guest
happii
Points +76
Amazing cake - Edit
The matcha cake is one of the best vegan cakes I've ever had, in nearly two decades as a vegan cake enthusiast. The texture is perfect, with apple and toasted almond flakes keeping it varied. It tastes wonderful. It's also gluten free.
Read moreThe "vegan delight" platter lives up to its name. It's full of vegetables, with a little excellent karaage. It took about 40 minutes, but it was delicious. The tea was also good.
The food draws inspiration from everything from Kyoto's seasonal vegetables to modern Welsh vegan cookery. I looked through Matt Pritchard's "dirty vegan" cookbook as I waited.
Guest
Bethevegan
Points +338
Amazing tea and friendly owner - Edit
We were in a hurry to catch a train so sat to have tea but took our food to-go. The owner was very passionate about his tea collection and helped us choose some that we loved!
Read moreThe food was also delicious
Pros: Fully vegan, Friendly staff, Delicious tea
Cons: A little tricky to find on google maps
Guest
Ruzha
Points +4323
Great lunch! - Edit
A cute little cafe. We had the karaage bowl, the classic burger set with ginger ale, the teriyaki burger set with roasted green tea, and the blueberry tart for dessert. Everything tasted really fresh and delicious. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have the matcha tart today, but the blueberry tart was fantastic! We had to wait for about 40 minutes as they had only two tables - one that seats two and one that seats six.
Read moreCons: Too few seats
Guest
ValaBeneath
Points +1674
Good experience! - Edit
I loved the place, the owner was really nice and spoke english. Good vegan Karaage and tonkatsu! And good dessert as well. I really recommend it.
Read morePros: Good vibes , Good food, Nice owner that speaks English
Guest
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