Last December, Sunny Place, a vegan restaurant previously situated in Kitayama, moved serendipitously not a five minute cycle ride from my house. It’s name is apt, as it’s a brightly lit shop with a friendly atmosphere. They also have a nice range of Coedo organic beers each for ￥６００． If you go for the “定食” or set meal option you get a main dish of your choice, rice (whole grain mixed with healthy cereals), soup (sometimes miso and sometimes kasu jiru – a healthy broth made from sake lees), and three side dishes of your choosing. The main dishes are as follows: Fried Soy “Chicken”, Soy “Pork” Cutlet, Vegemillet Burger, Tenpeh & Vegetable Cutlet (tenpeh is a kind of cultured soybean cake – goes nicely with beer), or Fried “Fu” (savory gluten cakes). I’d recommend the “Fu” actually, though obviously not for the coeliacs… A set meal will set you back ￥８５０．Here are some more pics.
As you can see they do a range of fake-meats there, pork, chicken etc. Out of curiosity, I chose the “chicken” done kara-age style. I personally don’t have any cravings for meat flavored food, but I know a lot of people find it difficult to become vegetarian simply because they cannot give up their tasty fried chicken. Is this a solution? Well, though made from soya beans it looks spookily like chicken. But it doesn’t quite taste like it. Almost. But not quite. Still, ten out of ten for effort. The food is reasonably priced and plentiful and the atmosphere relaxed. I’d certainly recommend it over the nearby Café Peace, these days with its ever decreasing portions, and severely reduced variety in the menu… At Sunny Place you won’t be dissatisfied. To find Sunny Place, head west on Imadegawa from Hyakumanben, then go north on Marikoji Dori. Click here for a full menu. Sunny Place is open from 12:00 ~ 14:00, 18:00 ~ 22:30 and closed Tuesdays. Tel: (075)711-7617.
Click here for a map