Vegan Kanazawa Guide
Kanazawa is a magical, artistic city located along the western borders of Japan. It has enchanting gardens, traditional Japanese streets bursting with authenticity, modern art museums, and surprisingly lots of great vegan options. Usually, when I travel throughout Japan to smaller cities, I arrive with low expectations of being fed tasty food. But I continue to be surprised by the ever-growing vegan wonderland that I find. Here are some of the best and tastiest treats I found in lovely Kanazawa.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles seems to be the only completely vegan restaurant in Kanazawa city. It is smack dab right next to the gorgeous castle grounds. Los Angeles offers set lunch plates that change depending on the day. They also have a large amount of premade take out bentos you can choose from.
My favorite from the set plate I received is the fried chicken and the spring roll. I also grabbed a bunch of food-to-go to try, and the hamburger is very moist and flavorful. I highly recommend stopping here first on your trip, because the owners are so lovely and definitely will help point out some places not to miss in Kanazawa! Also, they have vegan soft serve which is a great treat to take out to the castle grounds.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGHo7doglUZ/
Curio Espresso and Vintage Design Cafe
If you’re looking for one of the cutest cafes you will ever find, this is it!! Curio Espresso is probably one of my favorite cafes because it is just the most beautiful, vintage-inspired design. They also have lots of veggie options, with soy milk as an option in order to make any of their drinks vegan as well. The spiced chickpea wrap is a must, just skip the yogurt sauce they put on top. I will certainly be back to try their vegetable sandwich next time I’m in Kanazawa!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFjqr9iJaaI/
Veggie Sushi from Kanazawa Station
I found quite a few goodies in the large shopping center attached to the station, one of them being veggie sushi! Unfortunately, I did not get the name because it was written in kanji and I had to grab and go quickly, but it is sold among all the other regular bentos. Overall the sushi was pretty tasty, and I was happy I could have an option. My favorite is the mushroom sushi, with my least favorite being the myoga, a type of Japanese ginger.
Me and My Veggie Sushi
If you’re interested in veggie sushi in Tokyo, here’s a post about where you can find it!
SriLanka Kitchen
SriLanka Kitchen is quite frankly, amazing. I did not expect to travel to Kanazawa and find one of the best meals I have had in a while. Not only is the food exceptional, but almost everything on the menu can be easily veganized. I opted for the dinner set plate which comes with four curries, and each one was so unbelievably flavorful! I think my favorite was the green curry, which I am assuming was some type of spinach curry. My friend ordered the dosa, which also was wonderful. I recommend trying the “pancake” appetizer, as it’s perfectly crispy on the outside.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFeeSC8p2XC/
Cafe Nontan
Cafe Nontan is in a great spot, located right near the garden and the modern art museum. I was hoping to get there for their breakfast set, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get there until later. There are still vegan options on the regular menu as well though. The Neapolitan pasta is tasty, and they use cashews instead of cheese. There are also some items like curry that are plant-based and clearly marked as such.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFmcSVIAIHC/
Da Take
It is usually my go-to to find an Italian restaurant if I am looking for an accommodating dinner spot. Marinara pizzas are easy to find and no need to worry about animal products! Da Take is a cozy little wood-fired Italian spot that is very happy to change up their menu items in order to take of dairy or fish/meat. The marinara pizza has a chewy crust and garlicky tomato sauce. The Pomodoro spaghetti also is vegan without the parmesan cheese and the sauce is super flavorful.
Marinara Pizza from Da Take
If you’re interested in Da Take’s menu, click here to see what they have to offer!
Places I didn’t get to but look great:
Coil, Ihanoho, Taste and Scent, Marichou-K
Kanazawa is a city full of Edo-period gems and modern art, but their vegan food game is definitely rising as well as travelers begin to pick up on all it has to offer as a destination. These restaurants all made my trip even better, and I cannot wait to get back to this city.
Have you ever been to Kanazawa? Are there any other vegan spots that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!
Happy eating! Xoxo Jackie
