Kanga-an Temple

We ate a vegan meal here. It's a huge set menu with 12 courses. You should arrive extremely hungry. The flavors are good and delicate and interesting. The setting is also very pretty, it's in a temple. You must reserve ahead. This will open your eyes to what vegan cooking can be.

I was so excited to come here after the good reviews, but apparently after 5 pm you can only come in with a reservation. So I came all this way and was sent away. I didn't get that from the reviews, so posting it here for everyone coming after me! I also wasn't allowed to take a photo of the temple by night. It really is lovely when lit up

We went for a date night experience. The temple is tucked away in a side street. The gardens and mood lighting are quaint and very inviting. Each party has their own private room and a fixed menu. Ours was a 12 course menu. There are various sets.. ours was -2 course and the lower end of the selection. It still was a lot of food. It seems like small bites, but the food keeps coming out and we were totally full by the end. The presentation was out of the world. Cancellation charges apply, so ensure you definitely are going when you make the reservation

Great experience there. Quite stunning garden and path through to the restaurant and also there are tables and chairs so it’s easy to sit and enjoy the good. The shojin ryori is creative and tasty.

Arriving at Kanga-An as night falls, its quite stunning - the path to the entrance lined with candles. Very beautiful. This was my first experience of the "shojin ryori" style of cuisine and I found it a very mixed bag. Some delicious dishes and some that seemed created more for the eye than the palette. For example a fried wheat gluten dish topped with nori and skewered, closely resembling grilled eel. Not so delicious but certainly a technical feat. Later that night after dining here, at around 3am suffered terrible vomiting and diarrhea, but I really couldn't say if this meal was the cause.

What an incredible and unique experience! It felt so tranquil to be served a meal in a private room right next to the temple garden area. The meal itself was so delicious and creative with how they were able to manipulate the ingredients. We even got a drink at a small bar in the temple afterward before we headed out. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone looking for something calm and unique in Kyoto!

Leaves a lot to be desired. Dishes come rushed out before you even finish one course. Food does not look or taste fresh, and zero explanation or service during the meal. Not at all worth the price.

Found this via tabelog ratings for shojin ryori. Reservations only (booked via myconciergejalan) as far as I can remember and had the 11,000 yen course in a private room. One of the best meals I’ve had in Japan despite being vegetarian.

No vegan options despite how it looks. I tried to make a reservation through My Concierge Japan, who handles their English reservations online, and was declined because they said they couldn't accommodate a vegan diet. Usually shojin ryori is a safe bet for vegans, but not here. Very disappointing

Delicious and very fancy Shojin Ryori (Buddhist Temple food - vegetarian) food. You MUST place reservations two days in advance. Presentation: Phenomenal. They wove edible baskets out of seaweed that they served tiny pieces of food in. There were tempora (or tendon as they call it in Japan) fried edible flowers and leaves. Sour plums with gold flakes sprinkled and sake with gold inside. Price: Be prepared for the most expensive vegetarian food you've ever had. We chose the mid-range meal (11 or 13 courses I believe?) and it was about 10,000 yen I think. I could be off on that number. Taste: Yummy! It was more about wowing you with presentation though everything was yummy and there were no complaints. Very opulent and artistically crafted. I was not as full as I hoping to be. Location: To die for. It's a spacious temple that's illuminated by lanterns in the garden at night. Be sure to look around and visit the gardens in the back while you're there. They give your party each a private room while you dine there and they only have a limited number of rooms so you really feel like they are there and devoted entirely to your meal (which, they might be!) A fantastic and whimsical journey in vegetarian Shojin Ryori cuisine!