Shojin
Vegan restaurant · Culver West
12406 Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Highlights
Creative vegan Japanese dishes, tasting menus, and saki
Creative vegan Japanese dishes, tasting menus, and saki
"Jun Matoshiro's brainchild casually tosses around overused LA-centric buzz words such organic, natural, vegan, and macrobiotic. But this alternative Japanese eatery manages to maintain a level of ingenuity to entice any foodie, regardless of food restrictions, preferences or politics, elevating mushrooms, rice or tofu by experimenting with them alongside hijiki, lotus root and konnyaku. The ambience is sufficiently intimate to make it a viable date spot." - Sandwich Video
"Shojin specializes in Japanese vegan cuisine, with a tasting menu, a la carte offerings, and even an allergen-free kids menu. The food is gluten-free from top to bottom, from its dumpling and crispy rice starters to its sushi and surprisingly affordable nine-course weekday omakase. And though the DTLA location closed in April 2024, the Culver City location on Washington Boulevard remains open. This is the sushi spot that will satisfy your vegan and gluten-free friends in one fell swoop." - Nicole Adlman
"Shojin is a solid option for vegans and the occasionally-plant-based sushi fan that wants something more elevated than a basic avocado roll. This quiet, casual vegan Japanese spot in Culver City turns whipped tofu into “spicy tuna crispy rice,” and though it’s not fooling anyone, it tastes good, even if several items on the menu hit the same creamy dynamite sauce notes. However, the creativity is impressive. A run-of-the-mill rainbow roll is a colorful spectrum of chilled roasted vegetables with fragrant shisho leaf wrapped inside, and the Saturday Night Fever roll, which looks like something you’d find on the Vegas Strip, turns roasted mushrooms into sweet crab meat." - Sylvio Martins
"Shojin has two locations in my favorite parts of Los Angeles, Culver City, and Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. Tsuguhiro Morishima is Japanese and the owner of the vegan, gluten-free, macrobiotic restaurant that’s most well known for its inventive sushi rolls, tempura, spicy tuna on crispy rice, and stuffed shiitake mushrooms. Crystal orders their spicy baked scallop roll and Shojin dynamite roll, which I would have to counter with the Pirates of the Crunchy roll mainly because I’m a sucker for crispy crunchy tempura flakes. While we’re on the topic of tempura, I would also order the tempura banana and chocolate mousse cake to finish off the meal." - esther cho, with warm welcome
"Shojin is a modern sushi restaurant in Little Tokyo that doesn’t actually serve fish. This upscale spot on the top floor of a shopping mall is a completely vegan restaurant which means rolls hit the table stuffed with spicy tofu and mushrooms instead of yellowtail and toro. If that sounds unappealing, hear us out. The rolls at Shojin are actually quite good and filling, and even if you aren’t a meat-eater, you should come here just to see what inventive and well-executed vegan food looks like. The quiet, dimly-lit dining room also makes for a great left-of-center date situation." - brant cox, brett keating
