- 2 min read

Coco Ichibanya's Vegetarian Options

A chance to enjoy Japanese curry, meat-free

As someone with friends and family who are vegetarian and vegan, a common topic of conversation revolves around finding places to eat in Japan that satisfy those requirements. More and more restaurants have been popping up over recent years that are either fully vegetarian or vegan, or clearly offer menu items that are. One such restaurant is the curry chain Coco Ichibanya, who have been offering a vegetarian menu in most of their stores since 2016.

The veggie-friendly menu is surprisingly robust, too, with several options available to choose from. The standard vegetarian curry comes with large pieces of potato, carrot, green beans and onions, and this seemed to be their most popular - it's right on the front of the separate vegetarian menu book. There's also curries that include eggplant, tomato, asparagus, spinach, mushrooms, okra and yam. I know my vegetarian and vegan friends would be hoping for the menu to be expanded to proteins like tofu as well, but for now this is a decent selection in a pinch. The serving sizes are hearty and service is quick, so if you are looking for a vegetarian meal served up in a short amount of time, check to see if your local Coco Ichibanya offers the vegetarian selection.

Note for Vegans:

It's worth noting that even though the vegetarian curry roux contains no animal meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, dairy products or honey, there are dairy products on the same production line. They advise this for complete transparency as there could be trace amounts of dairy in the curry.

Coco Ichibanya also have a certified halal menu in many stores.

Getting there

As Coco Ichibanya is a chain, you'll find branches of the restaurant across the country. A full list of the stores with the vegetarian menu or the halal menu can be found on their website.

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Sleiman Azizi 2 years ago
For what it's worth, page 7 of their menu book specifically states, "Does not contain animal-derived ingredients."

Here is the link: https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/menu/pdf/menubook_en.pdf
Kim Author 2 years ago
Oh, good to know! This article is a couple of years old now but it's encouraging to see they're making even more vegan-friendly steps!
Geraldine Buergel 3 years ago
I've been wanting to try the vegetarian curry there forever, but sadly still haven't gotten around to it yet.
Kim Author 3 years ago
It's good! Now I'm craving it!
Elizabeth S 4 years ago
I’m an omnivore, so I struggle to find places to enjoy a meal with my many of my vegetarian and vegan friends. Coco saves the day. The curry is consistently delicious.
Kim Author 4 years ago
It's always nice when there are places that cater to everyone! Definitely takes the stress out of what everyone will eat. And yes - I love their curry! Always so good!
Elena Lisina 4 years ago
I like any curry rice! :P
Elena Lisina 4 years ago
Unfortunately, we don't have it at my home :( so I can only enjoy it in Japan!

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