Soaks is a vegetable cafe located by the river in Nakameguro. They serve up a variety of vegetarian dishes, such as organic salads, rich pastas, and their savory pancakes. Their menu also includes a handful of meat dishes to satisfy everyone’s cravings.
Among their many meals, Soaks also serves organic vegetable juice, apple juice, orange juice, and even banana juice. There are also vegetable lattes like pumpkin, carrot, and spinach. At the cafe and online, Soaks sells 13 different types of vegetable powders for you to take home and make your own veggie drinks or meals at home. There are normal vegetable powders like corn, spinach, and pumpkin, but some of the more interesting powders include Japanese citrus yuzu, purple potato, and the leafy green vegetable komatsuna.
For lunch, I went with a half order of their organic leaf salad and a half order of their spinach gnocchi. The ricotta cheese melted in my mouth with every bite, and the tomato sauce was sweet and flavorful. It was the perfect light meal for a hot summer’s day. If you are craving something a bit more filling, I was floored when I saw the magnitude of their pancakes. With three large pancakes, a large scoop of ricotta cheese on top, and slices of banana covered in syrupy goodness, the meal looked deliciously tempting. However, I was visiting Soaks for the doughnuts, not the pancakes.
Soaks has a doughnut service called OK Doughnuts where you can order your drinks and sweets on the go. There are five flavored doughnuts to choose from: plain, gobo (a root plant like burdock), ashitaba (a small leafy vegetable like spinach), ginger, and tomato.
Their plain isn’t your ordinary Krispy Kreme glaze. This doughnut is made from lotus root, yet still sweet without any melted sugar on top. I also tried the ashitaba doughnut. The waiter warned me that it may taste a little bitter, but I didn’t think so at all. Rather, it tasted more like Japanese green tea sweets. If doughnuts aren't your thing, there are also vegetable chiffon cakes to choose from like pumpkin and carrot.
With its unique drinks and healthy treats, Soaks is the perfect little place to take a break as you stroll along Meguro River.
