Rating: 4/5 Stars

To be honest this was my first time trying a completely vegan restaurant and I wasn’t sure what to expect! All I had heard was that this place specialized in vegan sushi and that they were still quite new. Right upon entering, the traditional Japanese style sushi bar was lined with ample bar seating and tables for larger parties. I immediately questioned what was being featured in the sushi bar and laughed when I saw a plethora of seasoned vegetables ready to be prepared into sushi! It was quite chic and I enjoyed their sense of humor.

As I surveyed the menu, there were so many things I was interested in trying! I settled on ordering the shiso lemonade, yuba salad, kale kinpira, agedashi tofu, shizen shiitake, spicy tofuna roll, manila dune roll and the baker roll. I knew they were best known for their specialty rolls but the menu only lists the ingredients and doesn’t really sway you in a particular direction.

One roll, called “the sunset” is described as “spicy tofu, avocado, cucumber, seaweed pears, shichimi togarashi and fire”. That’s right, fire. My boyfriend and I discussed and came to the conclusion they must mean the roll was spicy, and decided not to order it. We were quickly proved wrong when the family sitting at a table behind us was brought a sushi roll and the accompanying sauce was lit on fire!! The flame was quite large and lasted long enough to take tons of pictures and videos for the gram. I immediately thought this place had the potential to go VIRAL.

The shiso lemonade was alright, it didn’t taste like shisho but had a few leaves mixed in. The shizen shiitake was stuffed with tofu and covered in eel sauce which I absolutely enjoyed! I almost forget we were eating vegan because of the hearty dishes I was enjoying.

The kale kinpira was quite delicious but a little saltier than I would have preferred. The agedashi tofu was great but firmer than I usually prefer, do not order if you like your agedashi tofu soft! I loved the spicy tofuna roll and thought this was a great alternative to eating fish.

The manila dune roll was the most interesting because it was filled with kabocha tempura and marinated gobo, and I would definitely order it again! Overall I loved the presentation of the restaurant as well as each individual dish, and could see myself coming back with friends just to experience different rolls and their unique presentations. Thanks Tane Vegan Izakaya for a great dinner!