Japanese cuisine relies heavily on traditional dashi (soup stock of kelp and dried bonito fish) and soy sauce to flavour its dishes, so vegetarians and gluten-free diners still have a hard time finding 'safe' Japanese food in the city. That’s where Minoya comes in. This small, homey restaurant sits in the ultra-local neighbourhood of Shin-Okachimachi, on a street lined with vending machines and Showa-era street lamps, with nondescript bicycles parked in front of every other two-storey building.
Minoya is a one-man show headed by chef Junji Kawahara, a former white-collar worker who gained respect for vegetable farmers when he quit his corporate job and tried starting his own vegetable patch in Koshigaya. After obtaining a professional license at a culinary school and working at a Japanese restaurant in Yanaka, Chef Kawahara decided to open his own restaurant with an emphasis on farm-to-table vegetable dishes. The restaurant can cater to nine diners at a time with five counter seats and a table for four. Because of its limited capacity, Minoya is by-appointment only.
The restaurant isn't strictly vegetarian, but Minoya excels in meeting various dietary preferences and restrictions. Gluten allergies are thoughtfully addressed by substituting wheat flour with rice flour and replacing shoyu (regular soy sauce) with tamari (soy sauce made with little to no wheat). Chef Kawahara’s approach to vegetarian and vegan dishes is creative and balanced, avoiding simple substitutions like tofu for meat and fish.
A full course is priced at ¥7,500, with additional options like seasonal tempura or tamagoyaki available at ¥900 each, though most diners find the standard meal satisfyingly filling, especially with free refills of clay-pot rice.
A typical course might start with an appetiser of deep-fried turnip layered with red shiso miso and spritzed with a wedge of sudachi citrus, followed by a diverse plant-based platter featuring grilled ginkgo nuts, sweet potato, baked pumpkin with soy cheese, and a shimeji mushroom pancake with chrysanthemum petals.
Using around 30 different vegetables, the dinner menu varies monthly but typically features two appetisers, a soup, two main vegetable dishes, seasonal clay-pot rice with miso soup, and dessert, all under 700 calories. During the day, the restaurant offers a lunch menu at ¥4,000 per person. It includes three appetisers, soba with vegetable tempura, and clay-pot rice.
To complement the meal, Minoya boasts a selection of 10 different Japanese sake, alongside Japanese beer, shochu and wine. For those preferring a healthier meal, non-alcoholic options include ginger juice, a refreshing yuzu-honey drink (available with club soda, iced or hot water), and non-alcoholic beer.