Onyasai [various locations]

vegetarian/vegan-friendly shabu-shabu/nabe restaurant

Food: 3.5/5
Price: 2/5

This chain bills itself as a "healthy" shabu-shabu restaurant. The name literally means "hot water vegetables". While a majority of the menu does indeed comprise of seafood and meat items (this is shabu-shabu after all), Onyasai has a LARGE selection of greens, mushrooms, tofu and other vegetables and I've never left this restaurant hungry. Onyasai has several different bases (ie liquid to cook your veggies in) to select from and you can choose up to 2, which they put in a divided iron pot. My favorites are the konbu-dashi (seaweed base) and the tōnyū (soymilk base). A kimchi base is also available, but I'm not sure if it's vegetarian, I'll have to check on my next visit. Onyasai provides 2 dipping sauces: the standard ponzu (tart, citrusy vinegar) with daikon oroshi (shredded Japanese white radish) as well as a creamy goma (sesame) sauce. [**vegans: the sesame sauce may contain milk or egg, it's better to ask before eating it.] You can further customize these sauces with Japanese black pepper, garlic, extra ground sesame, hot oil, etc. In my opinion, the goma sauce tastes EXCELLENT when paired with the tōnyū base. Additional side dishes and rice are available although you probably want to ask for your side salads/tofu "niku-nashi" ("no meat") since 1 time when I was there, my tofu was brought out with ground beef on the top. Onyasai also has a good drink selection so I think it's a great alternative to izakaya. The divided pots they feature are also great if you go out with a group of non-vegetarians since this will keep your soup base separate from 1 that is being used for meat.

Pros: FRESH ingredients, very healthy, many convenient locations, open late (many until midnight), reasonable prices, good for groups
Cons: Japanese menus only, they serve alot of meat so strict vegetarians/vegans may feel uncomfortable

hours vary by location, see website:
www.onyasai.com (Japanese only)