Friday 9 September 2011

Loving Hut

vegan restaurant 
This building!  Head up to the 2nd floor.

On Sunday we paid a long overdue visit to Loving Hut.  Despite being impressed with this place the first time I went there, around 2 years ago, I never find myself in the Yotsuya-sanchome neighborhood.  I realize this is quite a ridiculous excuse, as it's literally a 5 minute subway ride from Shinjuku.

In the mood to take a little walk, we hopped off the subway at Akebonobashi station.  That area has nostalgic value for me, as the Ace Inn Hostel was my original Tokyo homebase, back when I was night bussing up from Mie for little weekend hits of urban life.  Walking those streets I can still feel traces of those Tokyo butterflies, and it reminded me how lucky I am to call this amazing city home.

On the way we found an alcohol vending machine, which seem to be becoming less common these days.
Booze vending machine!  And yes, that is a zebra print dress I'm wearing.  A-chan calls it my Osaka obasan dress, which is not a compliment.  
We arrived at Loving Hut and promptly ordered 3 meals to share between the 2 of us.  I felt like a bit of a glutton when the three trays arrived, but as the food is pretty light so it turned out to be a good amount for 2 hungry people.

The first to arrive was a delicious bowl of soymilk ramen topped with green onion and ground mock meat (650¥).  It had a lovely, rich flavor, though I wouldn't have minded seeing a few more vegetables involved.

Next came the zen tanpin* (500¥), a slab of mock unagi on a bed of rice.  Though I can't compare the taste to real unagi (as I've never tried it), I found this dish reasonably tasty, but a definite third place to the two other yummy meals we ordered.  As the name suggests, this can also be ordered as part of a meal plate.



My favourite of the three was the veggie burger plate (1000¥).  The very tasty, though little, burger is accompanied by an assortment of sides: a soup, a salad, pickles, a tiny side of curried vegetables, a piece of vegetable korokke and a few bites of dessert.

Loving hut is a small place with just a few tables and lunch bar type seating along the windows and back wall.  The interior is clean, bright, and homey, with little grannyish touches like handmade fabric cozies for the napkin dispensers.  You'll find copies of vegetarian magazines and other animal loving books, and perhaps not to everyone's liking, a (rather unobtrusive!) video looping religious vegan propaganda playing softly in the background.

Would it be too cheesy of me to say that I feel the love that goes into running Loving Hut?  From the decor to the carefully prepared, healthy meals, it's clear that a lot of heart goes into the finished product.

  
See what I mean by grannyish touches?  I love the wallpaper in the washroom.
Language note:
*tanpin (単品 or たんぴん)means a single item or à la carte.  When ordering an item that can be ordered with or without a set, this is a useful word to know.

。。。。。。。

おすすめ / recommendation: veggie burger plate 


good points: cheap, healthy, delicious vegan meals, cute decor, easy to find


bad points: the religious element may not be everyone's cup of tea, big eaters may find the portions a bit small


address: 6-15 2F Yotsuya Sanchome, Shinjuku-ku


東京都新宿区四谷三丁目6−152F 


how to get there:
Take the Marunouchi line to Yotsuya Sanchome station, and use exit 4.  From the exit, head slightly to the left (walk past Bakery Cafe Antendo).  Take a left at the first corner, and you'll see Loving Hut on your right on the second floor.


大きな地図で見る

4 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I stumbled upon your site looking for The Loving Hut and found some great information! My wife and I are vegetarians living in Tokyo and could use a little help knowing what and where to eat. You seem to be very knowledgeable and I would like to get a little information from you. I am so upset that I did not know about the Indian Festival as well as the Veggie Festival in Yoyogi Park. I do not want to miss events like this again!
    Could you please email me at michaelkapan73@gmail.com when you get a chance

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Michael,

    I tried to email you at that address but for some reason my mails are bouncing back. Could you email me at vegouttokyo@gmail.com?

    Thanks,
    Mika.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,

    Thanks for your great blog! This is going to be a lifeline for us vegetarians in Tokyo!

    Planning to check out the Loving Hut on your recommendation.

    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Change of the Store Location 移転のお知らせ
    投稿日時: 2013年6月12日

    Loving Hut will be moving from Yotsuya Sanchome to Jimbocho. We would like to thank everybody who had come to the store in Yotsuya Sanchome. The new Loving Hut in Jimbocho will be open at the beginning in July.
    After the move, we will NOT serve lunch boxes at the main store and other shops, but we will continue running the cafe menu and event exhibitions. The details on the new store in Jimbocho will be posted on the website.

    Jimbocho Store (Open in July)
    Okada Bldg 2F, 1-54, Jimbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0051

    10 minute walk from JR Suidobashi Station
    5 minute walk from Exit 5 at Jimbocho Station (Toei Shinjuku Line, Toei Mita Line, Tokyo Metro Hanzomo Line)

    このたびLoving Hut 四谷三丁目店は6/14(金)をもって閉店し、神保町に移転することになりました。
    これまで四谷三丁目店にご来店頂きました皆様にお礼申し上げます。
    Loving Hut 神保町店は7 月上旬にオープン予定です。
    移転をもってお弁当の販売は終了致しますが、カフェや様々なイベントへ
    の出店は続けて参ります。
    リニューアルオープンする神保町店の詳細は、後日ホームページ
    http://lovinghut.jp にて掲載致します。

    神保町店(7 月上旬OPEN 予定)
    〒101-0051
    東京都千代田区神田神保町1-54
    岡田ビル2F

    JR水道橋駅東口より徒歩10 分
    都営新宿線・都営三田線・東京メトロ半蔵門線 神保町駅 A5 出口より徒歩5 分

    Jimbocho Store
    Okada Bldg. 2F, 1-54, Jimb-cho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0051
    Yotsuya-sanchome store will be closed after Fri. Jun. 14, and Jimbocho store will be open around the beginning of July.
    the detail will be poseted at our web site at http://lovinghut.jp

    ReplyDelete

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