great dinner at Cha Ya in SF ( vegan Japanese Cuisine )

[Guest guest]

Hi folks

 

Since no one I talked to at George's Vegan Food Party in SF was able to tell me about the new Cha Ya in SF, I decided it was my civic duty as a veg to go and have dinner there and report back. After all, trying new vegan restaurants is one of the joys and privileges of leaving in the SF Bay Area. :-)

 

While the menu at Cha Ya SF is the same as Cha Ya Berkeley, the restaurant seating capacity is much larger. I had the impression there were about 15 tables. There are lots of food choices -- 24 different items on the soup, salad, kozara (small dishes) and a la carte menu (two pages). And then there are about 2 pages of different combinations of sushi or sushi a la carte. A page of noodle dishes, and even dessert options which include japanese style desserts as well as chocolate mousse cake!

 

I could not pick just "one" item so I selected the $11.50 "Hosomaki Combo Dinner", where I picked my three hosomaki rolls and also received the house miso soup, and a small sunomono salad (cucumber vinaigrette salad). The 3 different sushi rolls cut into 6 pieces each - sea vegetable salad, shiitake mushroom, and avocado -- were particularly good. I really enjoy eating sushi .. The miso soup was also good. The sunomono salad was not too my taste (it thought it lacked flavor). Interestingly, the tea was served cold. But it was a pretty filling dinner.

 

I think the most difficult option about dining at Cha Ya is figuring out (based on the huge menu) what to get ... I took a "to go" menu so I could figure out my next dinner (as the menu is complex when it comes to the many different available combinations you can order) ..I think next time I want to have the tempura or maybe a sushi tempura roll, like the Cha Ya roll -- "tempura sushi filled with avocado, yam, and carrots. The entire roll is lightly battered and deep fried. Served with a special house sauce. " Yumm!!

 

I loved what they printed at the bottom of the to go menu,

 

"Got vegan? Yes. Everything on the menu is vegetarian. It is also all vegan. What does this mean? It means we don't use products dervied from animals of any kind. No dairy, no eggs, no gelatin, no fish, no poultry. Not even honey made by the hard-working bee. "

 

 

Given that they've only recently opened, I was happy to see the restaurant was busy and nearly full -- I guess everyone reads SFBAVEG :-) It's also a good location in a busy area.

 

Overall, I'd definitely recommend everyone try Cha Ya! It is a wonderful addition to the veg scene in SF.

 

 

Cha Ya

http://www.bayareaveg.org/ug/display.htm?id=643

762 Valencia St (near 18th St). SF

 

See Ultimate Guide for information on Cha Ya in Berkeley or any of the Bay Area's other 90 veg restaurants ..

http://BayAreaVeg.org/ug

 

Cheers,

Tammy

 

Map it Veg!

http://www.frappr.com/baveg

http://www.frappr.com/vegetarians

 

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"This is my protest against the conduct of the world. To be a vegetarian is to disagree--to disagree with the course of things today. Starvation, world hunger, cruelty, waste, wars--we must make a statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my statement and I think it's a strong one." -- Isaac Bashevis Singer