I kept hearing about Souen so had to check it out myself. The location is nice as it's in the middle of a lot of great East Village/LES activity. I will admit the storefront was a bit small and easy to miss but I'm glad once I went inside. There is a decent amount of seating and the staff was very helpful with navigating the menu. As someone that loves protein, I am glad they have options to add protein on the side. It was a cold day so I decided to get the Curry Miso Ramen per the waiter's suggestion. I love the addition of the fried squash - it gave it a nice texture contrast. The noodle textures were nice and springy and the broth sat really well on my pallet. I decided to also add some white fish - overall it was a filling meal that was light and good for the gut health and overall health. I can't wait to come back and try more of the menu! read more

Souen - Curry Miso - Japanese Near Me - New York, New York

Souen is an awesome and unique restaurant! They have been serving up healthy "macrobiotic" food since the 1970s. The majority of the menu is vegan with the exception of various items that contain fish. If you're looking for a wholesome meal made of unprocessed, high-quality plant-based foods, there are surprisingly few options in New York City, and Souen is not one to miss. Their signature item is the macro plate that comes with the grain, legume, and vegetable of the day. Their menu has several categories of Japanese-inspired items including sushi, ramen, noodle dishes, and stir fries. They also have a number of special entrees and appetizers each day. We were hoping they'd be seed oil free (since that is definitely the vibe) but they do use sunflower oil in some dishes. We tried the pesto noodles, the squash tofu, the broccoli tofu, and the summer roll and loved all of the above. Squash sauce is a brilliant innovation. We tried the corn chocolate chip muffin that was less impressive than the other things we tried. Overall, we appreciated the great wholesome good, the reasonable prices for generous portions, and the good service. I wish there were more places like Souen. We will definitely be back for more. read more

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Excellent excellent dishes. Good service, and zen ambiance. Great futomaki and seaweed salad. Tahini miso dressing is a must. Macro plate is also great option. read more

All good. I like organic Ramen miso tahini the staff are so natural. Thank you for yummy dishes I will go back there soon. wonderful Chefs!!!!!!! calm and laugh The positive anbiance read more

The best vegetarian, macrobiotic food in the city! The other 2 locations, which were larger and closer to me sadly closed, so this is the only one left. Thankfully the menu is the same, so I can still get their unique, delicious food, but not as often. The staff is friendly and food comes quick. Too bad the place is so small. The other locations were always full and busy. Souen will always be up there with my favorites. read more

Classic good food. Eat here everyday and live forever. Delivery is sketchy though and don't rush them. Good noodles take time.

Very good service and ambiance for a casual lunch. I loved the appetizers, and you can't beat the price for healthy vegan food with GF options. I will say the macro plate, while very healthy, was absolutely screaming for seasoning. They offer a dressing choice but it wasn't enough to counteract no salt. That being said the guac was divine, cornbread too. read more

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Love this place, so glad it's survived this long and hope it continues for decades to come. Wonderful relaxed atmosphere that reminds me of 90's East village, everyone working is always lovely and helpful. Food is delicious and incredibly healthy, I'd be happy to eat here several times a week if I lived closer read more

Incredible food and service. My wife has limitations on what she can eat at most restaurants. She could eat almost everything on the menu. Just wonderful. read more

found a plastic in my mushroom plate - not even a single apology but simply took it out of the check at the end

Best cashew afredo pasta! It was so creamy and delicious. Not on the menu but it was one of their specials during the time I visited. My friend got the ramen and a glass of wine and was very satisfied as well. Will definitely be back again for more. read more

These cookies are pure magic! They're the perfect treat for any occasion or just to satisfy a sweet craving. The combination of flavors is sheer perfection, and they're always so fresh. A true vegan cookie gem! I'm hooked! read more

Souen - Japanese Near Me - New York, New York

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Souen?? More like So When do I get to go back? Obsessed with this place and the way it makes your body feel like you've made no mistakes in your life, you mischievous scoundrel. The food is so fresh and delicious and nourishing that you feel like you never spent a night in college losing 6 beer pong games in a row. You spent every night in college going to bed early and drinking a ton of water. Their house tea is great, it's a more fun rooibos. Bet you didn't think rooibos could get more fun!! If it's still not fun enough for you, there's a great selection of hot sake that is sure to make you lighten up, you cranky cynic. The vibes are like your healthy friend's kitchen, if your healthy friend wasn't annoying and preachy and bad at telling jokes all the time. You'll want to just hang out and nest in the casual atmosphere. Maybe you can stay long enough to try every vegetable plate on the menu like I want to. They're all so hot and fresh!! Like you will be when you finally start eating clean, you gluttonous freak! Go to souen and start today read more

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Delicious! Tons of creative options. The edamame guac was a stand out - we will be back!

Wish we had discovered this place sooner! So many great Asian/Japanese dishes that are refined sugar free which is nearly impossible to find! Due to my husband's dietary restriction of no refined sugar, he hasn't had dumplings for years because it's just part of the recipe to flavor dumplings with sugar. But Souen is free of processed sugar for everything!! We enjoyed all the dishes and will definitely come back. The burdock root salad was refreshing and sweetened with maple syrup. The tofu skin dish was also yummy. Also had the berry Kanten (like jelly) for dessert which was light and perfect. read more

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the food here is soo lovely and consistently great quality. delilah is just about the most angelic being i have met. such a welcoming and lovely energy all around! thank you! read more

Service-great Food was very yummy-I'm a baker cook. My son an wife loved the food. The waiter was excellent. Good clean yummy food. "SOUEN"- thank you SO much Rainer. Susan. Kim. read more

Looking for vegan ramen in the area, I stopped in. Ordered the vegan Tahini Shoyu Ramen with buckwheat noodles (a bit healthier than other noodles) based on recommendation. The serving size is huge and loaded with veggies. Sadly was lacking salt and much flavor. Very filling for $16, but wish there was more flavor. Most of the portion sizes looked large from what I saw at other tables. They have indoor and outdoor seating, but they seem to do a lot of takeout orders. Have your vax card ready if you plan to dine in. Restrooms are available. read more

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I have ordered from Souen daily for the last few months! The ingredients are consistently high quality, their vegetables are well steamed and portion size is good. I always get the macro plate and the miso cod and they have never let me down! read more

I love this place! The food is organic, seasonal, healthy and delicious! I would eat here everyday if I lived in NY city!

Love Souen! My second experience here was much better than the first. Healthy, macrobiotic style Japanese restaurant which is primarily vegan except for some fish dishes. I love the ramen soups here. They are flavorful yet not too salty, and they have a zucchini noodle option! I am able to satisfy my craving for ramen without being overloaded with sodium. They also have brown rice noodles as another gluten free option, in additional to regular noodles/ udon. The menu is huge and they also have bento boxes, salads, sushi and vegan gluten-free desserts! The entrees are $12-$15 range but may have to pay more for things like zucchini noodles, fish, etc. The portions are huge so overall pretty worth it. I will be back next time I am craving Japanese vegan food but want something on the healthier/ lighter side! read more

This place is hilarious. It is so very vegan... and then they'll throw a fish all up in your plate. I appreciate it, because Kate is a pescatarian. Now I'm an omnivore, even though I've been living as a vegan since the second of the year. Almost 2 weeks. It feels fraudulent, exciting, and ridiculous. It shall not last. But if you are going to eat, vegan or macrobiotic, this is definitely the spot. Kate loves and quickly inhales their macro plate, every time I go there I roll my eyes and think "a vegan meal- pescatarian best, I don't think this is going to be much fun...." And then... The pesto soba noodles. Fucking. Amazing. Absolutely delicious. When I was on a hard-core detox last week, I didn't even have the soba noodles, I had the zucchini noodles, and that was almost as good. Whatever the hell you put that pesto on is going to knock your socks off and you can wear them as mittens you crazy som'a bitch! Ultimately, anything you get especially the soups is going to be delicious. It certainly makes eating healthy in any school of dietary approach delicious. I could not recommend it more. And for bonus points down the street further on the east side is a bitters bar that is absolutely bonkers. I think it's called Amor & Amaro or something like that, but you have Google don't be a jerk. You can find it don't always count on me to tell you what to do. You're industrious. You can figure out your own stuff. You're not a lazy person who just eats meat mindlessly constantly filling your face with donuts filled with milk from dairy cows that are unhappy standing around, wondering what their life would've been like as wild cows galloping and gallivanting through the pasture, talking to other cows about how they have no restrictions and enjoy freedom in every moment... No. You're a vegan. For about three more days. Then it's dinosaur barbecue in Albany New York mother effer! T.J. Miller™ (The original Yelp gangster- the oyg) read more

Macrobiotic aka healthy/clean Japanese inspired food. Pretty tasty. Note that I would put this restaurant under "healthy that tastes good" category rather than "Japanese" category as a lot of the food is Japanese-inspired but somewhat fusion-y, with more emphasis on including heaps of fresh veggies, lighter touch on seasoning, simple cooking that feels more home-made and less restaraunt-y. Great selection for pescatarian/vegetarian/vegan people to all find something worth ordering. From what we ordered, I liked the miso black cod entree and yuba appetizer the most. But tbh everything that came out looked really good. Oh and the rice was really tasty. I think it was brown rice seasoned with soy sauce burdock and carrots. Also liked their Okinawa herbal tea, which was a blend of a bunch of herbs I had never heard of, somewhat on the medicinal side of herbal teas but went well with my food. Tasty food that doesn't make me feel guilty after - I can do this again! read more

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I've been coming here since the day it opened. If your grandmother was a health conscious and Japanese this is what it would taste like. Delicious. You come here for food that won't kill you, trick you into vegetarianism but is really junk food. You come here for food and service that will nourish your body and build health and still taste brilliant. Curry miso ramen is the jam. Okra - don't miss it. Mushroom app- yup. AND the veggie dumplings are hand made. If you are getting the macro plate upgrade to MAZE rice and throw some carrot dressing on it. You'll thank me and so will your body. The vegan cheesecake and coco mousse if I could eat every day I would. If you eat fish try the cod with pesto. The staff is diverse. Ive seen all sorts of stars show up here quietly eating in the corner INCLUDING MR Miyagi - No lie. We all come here for the same thing. Now that the word is out there will probably be an epic line.... it would still be worth it. read more

Fast, efficient, and friendly. Favorite lunch spot. They always have great specials daily and don't sleep on their desert options.

We did not have a good experience here. The server was very sarcastic and short with us when we first walked in and when taking our order. The food we ordered was also very mediocre. I ordered Pad Thai, which could really only be described as a stir fry with a heavy peanut sauce, nothing like Pad Thai. Both the food quality and poor customer service made us very disappointed. We will not dine here again. read more

We came here on Saturday night food was great. We had cod and veggy curry. It was amazing The food is healthy . Most of their items are gluten-free and they don't use refined sugar. The staff is wonderful. I would highly recommend read more

This place is cute and small. Food is healthy and good portions for good prices! Would come back for the food. The service was so slow!!! Please hire more people to assist the solo guy who had to be the host, delivery coordinator, waiter and whatever else he does! read more

Best restaurant in New York City. Service is strong and the food is consistent, clean, and fantastic. Only place where you can order anything on the menu and know it will be fantastic. Staff is super friendly and will walk you through each menu item - if you have dietary restrictions they are great at modifications. I don't know what I would be doing without Souen At East Village read more

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Delicious food. I used to eat here when I lived in NYC in 2009, and finally got to have it again when I was visiting last month. I dream about their tofu skin appetizer! read more

Daaang man the reviews tricked me. I had high hopes for the black sesame ramen. I read ppls reviews saying it was amazing. The waiter recommended it if we were "adventurous". Im adventurous but the black sesame ramen was literally like eating a bowl of mud. It lacked flavor and was soooo gritty. I had 3 bites and had to stop because I just couldn't. The noodles were weak, and honestly there was no seasoning. It was just black sesame water with veggies inside. We also got the tahini ramen. It was pretty good. The broth had way more flavor than the black sesame. But yeah the noodles were weak. I love kabocha squash and sadly it was wayyy under cooked but the skin of the kabocha was so hard, it was like eating glass. Honestly I've had much better vegan ramen and for $20 a bowl, there's nooooo way I'd come back. And yes even tho I had 3 bites of the black sesame, they still charged us even tho we relayed our feedback. It's fine I wasn't going to argue since they did use their ingredients to make it. Usually tho, other places will take it off the tab if you didn't like the dish. The stars are for the waitress because poor girl was waiting 5 tables on her own. She was sweet. read more

Souen - Black sesame Ramen Tahini Miso - Japanese Near Me - New York, New York

SOUEN is such a great local place. Sitting outside was really nice! I would've felt a little crammed inside but that's not their fault. I really enjoyed what I got! It was a big portion so I boxed it up and had it for dinner . My waiter/service was amazing and made my experience that much better. They were good at refilling my water which is huge for me! I love the abundance of veggies in each dish and the freshness. Thank you!! read more

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Really tasty, pretty fancy vegan asian restaurant in the East Village. They have cool mock meats and also plenty of traditional asian choices as well as dumplings and dim sum. I was especially intrigued by and enjoyed eating the "pork belly". Unlike most mock meats that have only one predominant texture this one has a seitan-y portion and a chewy "fatty" portion. Vegan scallops were delicious, it's evident they know their way around "seafood". read more

This was such a disappointing first meal of our NYC trip. The place had a pretty cool vibe, but was full of incredibly bland organic food. No seasoning could be found, nor was it offered. I ordered the most boring pad tai I've ever tasted. The peanut sauce was good, but the soba noodles were not a good choice. was not offered any chili oil nor sriracha. I actually tried to get the waiters attention several times to ask for some chili oil. The waiter didn't hear me (or ignored), until I flagged him down with less than a third of my dish left. He told me it was $3 or $4 for chili oil, so I decided against it. My meal was amazing in comparison to the atrocity my husband ordered. It was some sort of tofu broccoli dish. He couldn't even finish his, and he was starving when we entered (we had been traveling all day). Surprisingly, the man next to us sent his ramen back because it was too spicy. The food looked beautiful, but the taste was a major let down. read more

Souen - First night in NYC for Jeff! - Japanese Near Me - New York, New York

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Souen is an institution, and their tahini dressing is superior, but at least if you go the route of the macro plate, be prepared for extremely spartan eats. I was feeling penitent after some over indulgent meals and wanted something that would nourish my system in a simpler, healthier way, and ordered the plate for delivery. It consists of unseasoned, unsalted steamed veggies, rice, and bean of the day. Dressing is served on the side. Even with liberal amounts of the tahini and my own addition of pesto from the fridge, it was hard for me to get through the plate. Such big hunks of vegetables, such absence of texture and flavor. I know that macrobiotic principles dictate a pared down palate, but it was beyond my ability to enjoy it, even if it was doing my system some good. Also, at around $15 with tax and tip, you're paying a premium for modest ingredients. I would consider trying out the vegan ramen at the actual restaurant, as people seem to sing its praises, but I wouldn't repeat the macro plate. read more

Souen - Macro Plate with tahini dressing to go - Japanese Near Me - New York, New York

I ordered the salmon and it was awful. It was dry and hard. The salmon maze rice had barely any salmon. The food was such poor quality, I will never eat here again. This used to be one of my favorite restaurants but they have gone downhill. read more

I have been a fan of Souen for years. So sad all the other locations closed, but happy this old spot has stuck around. It's hard to find consistent macro/vegan places these days that deliver simple, healthy food. Most vegan spots I've tried in NYC are trying to appeal to a meat eating norm and the food is overly complicated and often heavy with oils. The macro plate is my go-to dish since 2011. read more

Came across this place while actually searching for a different restaurant and decided this looked so much better. They just recently opened dine in and it's very spaced and well managed. The service is lovely and the food is so incredibly good, homey and well sourced. You can tell a lot of thought and care is put into their dishes and menu. This restaurant fit perfectly for me having a fairly strict diet. Their desserts are amazing and don't have refined sugar which is amazing and something I've been looking for in the city. Highly recommend getting their cornbread and trying one of the Ramens especially with cold days creeping up! read more

Someone else described this place well as Japanese hippie food your neighbor would serve. It is very clean tasting and healthy so some may find it bland/boring, but for those who like this type of food, it is absolutely delicious. I tried the tahini ramen (with salmon and gluten free noodles) and it was satisfying. It was not spicy or salty at all like most ramen, but savory with huge vegetable chunks in it. I also tried the gluten-free cornbread with tahini butter and it is amazing. It was even better than I had been expecting/hoping for and I could eat that cornbread with tahini butter all the time. I felt super healthy and good after eating at this place. The food is really lots of veggies, high fiber, low calorie, and none of the bad stuff. read more

FOOD WAS GOOD aside from the cat litter box smell they had when i ate there last night.