AIN SOPH. Ripple

We had the best black sesame pancakes at Ain Soph..
I mean, everything was good. The smoothie was
delicious, the paella was delectable! The chai tea was
good (needs more spice). The presentation made the
food even more appetizing
By far I can say this place was the best vegan
restaurant we've tried in Tokyo
Oh did I mention the ice cream? Mouthwatering..
Keep up the good work!
Food was so good, we did not get a chance to take
pictures...

So nice to have so many vegan options in Tokyo these days! Ain Soph is a chain, but each location has a different menu. This location was very burger centric, fast-casual style.

Everything is vegan/plant-based (always appreciated) and the food quality seemed very high. The burgers my partner and I had, crispy chicken and falafel, were both well made with delicious sauces, trimmings. Also, we both remarked how the roll seemed extraordinarily fresh (almost like it had just been baked).

This location is definitely on the small side, and when we were there (a Friday night) it was very busy. Turnover is pretty quick, so seating frees up fast, but good idea to stake out a seat as soon as you can (or do a takeaway order).

I was a bit surprised at the price of the bill, about 4200 yen for two burgers made as sets (w/fries), a tea, and beer, but I suppose not too out of the norm for Tokyo. Plus, I don't mind paying a little extra to support an all vegan business.

I am not vegan, but I was with a couple vegan friends in Tokyo who recommended this vegan burger place.

I ordered the Ripple cheeseburger and it was delicious! I find vegan cheese to be super gross most of the time, but this burger tasted just as good as any other. I also loved the avocado and sauce as toppings.


Also I really recommend ain soph. journey for their vegan pancakes- super super delicious!

Considering how difficult it is to get vegetarian food, much less vegan food in Japan, this place was an oasis.

We got their Ripple burgers. They were pretty tasty but they were of the single-textured, mushy, indeterminate ingredient type. I like my veggie burgers with identifiable or at least textural ingredients.

That being said, it satisfied our veggie appetites.

One tip - eat it in the waxed pouch it is served in. I learned the hard way. The waxed pouch is much thicker and stiffer than the type used in the U.S. So I removed mine thinking it would be easier and I would avoid poking my eye out. I was sorely wrong (except for the eye part). Each bite squished all the ingredients out of the bun. So I was constantly re-stacking my sandwich. In the end I really needed a fork.

But overall it was a good experience. We sat at the window and watched Shinjuku walk by...

I'm going to blame a review for my accidental dinner at Ain Soph Ripple instead of Ain Soph Journey. To finally clear it up (it's very obvious though), the Ripple location is the to-go no frills version. As one of the employees of Ripple put it "journey is the more snobby version." What am I going to do, I'm a bit of a snob. Journey all the way, lol.

Regardless, no frills Ain Soph is still Ain Soph. There are less options here, with most of the menu concentrating on their delicious burgers. We had the chicken sot and ripple burger.

Sitting includes a bar along the window and large shared tables. There will be loud tourists around (unlike journey that has more of a date feel to it.)

As seems to be common for Ain Soph restaurants, food was delicious, staff was friendly, and I left really happy.

Atmosphere: 5
This hole-in-a-wall restaurant is absolutely cute. With window seats as well, this is definitely a place you can pop in with a friend, small group, or alone. Definitely come by before the dinner rush because it will start to get crowded! Nonetheless, I think they offer it to go as well.

Portion: 5
I ordered a large grilled salad bowl and it was definitely a lot. I came in hungry and it filled me up even though I shared some with my boyfriend! I also had a soup too and the two together was just right for dinner. There was a good proportion of ingredients in the salad bowl so that each bite was the same without any one ingredient overwhelming the other.

Flavors: 5
The grilled vegetables were tender, juicy and delicious. I love the bed of greens that was used as the salad base. It wasn't the typical lettuce but a nice leafy green. It has a nice natural flavor that compliments well with the rest of the vegetables in the bowl. I tried my boyfriend's cheese fries as well - it was cool that the cheese is dairy free. It tastes great!

Overall, I definitely want to go there again. I might try their burger next time, but the salad was so good I would be tempted to get that again. It is nice to see that they also have vegan desserts for sale too. Vegetarians and vegans alike will find this place awesome.

For my first meal back in Tokyo and to have it be Vegan friendly too, I must say that I am impressed!

Running on 3 hours of sleep didn't stop me from reconnecting with my good friend as I got off that aircraft from LAX. I finally made it to Shinjuku to meet up with him and learned that his diet had changed drastically the past few months! Veganism was something I never thought Japan would get into, but I was proven wrong with Ain Soph Ripple.

We came right as last call was being made around 21:30 on a Friday night. My friend ordered the burrito while I got the Crispy Chicken Sandwich (￥1000), both with a side of fries for about ￥215 more. My sandwich was stellar! Great tartar sauce and red cabbage to compliment the veggie friendly patty. The fries here weren't half bad either. My friend's burrito was a bit small though in my opinion, but that may just be my American side reveling.

As far as Vegan food goes here in Tokyo, this is probably one of the best spots. Everything on the menu is very English friendly and you'll find both locals and tourists alike spending time here. Closeby to Shinjuku Station in Kabukicho, don't let the seedy vibe scare you away.

What a relief to find a place in Japan that a vegetarian can eat at without fear of fish bits, fish sauce, fish broth, fish flakes on the rice for God's sake. Sorry, had a brief episode there. Anyway ...

The ripple cheese burger was ample (especially for Japan) and tasty, as were the cheese fries. This place is vegan, so of course the burger isn't a burger, and the cheese isn't cheese. I've had lots of attempts at those, but these were quite good. If I lived around here, I'd be coming back.

(The sideways sauce in the photo is Sriracha sauce. Added a little spice to the fries.)

I wish that I had heeded Yelp friend Bob's review and tempered my expectations of this place before I went, but I was really jonesing for a veggie burger, and this is seems to be go-to spot in Tokyo, particularly for expats and other travelers from abroad. First, the staff were very cheerful and my meal came up quickly. Everything is set up to accommodate non-Japanese speakers, from the menus to the signage on the packaged baked goods and other items that are available for sale at the counter.

I ordered a classic Ripple burger and fries. With veggie burgers it's always a crapshoot--is the patty going to be beany, or ricey, or a pile of compressed veggies. This one was dense but had an indiscernible combo of ingredients that, to borrow from Yelper Randall, were overwhelmingly mushy, bland, and not super appealing to my palate. I had to add liberal amounts of ketchup and mustard to stay motivated to continuing eating it. They also layer in a thick slice of grilled onion, which sounds tasty in theory, but was overly tough and kept messily sliding out of the burger. The accompanying fries were decent, and I was glad to have requested the guacamole on the side.

Also, just a note about ambiance, but this restaurant was almost universally filled with native-English speaking tourist millennials (including myself!), and the main eating area is a communal table. If that's OK with you, all good, but just something to be aware of if you're not keen on hearing a loud retelling of an Australian gap year's "massive hangover", etc, etc.

When it comes to vegan restaurants, a restaurant chain that many people always feel confident in are AIN SOPH. restaurants.

AIN SOPH. is celebrating their 10th year anniversary in December 2019 and each restaurant offers different style and meal offerings.

With the main vegan restaurant located in Ginza known as "AIN SOPH.Ginza" near Higashi Ginza Station and has a vegan patisserie and Truberry cafe, parfait and sweets restaurant AIN SOPH.Soar in Ikebukuro and vegan restaurant at AIN SOPH.Journey in Shinuku and Kyoto/

But when it comes to vegan burgers and burritos, AIN SOPH.ripple is well-known for having the best and often attracting many people who want a healthy place to eat.  And many proclaim the restaurant as "the best vegan burgers/burritos in Tokyo!".

With a ripple restaurant located in Kabukicho, Shinjuku (Note: ripple2 which opened earlier in the year in Hiroo, Shibuya, recently closed down back in April).

As my primary diet consists of eating veggie burgers, I'm always excited to try a very good veggie burger, so I couldn't wait to try AIN SOPH.ripple.

The first thing you will notice is the wooden exterior and interior.

The water was self-serve but you can ordered numerous bottled drinks.

For the most part, tables were clean (note they are communal tables in the sense of high school or junior high lunch tables in the cafeteria, not individual tables) and there is a booth table facing the window.

Customer service was good.  But it's a different atmosphere compared to Mr. FARMER restaurants I have attended.

I noticed that possibly because of the Kabukicho location, there were more expats and foreigners eating at AON SOPH.ripple, whereas Mr. FARMER restaurants, I saw mostly all Japanese patrons.

I came for the ripple cheese burger (which features vegan cheese), french fries with cheese sauce and for desert, a chocolate brownie ice cream.

The ripple cheese burger is the most pricey burger on their menu (which is actually cheaper than a normal burger in Tokyo) at Y1250 and comes with a vegan patty, vegan cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion and aurora sauce.

They also offer a normal ripple burger (without the vegan cheese) for Y1100, a crispy soy chicken burger (soy chicken, cabbage, tartar sauce) for Y1100 and falafel burger (falafel, hummus, lettuce, tomato, vegan sour cream) for Y1000.

I found the veggie burger to be delicious, the sauce brought the flavor out and the vegan cheese was good.  I didn't have a bland burger or mushy burger.

The fries with cheese sauce and ice cream were also very good!

For the most part, I did enjoy AIN SOPH.ripple and I feel it's a restaurant that I will visit again.

I feel that it was interesting that the restaurant is located in Kabukicho, not far from the host clubs and Robot Restaurant area.  I would have imagined the placed to be located in Omotesando/Harajuku versus Shinjuku but considering the attraction of foreign travelers and expats to Kabukicho and the fact that many people do go ripple, I suppose Kabukicho was a very good choice of location.

I did like the vibe and ambiance and the healthy focus of AIN SOPH.'s message can be seen in the restaurant.

But if you were to ask me if I feel it's the best vegan burger in Tokyo?  It's a subjective answer.

While AIN SOPH.ripple's veggie burger was very good, I still give an edge to Mr. FARMER's veggie burger, which I feel you get more bang for your buck (or yen).