Tuesday 8 November 2011

Vi-Sand: Vietnamese subs in Shimokitazawa

(somewhat) vegetarian friendly restaurant (will customize on request) CLOSED

Youthful, eclectic Shimokita is a cool little area not 10 minutes away from Shibuya on the Keio Inokashira line.  It's only about a 15 minute walk from my house, and I'm often there on weekends, poking around, perusing my favourite thrift shop or picking up some groceries.  So it's a bit surprising to me that in the last 6 months of blogging, I've only mentioned something specific to Shimokitazawa once, in my natto vending machine post back in June.  The truth is, despite it looking very much like a place that I would imagine to be a veggie hotspot, Shimokita has failed to deliver in the veggie restaurant department.  If you know of any places, I'd be happy to be proven wrong!

In the meantime, I have had some tasty veggie meals in some onmi restaurants, including a newish restaurant by the name of Vi-Sand.  Specializing in Vietnamese sandwiches, you're not going to find a lot of veggie options on the menu, but I can recommend the tofu and vegetable sub.  This sandwich usually includes liver pâté, so make sure to tell the staff if you are vegetarian and would like yours without!  Your baguette will come stuffed with tofu, fresh veggies, your choice of cilantro or mint, and hot sauce if you so desire.  When I dined there on Friday evening, my sandwich and mini side of potato salad came to 750¥.  While it's not an especially filling meal if you are a big eater, it would be a nice size for a sensible lunch, or to compliment with dessert, or perhaps another dish to share with a friend.

Vi-sand is quite easy to find.  From Shimokitazawa's South (南) exit, head towards the McDonalds, through the archway and straight down the street for one block.  Take the first left after the McDonalds, where there is a Docomo shop on the corner.  You'll see Vi-sand just ahead on your left.


This restaurant has closed.  

7 comments:

  1. The sandwich looks nice and the environment very comfortable. :)

    I like Vietnamese sandwich cuz their baguette very crispy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, thanks for sharing such a nice food. I'm hungry now. lol. The ambiance was really nice.

    Just wonder, how come there wasn't any customer? haha.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stephanie, I was wondering if people were going to be thinking that! There is a good reason. They open the restaurant for dinner at 6:00 and I came in exactly then and took the photos. As I was eating, a few groups of other customers did come in!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ooh, looks good!

    Check out Alicia in Shimokitazawa. http://www.tokyogigguide.com/v/restaurants/vegetarian-friendly/alicia

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the tip, mr. craig e! I took a peek at your listing and will check out Alicia soon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tried to find it yesterday at lunch time to no avail... couldn't get through by phone... website is down...have they gone out of business?
    http://www.vi-sand.jp/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for letting me know, Anonymousさん! I went by today and found your suspicion was correct. The lovely Vi-Sand had been replaced by yet another yakiniku place. Boo! How sad, it was such a nice little restaurant.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...