Saina Vegetarian Japanese Cuisine

Had an order of the Kinoko Miso (~$ 6): Miso soup with shimeji, eryngii, & portabello mushrooms, scallions, tofu, and kaiware sprouts served in an iron pot. Food was delicious, staff was careful (pointing out the validity of a coupon), and the ambiance was cozy.

I see from the last review that Saina is no more! Now I really regret my procrastination in reviewing. This little place was a gem, cozy and quiet, with absolutely delicious food! They had a wide variety of creative dishes and sushi– all vegan. Each dish was so beautifully presented they were edible art pieces. The flavors were a balance of subtle, spiced, savory. I brought my mother in for her very first experience of Japanese cuisine and the staff made her feel very welcome (she even felt confident enough to try the chopsticks!). The desserts were unusual and always a delightful adventure.
Best wishes to the owners and staff. I hope you will open again in the future.
Thank you for the wonderful culinary memories.

Oh no Oh No Oh no!!!
CLOSED! We try to eat here yesterday and there are no signs and all the windows and doors were papered over.
So sad – we loved this place.
10000X better than Cha-​ya. Hope they relocate

I was hungry, I had invited friends to join me, and Saina was closed. Their own posted hours and website said they SHOULD be open, but Saina was closed. No special message on the door. No update on their outgoing phone message. No answer when I knocked on the door.
Just empty.
That’s how my tummy felt. I ended up going to Walnut Creek with my friends to get our vegan food.
Will still give two stars to reflect previous visits where I’ve enjoyed their food and hospitality. But if rating on this visit alone, would be a big negative :-(

First impression: small, intimate place. Attentive service. Not very busy mid-​week for dinner.
Lots of variety on the menu. I would not have had a clue what to order if I had not already seen reviews on Unilocal.Went with gyoza, Nasu, Vegan Roll and Sansai with soba noodles.
Gyoza were good, but not great. Typically they get a lot of flavor from meat, but with no meat and no savory character built back in, they fell a bit flat.
Nasu was the highlight of the meal. The entire dish was carried by the miso glaze — delicious! Would have loved more than 2 tiny bites of portabello though.
Vegan Roll, like the gyoza, was good but not great. Definitely lacking in flavor. I’ve had futomaki rolls with far more flavor.
Sansai… looked interesting… smell was not very appealing. Flavor was very mild. Good thing there was a shaker of seasoning on the table to spice it up.
Overall, interesting experience, but most dishes seemed to be lacking in flavor. I’ve had better veg food at «regular» sushi bars.

I’m a huge fan of real sushi so I was a little wary trying this out with my vegan/​vegetarian family members. The food was absolutely amazing though! Presentation gets 5 stars. Taste gets 5 stars. Service gets 5 stars as well. The vegetable rolls were great. I recommend the saina roll. The tempura roll was also quite tasty. My family members got a soup and they said it was really good too.
If you’re looking for a quality meal, look no further.

VEGAN! I always ate the veggie rolls at sushi places, never liked meat or fish. Avacodo roll and asparagus rolls are always good. Came across this place, and gave it a try, good stuff.
4 items for $ 20, good deal. Side of rice, 3 rolls.

All right awesome place to get vegetarian sushi. Love the rolls and veggie sushi. The soup is excellent as well.
If this place were closer by we’d be regulars :)

Solid vegan food. Very simple and nutritious. Reasonably priced.
Ginger tasted a little weird, but not a big deal.
Avocado roll and hijiki nigiri were good. If I’m in the area and need a quick lunch, I’d go there again.

I will update this regularly until I have tried EVERYTHING!
Gyoza & Saina Nabe ROCK!
I must return for dinner one night to imbibe on their sake too…

Someone sent me a heads-​up that there was a new vegan Japanese home style café in the area — and I’ve been wanting to check it out. I finally made it there and was surprised to see that the menu was exactly the same as Cha-​Ya, with only certain names changed (ie, Berkeley Roll is the Concord Roll, the Cha-​Ya roll is the Saina roll).
Great — I got this. My friend and I were seated — there were two other tables of two. I ordered before the other tables even got in an order. I asked to have items brought out as they were ready. Server disappeared to the back and returned, taking the orders of the other two tables.
Then — food started coming out — the same items we had just ordered were ALSO ordered by the other tables, and went to the other tables first. In fact — we waited 30 minutes before we even got our first item.
The food was delicious and followed the Cha-​Ya recipes pretty closely but there was definitely something missing in the service. We had to ask for water (twice) and it just wasn’t any fun waiting for food — she was writing up the check for one of the other tables before we even got our first dish! That’s weird. Seems to me if 3 tables order two of the same dishes — that should make it pretty easy to make up 3 of that item to send it out to all the tables at once — right? Esp if the deep fryer is involved. I’ve never had to wait long at Cha-​Ya…
I might give Saina a chance again in a few months but then… I don’t get to Concord much.

Vegan Sushi… is that possible? I thought it wasn’t, but this place proved me wrong. If you’re vegan/​vegetarian, you can only have so much of the typical Cucumber Roll, Veggie Roll and/​or Avocado Roll. I think to myself, is it so hard to come up with other veggie rolls. C’mon, there is eggplant, mushrooms, tofu, asparagus and I can go on and on… why do Sushi restaurants only provide a few veggie options. Is it their way of torturing us Vegans/​Vegetarians? Seriously, veggies are cheaper than Seafood. *Sigh* enough of my ranting…
When we found out there was an all vegan sushi restaurant opening up in CoCo County we were excited. Why is that? Drrrr… CoCo County is not known as a Vegan/​Vegetarian place. I don’t know what they are known for, but it sure is not that!!!
When we pulled up to this restaurant, I thought… this is a small place. Approximately 25 people allowed at one time. Surprisingly, the turnaround time is quite fast. We didn’t have to wait for a table very long. We ordered, Sukiyaki, Hangetsu (deep fried Portobello), Tempura Roll and for dessert Fried Banana and Green Tea Ice Cream with Pineapple.
I personally didn’t care for the Sukiyaki. I felt like there was more «stuff» then there was broth. It also seemed like it was more of a cabbage/​onion soup. The menu indicated it contained noodles. I guess if you throw a few strands of noodles in the bowl, then you can add it in the menu description. The Hangetsu was good, especially with the sauce they add to the side.
The vegan rolls is the way to go. Forget the rest of the dinner menu and just go straight to the rolls.
The dessert is nothing to get excited about. The pineapple added to the Green Tea ice cream was interesting and a nice touch. I never had that before. The deep fried bananas are just like any deep fried bananas, I’ve tasted but what makes it unique is the sauce they add on top which starts of as an ok deep fried banana to a WOW! That is good.
Customer service is great. They have the «old-​fashion» Japanese hospitality, which I love when I come to a Japanese restaurant. The prices here are as high as any «standard» Japanese restaurant.
When a guy asks you out on a date and lets you choose the type of meal you want to eat and you choose Japanese. You know why you do it, because it’s expensive. Don’t play innocent and say «oh but I like sushi»…if that’s really your reason then I dare you to just order the Bento Box… Ya that’s what I thought you know you’re not going to order no Bento Box.
Guys? Out of curiosity, why the heck do you want to take a girl out on a date to a Japanese restaurant? Who want to smell fish breath? Unless your use to the fishy smell. Then all power to you! Maybe it’s the joy of seeing if the girl can take the roll into her mouth and swallow without choking. Maybe that’s why my veggie roll ended up looking like this…

I’m so happy that I’ve finally discovered Todos Santos Plaza. They have not one, but TWO vegetarian restaurants there! That’s two more than they have in Walnut Creek, which is where I live at the moment.
Saina is a cute little hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant. It’s great for a relaxing meal, seeing as how it’s so very quiet inside. I felt as though they could have used some tunes playing in the background, perhaps some traditional Japanese music. Is that too cheesy?
The service was really friendly. There was one waitress manning three tables, but she was super nice to us. I ordered two of the lunch combos, so that my mother and I could each have a miso soup. We shared everything: Gyoza, Ten Bou, Agedashi Tofu, and a small sushi plate.
Everything was delicious. The veggie sushi was my favorite! I’m definitely going to order more sushi rolls on my next visit, and perhaps the Spring Rolls. The other tables ordered these, and they looked super fine, their fried exterior glistening in the sunlight. Oh, and the miso soup was lovely. Not too salty or acidic. I could have slurped down an entire pot of this stuff!
We had the cold barely tea to drink. It’s served in chilled pint glasses. So refreshing! I’m half Korean, and iced barley tea is frequently served with meals (we call it boricha). Oh, and it’s buy one glass, get one free. Awesome!
The menu has some definite similarities to Cha-​Ya, but what I really love is their prices. It’s SO affordable! My mom and I had a filling lunch (two meals plus two beverages) for just under 21 bucks.
I left feeling light, happy, and ready to face the world.

I know. You’re thinking, this can’t be right. Everyone else has been giving this place 4 – 5 stars. Trust me, I’m even toying with giving this place a 1, but I’m trying to be nice here.
So why the doom and gloom? The one time I came here for lunch. It was a Friday. Typical lunch time. We had a group of 3 people. We arrived here and only 1 other person was dining, so we were promptly seated. The place is cute, but very small. Probably only seats 20 people.
We ordered our food after waiting for our waitress for some time possibly 20 min. I figured no biggie, it’s a Friday, we’re in no particular rush. My colleagues got their food after 15 min or so and I was still waiting. Mind you, no one else came in during this time. I ordered the Hana if you’re wondering. So finally… after over half an hour (possibly even 45 min) of waiting, I get my food. No apologies for the fact my other friends were eating and almost done with their food before I even started.
While we were dining in the establishment, there were no refills of our drinks. Even more, when we were clearly done, still no bill came. I think we finally got fed up and asked for the bill and boxes. My meal experience here spanned almost 2 hours. At this point, even though the food was exceptionally good (VERY refreshing, heightened flavors of veggies), the service was just so poor that I will unlikely (unless dragged by friends) go here again.
Maybe to-​go would be a better option, but who knows how their time estimates would be…

I’m a vegetarian and I lived in Japan for three years, so I was reallly excited to stumble upon Saina while visiting the East Bay. My husband and I ordered
— Hana bowl ($ 7.25): mixed sushi bowl with shiitake, lotus root, yam, and hijiki — a small black seaweed. Very Japanese!
— Saina Fat Sushi Roll ($ 7.25): deep fried sushi roll with avocado and yam — interesting, but probably won’t order again.
— Natto Thin Sushi Roll ($ 3.40): fermented soybeans in a sushi roll — nostalgic for us, but definitely an acquired taste.
— Shira Ae ($ 5.75): blanched spinach and lotus root with a sauce –sooo good
This was plenty of food — we took most of the Hana bowl home with us and we were both stuffed. I’m not in the East Bay often, but I’m definitely stopping here the next time I visit. I’m also absolutely sure this would go over well with non-​vegetarians. Awesome find!

Yummy!!! I definitely recommend this place. This is coming from someone who’s decidedly NOT a vegetarian. I love meat, and I was worried I would miss having fish in my sushi. I didn’t. Everything tasted fresh and satisfyingly flavorful. Saina just opened in Feb. 2013, so it’s pretty brand new. Definitely check it out! It seems like it’s off to a great start, and I really hope it stays.
The space is small (about 6 tables and bar seating) but welcoming, and there was plenty of room on a Saturday night. The woman serving tables was really sweet and unassuming, and she seemed to genuinely appreciate positive feedback (from multiple tables) about her restaurant.
The menu is pretty darn big. If you’re wondering how much to order, I have an average appetite and found that 1 full plate plus 1 big roll was the perfect amount of food without overstuffing myself. My boyfriend, who is a bottomless pit, was happy with the dinner combination (2 full plates, miso soup, and salad) plus an extra bowl of soup… although he said he could have eaten more.
The Nasu (broiled eggplant, portobello mushroom, and fried tofu with miso-​paste glaze and edamame garnish) was freakin’ delicious. I loved it. It seemed like a really simple dish, but it was perfectly executed.
I also really loved the Diamond Roll (organic brown rice, eryngii mushroom, spinach, asparagus, wrapped in avocado). It was really satisfying. I think a little part of me just loved it because of the gratuitous amounts of perfectly ripe avocado… you never get that much avocado on sushi at regular restaurants. Glee!
Final dinner price at our table came out to be around $ 15 for each average eater (me and friend) and about $ 20 for the bottomless pit (boyfriend).
Parking is easy — there’s a private lot behind the restaurant, with the entrance on Concord Blvd and the exit on Colfax.

Since when did Concord become the new Vegan hotspot? With Veggie Today
and now Saina, Concord has the market cornered on Vegan cuisine in Contra Costa County.
It’s a small café sized restaurant that fills up surprisingly fast, considering it’s Vegetarian. Maybe they’re getting all those n00bs coming in that think fish isn’t meat, therefore «Vegetarian»… Whatever your reason for visiting, you’re going to get an excellent tasting meal if you love trying new things and enter with an open mind. No faux meats here. Everything as described on the menu appears to consist of creative interpretations resembling traditional Japanese food.
The food is very different for me considering I usually stick to cucumber or avocado rolls when dining Japanese. The menu is very similar to Cha Ya in Berkeley (or SF)
but the service is so much better. Not sure if there’s any relation between them other than their menu.
Their combination special is an excellent deal allowing you to pick and choose two entrée items. I was thinking they would give you smaller portions of each but they arrived full size. We chose the Sukiyaki and the Hangetsu.
The Sukiyaki had so many different vegetables in it, I couldn’t even identify them all. The overall flavor of it was quite complex. So much so I couldn’t really pinpoint what the flavor was. It had a faint sweetness, it had spices but not the hot kind. All I know is those different flavors added up to one huge bowl of delicious soup.
We had a tough time picking out the roll we wanted to roll with so I picked the Tempura Roll because you can never go wrong with frying anything. It was good but I made a mess of things eating it due to its large size and my lack of chopstick prowess. With such a large variety to choose from, I hope one day I’ll be able to say I sampled all of their rolls.
The Hangetsu (deep fried portobello) came out neatly prepared with the kiwi sauce plopped artfully on the corners. The sauce had an acquired taste to it, but it quickly grew on me. The eggplant was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside without the usual sliminess that is sometimes associated with the purple wonder.
Even the miso soup deserves special mention for not being as pungent as some other versions. While I enjoy the strong miso flavor, others do not. This is a good happy-​medium that everyone can agree on.
For dessert we ended up with the Green Tea Ice Cream since this fledgling Vegan place didn’t have all their deserts available yet. When they do, look out Sundae, I’m coming for you! The Green Tea flavor was pronounced and the ice cream wasn’t as creamy as a dairy version but I would certainly order it again if there weren’t so many other options.
The service was outstanding and you can see they want to succeed. They already earned my business based on the name alone. The service, the amazing food, and 10% off grand opening offer are just added bonuses. This is the type of food I appreciate having when dining out because it would take an extraordinary amount of effort and ingredients to recreate at home.
Concord is starting to make Livermore look like Anderson, CA. I think it’s time for a move…
I beg my honey to take me here as often as possible:

Woohoo! A new vegan restaurant in Concord? Yes! The menu is 100% vegan with no fake meats; the way it should be! Seems that the miso soup comes with your order even if you order a sushi roll. Love that!
So far I’ve had a few of the sushi rolls and the nasu (broiled tofu, portobello mushroom & eggplant with miso glaze). Everything was delicious. I enjoyed it so much I returned the next day. I can’t wait to try everything on the menu!

Robert and I had lunch at this Family Owned Restaurant yesterday. I was impressed by the beauty and the flavor of all we ate.
Service was great although we had a bit of a language barrier. That was fine because I managed to get everything we wanted.
Restaurant is clean and pretty fast service. LOVED the pot stickers and spring rolls! Their miso was one of the best I’ve ever had.
We’ll be back!

Fresh, flavorful! No pretend meat! Real vegan food that is what is.
The vegetables are so fresh and delicious. The food is clearly prepared lovingly with great attention to detail.
I was so grateful to know that everything on the menu was an option for me. Even my husband who is not vegetarian found the food amazing. We plan to go back and eat a lot more food. Tempura sushi, watch out!
Yes, you can get sake here as well as beer and wine.
Very clean and new.