Usagi
“If you like vegan meat substitutes, this is the place!”
When it comes to hot favourites among the vegan community in Gothenburg, Usagi tends to be mentioned rather often. This Asian-influenced pub in Gamlestaden seems like the last place to be vegan-friendly, but they have a very large vegan menu. Who would have thought? I never got around to eat there for a while as it never looked all too inviting - plus a bit out of the way - but here we are.
With the location in Gamlestaden, near other cult classic places like Old Corner, Usagi is generally in a favourable place. Considering Gamlestaden has a history of being vegetarian-friendly, it makes sense to have built up such a menu. However, when entering, it does not feel great. Dated interior from the 1980s, including the smell of sticky beer and cigarettes, right next to the gambling machines. It really brought me back in time.
For dining in, they have a separate area up a flight of stairs that is a little bit nicer, but still very odd. In any case, let’s look at the food and the menu has it’s own vegan section. It’s more of a typical Asian dishes, just vegan type of menu though. So there is your vegan satay chicken, your vegan tom yam shrimps, your vegan tikka curry. You get the gist. So, the menu is based on vegan meat substitutes and basically anything that is “Asian”.
We went for Sushi, Tom Yam and Sichuan “Beef”. It all came quite fast and the sushi looked alright. Contrary to many simpler sushi places that focus on tofu skin and avocado, even here substitutes take the crown. It’s alright. The mains arrived shortly thereafter. And well, it’s what you expect to be honest. Pretty average. Probably also with the non-vegan version, but here you have average and weird substitutes on top of the average dishes.
I mean, it’s alright, and for the price point of 159 SEK it’s acceptable enough, but I kept asking myself: “why would anyone eat here over literally any other Asian place?”. It’s just your typical take-away place without much love - what a fitting result considering the place is seemingly stuck in the 1980s.
So, unfortunately, the large vegan menu can only do so much in a pool of significantly better options for vegans elsewhere. Particularly Asian cuisine is by design vegan-friendly, so it is mind-boggling to me to see such a weird execution of it all. While I respect the large vegan menu, it doesn’t help that the place is the least welcoming I have seen in Gothenburg so far.
Nope, Usagi is nothing worth visiting.
Price:
Vegan Dish (Stir-fry, soup): 159 SEK
The Verdict
A surprisingly very large vegan menu in an odd location. Usagi offers an entire menu full of dishes and vegan meat substitutes to choose and combine from. While the idea is noble, the execution is poor. It’s a wild mix of different cuisines ranging from Thai, to Szechuan, over all the way to India. The vegan substitutes feel out of place and the question pops up what’s so wrong with tofu and a more traditional approach to the dishes. On top of that, the place is very dated, smells like cigarettes and old beer and is clearly not a place to bring someone you care about to. While I appreciate the vegan options, Usagi is stuck in the past and there are plenty of better options in Gothenburg that will not make your clothes smell like cigarettes after a visit.
2/5 Leaves
Pro
Very large vegan menu
Affordable
Con
Vegan dishes based on substitutes rather than traditional vegan-friendly dishes
More of a “sunkhak” than restaurant
Smell of cigarettes everywhere
Very dated interior
Just not a nice place to dine in
Location
Brahegatan 8
Opening Hours
Mo-Su: 11:00 - 01:00
