Open for dinner, lunch and snacks, Marl's menu changes often and with the season, using organic ingredients sourced from Kochi's nearby famous Sunday farmer's market. No animal products are used in the kitchen.

Menu items include tasty Japanese favourites like udon, yakisoba and onigiri, but the most popular item at noon is the daily lunch set (¥850) that consists of five or six little dishes presented in the Japanese style: rice, soup, and various other 'tastes' – usually something tofu-based (such as the remarkable fried tofu and corn cakes), vegies and a salad. Although it's perfectly enough food, and perfectly delicious, the hungry (or simply gluttonous) may want to upsize to the lunch, coffee and dessert set (¥1300) which includes cake and a warm drink at the end of the meal. A vegan bento is available to takeaway (¥700).

Those hankering for something sweet can choose from a small selection of delicious homemade scones, cakes or the sweet of the day, served as a set with one of the specialty drinks such as dandelion coffee (¥300-680). The dinner menu is a set course priced from ¥3500; organic beer and sake are available in the evenings.

Tiny Marl is a light-filled, peaceful place that shows care not just in its food; wooden (non-disposable!) chopsticks grace the tables, the pretty menu is handwritten and includes photographs of the food and the farmers who provide it, and the complimentary Japanese tea served is homemade and almost-unbelievably delicious. But the best thing is, of course, that it's pure vegan – a rarity in Japan.

Marl Natural Restaurant
1st floor Okamura-Kasei Building, 6-13 Nijudai-cho, Kochi City
Tel 088-875-4322
Pure Vegan

WORDS: Lisa Dempster