Tulip Soup

Buzzwords like organic, healthy, and all-natural are tossed around these days like a good salad should be – but at the recently sprung-up Tulip, a bright and airy cafe by the Yakuin four-way intersection, they mean business. Supportive of Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) and the Slow Food movement, Tulip’s veggie-based super-menu of soups, pastas, burgers, pilafs, sweets and dessert soups is made primarily of vegetables sourced from a dedicated organic farmer in Yufuin, Oita. The seasonal soups are so thick and rich that the half ‘n’ half combo (525 yen) is served side by side in the same bowl, and the freshly-baked brown bread and genmai-blended rice are heartier and healthier than their standard white counterparts. Almost everything can be packaged for take-out, but the stylish interior is part of the experience. For lunch or dinner, take a seat on the Scandinavian-inspired blonde pine furniture (custom-built in Kyushu) and enjoy the exquisite cuisine while an eclectic soundtrack pumps from Hungarian-made electrostatic speakers. Sip on a variety of herbal teas, freshly-blended vegetable juices, or trendy Firefly supplement drinks while perusing culture magazines, funky art, and vintage European cups and saucers offered for sale around the room. Bring the whole family and chow down with your pets in the white, hard-floored space at the front of the cafe, where well-behaved critters are allowed, and are even served organic biscuits (250 yen) in special bowls. Attention to detail and discerning taste pervade not only the food at Tulip, but the interior and atmosphere as well. It takes more than cash and impeccable taste to create a place like this; as manager Nakamura says, “We’re proposing a lifestyle,” and dining at Tulip makes you want to share in that vision.

Tulip Soup 1F Forest Bldg., 1-10-6 Yakuin, Chuo-ku

092-739-9088