Chef Lee Anne Wong has brought her Hawaii Koko Head Cafe to Tokyo. In Hawaii it is a popular brunch café. What’s unique about Koko Head Cafe Tokyo is that it’s also open for dinner. In Hawaii it’s a brunch restaurant so closes in the afternoon. So stop by later in the day for a…
Category: cafe
Bagel Breakfast
I was so excited at this cheap breakfast I spilled the coffee. Only 450 yen ($3.40) and it includes the coffee. Today’s bagel was kokutō or black sugar. The boiled egg comes with a bit of salt that is wrapped up in paper. I almost missed it at first as the paper package is so…
Kyoto Poco Kissaten
Near Kyōto station is Poco kissaten. I picked it for breakfast as it was open from 6:00 a.m. The morning sando set is a bargain 650 yen ($5) and includes a cup of coffee. The sliver of a shop is in a retro building in a part of the city that is being completely rebuilt…
Cafe Haiti
Café Haiti has been serving dry curry since 1974. The shop is located in a basement mall near Shinjuku Station called Subnade. Cafe Haiti specializes in coffee and this dry curry dish. The curry is made with minced meat and finely chopped vegetables and is rich with spices. It is served over a bed of…
Renoir Kissaten
Renoir is a kissaten chain with branches throughout Tokyo. The morning set starts at only 60 yen (45 cents) on top of the price of a drink for a thick slice of toast, soup, and a hard boiled egg. Coffee starts at 730 yen ($5.50). The special sando morning set includes a teriyaki chicken sandwich…
City Bakery
The deli plate at @citybakeryjapan. Only 990 yen ($7). There is also selection of breads, both sweet and savory. Many of my clients say that they feel like they are not getting enough vegetables when visiting Japan. So this is one option to get one’s fill of vegetables. Sadly City Bakery has closed in New York…
Amanoya Tamago Sando
Aiste Miseviciute of Luxeat introduced me to Amanoya tamago sando in Azabu Jūban. I visited the shop with her and she placed orders for their saké cake to bring back home as omiyage gifts. https://www.luxeat.com/ The egg sandwich is not the Tokyo style of boiled eggs with mayonnaise but the Kansai style of dashimaki tamago,…
Odamusubi Breakfast in Shinjuku Station
新宿駅のおにぎりモーニング。 Onigiri breakfast at Shinjuku station. Odamusubi is part of Odakyu department store. Diners have a selection of onigiri filled with tart umeboshi, pickled takana greens, spicy mentaiko cod roe, and more. The breakfast is rounded out with three small dishes and miso soup. I love that some of the onigiri is made with rice…
Shibuya Woodbury Coffee
Avocado toast at Woodbury Coffee located between Shibuya and Ebisu stations. Excellent espresso. Diners choose between a light or dark roast. Busy produce shop nearby. Branches in Daikanyama, Yoga, Gakugei Daigaku, and Ogikubo. My friend tells me the salads are delicious. Grateful to my friends for putting this on my radar. They love it so…
Tokyo Station Aroma Kissaten
Aroma is a kissaten in the underground Yaechika mall at Tokyo Station. It is on the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. Yae short for Yaesu and chika for basement. Aroma’s morning set is a bargain 600 yen ($4.50). Coffee, boiled egg, thick cut toast, butter, jam, and azuki sweet red bean paste. The siphon coffee…
Saito’s Coffee Kissaten
Saito’s Coffee has been in business since 1948 (Showa 23). On a quiet back street between Kanda Station and Mitsukoshi department store. Before work the kissaten coffee shop was quiet. Most of the customers walked in for a cup of hand drip coffee for a bargain 250 yen ($1.90). To sit down inside away from…
Le Pain Quotidien Roppongi
When I lived in Brussels my local bakery was Le Pain Quotidien. I loved sitting at the wooden communal table sharing jars of jam and nutella with the other diners. The ham and Gruyere cheese omelette with a side salad and bread is a nice start to the day. The bakery has three jams and…
Matsumoto Kissa Senzu Wagashi
Kissa Senzu serves modern and traditional wagashi sweets inside of the historic Kaiundo confectionary shop, opened in 1884 in Matsumoto. Monaka, a crispy wafer is served with a flight of three types of red beans (smooth, chunky, and whole). A fun way to compare the textures. Dorayaki of two small pancakes stuffed with sweet anko…
Matsumoto cohiludo Oyaki
We are visiting Matsumoto in Nagano for winter holidays. One of our first stops was at the charming cohiludo café. It is on the main street leading to Matsumoto Castle from the station. Oyaki are stuffed dumplings, a local dish from Nagano prefecture. My favorite is the Nozawana, a mustard green leaf – also a…
Mikado Kissaten Hot Dog Breakfast
The morning hot dog set at Mikado kissaten in Nihonbashi. Mikado has been roasting coffee beans and serving coffee since 1948. The shop is also famous for its mocha soft serve. Service here is very kind. Tokyo-to, Chūō-ku, Nihonbashi Muromachi 1-6-7 https://mikado-coffee.com
Parlour Kimuraya Kissaten
The morning coffee set at Kimuraya kissaten in the Shinbashi Building near Shinbashi station. Thick toast, boiled egg, and coffee for 490 yen ($3.50). I added a salad and was tickled. Fun presentation – and pineapples! I love these retro coffee shops. The music playing was from when I lived in Japan in the 80s…
Kanazawa Kazu Nakashima Fruit Mochi
Mochi stuffed with a sweet white bean paste and seasonal fruit. Café @Kazu_Nakashima in the Higashi Chaya district of Kanazawa specializes in fruits mochi. The building housing the cafe dates to the Edo period (1603-1867) and is as charming as the sweets. The shop serves teas, other sweets, and mattcha latte. Chef Nakashima is a…
Le Pain de Joel Robuchon
One of my favorite bakeries in Tokyo is from the famous chef Joel Robuchon, for savory breads made with excellent ingredients. Le Pain de Joel Robuchon has recently opened near Shinjuku station in the NEWoMaN mall. Imagine one of France’s top chefs creating breads and sweets using French and Japanese ingredients? I love the l’Atelier…
Sadaharu Aoki
Sadaharu Aoki is a Japanese pastry chef who first made his name in Paris before moving back to Tokyo. His retail shop with a café near Yurakucho station is a nice spot to rest your feet and rejuvenate with French pastries, some with Japanese flavors like yuzu, mattcha, and wasabi. The mattcha served at his…
Aoyama Coutume Coffee
Parisian coffee shop Coutume has a branch in the fashionable Aoyama district. I am impressed that they got a nice location on Kotto Dori (street). Coutume offers both single origin pour-over coffees as well as espresso-based drinks. In photos the shop looks brightly lit and white, which it is in the front of the shop….
Dominique Ansel Bakery Tokyo
For my birthday we went to Dominique Ansel Bakery’s Cafe on the second floor of his shop. The menu has always intrigued me, especially since I saw a photo of his avocado toast. New on the menu is chicken pot pie, which was the best pot pie I have ever had. A crispy golden crust…
Koganei Kakigori Cafe Cula
Tokyo has just gone through the longest heat wave on history, eight days of temperatures over 35 degrees. One way to cool down in Japanese summers is with shaved ice, kakigōri. Look for the simple kanji sign 氷, usually written in a bright red kanji on a square blue and white flag. We live out on the…
Rose Bakery – Ginza and Marunouchi
I am a big fan of Rose Bakery. An English bakery that first opened in Paris and is now dotting Tokyo. This casual cafe has a large delicatessen-style refrigerator in each shop that showcases the colorful salads and baked goods. While the cakes and sweets are tempting, I am always come here for the salads….
Maison Landemaine
At the French Culinary Institute I completed the bread baking program before doing the culinary program. I love bread. Tokyo is a wonderful city for bread. There are many French boulangeries in Tokyo including Viron, Maison Kayser, and Gontran Cherrier. Add to that impressive collection Maison Landemaine from Paris. I had heard that there were long…
Best Cafe for Train Fans – N3331
Did you know that in the heart of Tokyo there is a cafe that sits on the train tracks? It is actually located in between the inbound and outbound lines of the Chuo line. The station is just between Ochanomizu and Kanda. It is also a short walk from Akihabara station. Here is the view…
Aoyama Blue Bottle Coffee
Blue Bottle has arrived to Tokyo. The first shop, in Kiyosumi, is on the other side of the city for me. So, even though I live in Tokyo it is about an hour from where I live. Blue Bottle’s second shop has opened in Aoyama. It’s a busy shop and not the best place to…
Kichijoji Light Up Coffee
At my local coffee shop, Cribe, in Kokubunji, I often meet coffee shop owners. The other day I met a very young Aihara-san whose shop, Light Up Coffee, is in Kichijoji. Light Up was on my my radar thanks to recommendations from Twitter friends. Arigato, Twitter! Light Up Coffee is about a seven-minute walk from…
Kokubunji Cribe Coffee
Coffee is hot, hot, hot in Tokyo. San Francisco’s Blue Bottle recently opened in Kiyosumi Shirakawa and lines have been very long. Throughout the city it is becoming easier to find a great cup of coffee. I am thrilled as my own ‘hood, Kokubunji, has its first third-wave coffee shop, Cribe. The owner, Yoshida-san is…
Takashimaya Patissieria Sweets Counter
If you have a sweet tooth be sure to visit Shinjuku Takashimaya’s Patissieria in the depachika. The concept is brilliant, over a hundred signature sweets from patisseries throughout Tokyo all displayed together. Carefully peruse the sweets and upon selecting one, or two if you like, take a seat at the counter and order a coffee…
Japanese Kissaten – Ginza Tsubakiya
Some twenty years ago friends brought me to this coffee shop in Ginza. It was my first time in one of these classic kissaten 喫茶店 (coffee shop). I had no idea that such places existed. It felt as if we had stepped back in time. The coffee was (and still is) expensive, but one could order…
Monzennakacho Monz Cafe
Monzennakacho is a very cool neighborhood that is close to the heart of Tokyo. Accessible via the Tozai or Oedo subway lines. Part of the area abuts the Sumidagawa River and there is a river that runs through it that offers boat rides under the cherry blossoms in spring. I lived here for a few…
Omotesando Koffee – closed as of Dec. 30, 2015
Note, Omotesando Koffee has closed. See note here: http://ooo-koffee.com/omotesando.html Omotesando Koffee, while known for its good coffee, it is perhaps more famous for its “ko-hi- kashi” or coffee sweet. Kunitomo-san at the shop said it is a baked purin, which is like a creme custard, but that flour is added to the mixture. It has a crispy…
Viron Boulangerie
My go-to lunch when on a run is a sandwich from Viron. Excellent baguettes with a chewy crumb that can stand up to the crispy exterior. The sandwiches are classic French-style including pate de campagne, rillettes, and jambon. The large window display case in the front of the store has a dizzying array of sandwiches…
Could This Be Tokyo’s Best Coffee? Chatei Hatou
One of the great pleasures of giving food tours in Tokyo is meeting passionate people who introduce me to spots in Tokyo. The metropolis is so big that it is impossible to make it to every shop that you want to go to. Sometimes it takes someone to put a shop back on your radar….
Takano Fruit Shop – Melon Juice
The hundred dollar muskmelon. Yes, it exists. Most of the cost of the melon, I have been told by a fruit store executive, is for the air-conditioning of the greenhouses in summer or for the heaters in winter. The muskmelon juice at Takano fruit café in Shinjuku Takashimaya is a nice alternative. The shop also…
Le Pain Quotidien at nonowa Higashi-Koganei
I lived in Brussels for a year and one of the things I remember the most is the Le Pain Quotidien down the street from my apartment. The bakery opened up early in the morning so I could stop by and get a croissant or pain au chocolat to start the day. The large communal…
Turret Coffee at Tsukiji
Turret Coffee is a godsend for anyone visiting Tsukiji Market. Up until now I couldn’t find a coffee shop that had espresso. Surprising considering that most of Tsukiji’s business takes place in the early morning hours. Turret is the name of the vehicles the delivery boys drive at Tsukiji Market. Turret Coffee opened in October, 2013….
Japanese Fruit Shops – Nihonbashi Sembikiya 日本橋千疋屋
*All photos by Aiste Miseviciute of Luxeat. Check out her blog for many beautiful photos of her meals in Japan. A visit to Japan for any foodie would not be complete without a careful peruse of the upscale fruit shops. My personal favorite is Nihonbashi Sembikiya, which is Japan’s oldest fruit shop. Sembikiya originated in 1834…
Rose Bakery
*** Note the Kichijoji Rose Bakery has closed. I am so heartbroken. Kichijoji is a great station to visit that is close to both Shinjuku and Shibuya. It can be reached by the Chuo line from Shinjuku or the Inokashira line from Shibuya. Inokashira Koen is a large park just minutes from the station. It…
Tokyo’s Best Coffee – Five Questions for Mal Simpson
While Japan is known for its rich tea culture, there is no shortage of coffee shops, some with a cult following. Many citizens of this fast-paced metropolis stay energized with java. Shochu is more up my alley so I asked a friend, and coffee aficionado, who has made the rounds of Tokyo’s top coffee destinations…
Toraya Cafe in Omotesando
There is no better way to beat the Tokyo heat in the middle of the day than with an ice-cold sweet. This suika (watermelon) mizore at Toraya Cafe in Omotesando Hills hits the spot. What caught my attention to this when I first spotted it on a friend’s facebook page was that it comes…
Cafe Salvador in Marunouchi
I am very excited to hear about this new cafe that opened today in Marunouchi. Cafe Salvador will have magazines, both Japanese and foreign, for customers to peruse while drinking their java. Titles include Vanity Fair, GQ, The New Yorker, Conde Naste Traveller, and more. The cafe collaboration with Conde Naste and the Cafe…
Tsukushi in Ningyocho 人形町のつくし
Tsukushi つくし Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-1-12 中央区日本橋人形町2-1-12 03-3664-7357 8:00 – 20:00 http://www.ntv.co.jp/burari/030329/info02.html (Japanese) Tsukushi is a kanmidokoro (sweets café) that offers the classics of anmitsu and its many variations. There are sweets to go, but the real reason to come here is to sit and in the café to indulge in their signature purin, a…
Digging into an Ice Cold Kakigori
On summer visits to Japan as a child my favorite sweets were kakigori topped with milk. Only when I grew up did I realize that it wasn’t milk but it was sweetened condensed milk. No better way to cool down in the Tokyo heat than a bowl of shaved ice topped with a sweet syrup….
Tokyo Sweet Trends
Sweets made from choux crème in many forms are popping up throughout the metropolis. Some of what you will find include the traditional Paris-Brest at Patisserie Aimee Vibert, a pistachio Saint-honore at D’eux Patisserie in Tokyo station, or an éclair topped with a brittle candy at Aux Delices de Kenji. Patisserie Aimee Vibert Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi…
Tokyo Sweet Trends 2011
Dessert specialty restaurants and several tea salons are leading the trends for sweets. Chef Kazuyori Morita trained in France and each afternoon between lunch and dinner, Libertable, becomes a ‘salon de the’ with desserts and tea or champagne. Classical French desserts with a twist, for example Mont Blanc with a meringue made of porcini mushrooms…
Bunmeido in Ginza for Castella and Coffee 文明堂
Bunmeido 文明堂 Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-7-10 中央区銀座5-7-10 03-3574-0002 11:00 – 21:00, no holidays http://www.bunmeido.com/ (Japanese) The original Bunmeido shop in Nagasaki and has been making castella cakes since 1900. On the main street, Ginza Dori, sits a large coffee shop with a two-story stained glass wall that look more appropriate for a church. Bunmeido is known…
Cha Ginza 茶銀座
Cha Ginza 茶銀座 Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-5-6 03-3571-1211 11:00 – 19:00 (closed most Mondays, check website) http://www.uogashi-meicha.co.jp/shop_01.html (Japanese) This cool, sleek modern building dedicated to tea in the heart of Ginza, this shop definitely draws the attention of passersby with its glass façade and long, narrow counter on the first floor. Uogashi Meicha has a shop…
Ginza Toraya 銀座とらや
Toraya is a purveyor to the Imperial Family and its rich history can be dated back to the 1600s. The signature item at Toraya is the yokan cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves. This is considered one of the top shops for wagashi, in particular, the yokan. The yokan comes in several flavors including azuki, mattcha,…
Kinozen in Kagurazaka 神楽坂の紀の善
Kinozen 紀の善 Shinjuku-ku, Kagurazaka 1-12 新宿区神楽坂1-12 Tel. 03-3269-2920 11:00 – 21:00, Monday – Saturday 12:00 – 18:00, Sunday & holidays Closed the 3rd Sunday of each month no website Kinozen is one of the cities popular kanmidokoro. Located just next door to Fujiya, Kinozen too often has a line out the front door. Their…
Food Sake Tokyo 