The Sailor Moon Cafe is a reoccurring limited-time-only event.
The Shining Moon Tokyo Restaurant has now closed down.
Updated: April 2022
THE VERDICT
Setting & Atmosphere
Food
Service
Value For Money
2.6
OVERALL SUMMARY
Skip the kawaii desserts and go for the real champions of justice – the main dishes
You’ve read my first impressions of anime cafe attractions like the Pokemon Cafe and the Chibiusa Cafe from the Sailor Moon Exhibition before. This time with Talyssa in town, we got to enjoy the delights of anime dining together!
Naturally, we both have the same fraternal appreciation for our childhood queen, Sailor Moon. Luckily for us, Japan had two new cafe attractions centred around our favourite anime series; the 2019 ‘Girls Night Out’ Sailor Moon Cafe pop-up and the permanent restaurant ‘SHINING MOON TOKYO.’ With our busy schedules, we were only able to go to the Sailor Moon Cafe pop-up cafe but was it the right choice? For love, justice and food here are our thoughts on the experience.
Setting & Atmosphere
n my humble opinion, recreating an anime themed experience should be all about the details and besides food, that should be reflected in the decor as well.
Being a recurring ‘limited time only’ event, the interior for the Girls Night Out Sailor Moon Cafe does well in putting ‘Sailor Moon themed bells and whistles’ on whatever surface they can.
Inside, the cafe was decorated with newly created artworks for the event (minus Sailor Pluto and Saturn on the main poster WTF) and a fun, bold colour scheme just like the 90’s show. The official gift shop, the iconic anime soundtrack and projected Sailor Moon videos all served as a good distraction while you waited for your food.
My only pet peeve was that the already small cafe felt so cramped! It’s almost like
everyone was packed in on top of each other like a tin of sardines.
The table space for two people was almost impossible to fit drinks, two mains and adding desert to the mix meant having to balance a plate on your lap. It slowly dawned upon us that this experience was best suited to a light snack spot, rather than a full meal. Dinner was a constant ‘knocking-of-elbows’ with the person next to you and with the time limit looming, you are pressured to eat, enjoy and experience the café before the next group comes in. A chilled experience? Think again!
Despite its flaws, it was a fun casual dine out but if you were to live out your true weeaboo fantasies, the SHINING MOON TOKYO restaurant would be the better choice. We provided some extra photos for comparison below:
Inside the Cafe
Cafe’s Gift Shop (unfortunately many things were already sold out)
hough not as bad as the Pokemon Cafe, the food at the Girls Night Out Sailor Moon Cafe was a bit more sophisticated, but was still a mixed bag of good and bad.
Let’s begin with the drinks menu. I loved that they had a drink for every single Sailor Scout with their own colours and flavours (yes, sweet justice for Sailor Pluto and Saturn). I thought it was a cute touch to put their casual outfit artwork on the straws and as a bonus, you also received a free random coaster. The “Makoto” mint and lemon combo sounded refreshing but the mint syrup tasted borderline like toothpaste. Talyssa’s “Rei” cassis and pomegranate was nice and both drinks were garnished with frozen fruit. While, the drink combinations were interesting, given the cold autumn weather it would have been better if the fruits were fresh.
For food, they had a lunch and dinner menu with dinner time being the most appealing for mains. Talyssa chose the Moonlight Risotto which came with 4 different sauces inspired by the original Sailor Scouts; Mercury (blueberry cheese), Mars (napolitana sauce), Jupiter (pesto) and Venus (capsicum relish). While the
flavours of this dish were quite good, it was a far cry from a risotto, with the texture of the rice being dry and hard. To this day, we are still left wondering why risotto would be served with a blueberry cheese sauce. Ah, the mysteries of Japanese-Western fusion.
In most situations, it usually goes without saying that the more expensive main options are generally much tastier.
My Chicken Steak Plate tasted great especially with the cheese sauce on top. It also came with a surprise glass of sparkling apple cider with rose petals inside and although I relish in the delight that it must have been a present from my man, Tuxedo Mask, it looked like I had grossly over-ordered and I didn’t realise my meal came with its own drink! Fml.
I digress, now we must talk about the desert because it was a massive let down. Although the Cosmic Heart Berry Sandwich looked good in the photo it also tasted super fake – like that artificial cherry flavouring which is a big “no” for me.
“Makoto” (mint and lemon soda) and “Rei” (cassis and pomegranate soda) (¥890 w/o tax each)
Moonlight Risotto (¥1,490 w/o tax) with the 4 different sauces inspired by the original Sailor Scouts;
Mercury (blueberry cheese), Mars (napolitana sauce), Jupiter (pesto) and Venus (capsicum relish)
Chicken Steak Plate with salad and soup set (¥1,990 w/o tax)
Cosmic Heart Berry Sandwich (¥1,690 w/o tax)
Service
or the first timers out there, anime cafe attractions almost always have a session time limit (this event was 1 hour and 20 minutes) and as a result are a bit systematic with a few steps to follow.
One thing I think I under-appreciated about the Pokemon Cafe was the ability to choose when your food arrives. As pop-up cafes are extremely busy, all the food comes at once which as mentioned before, is not great when your table is exceedingly small.
All-in-all, I really enjoyed all the freebies you can collect while dining at this event. It was like a personal challenge to collect everything. The wait staff were overall very bubbly and friendly.
Ticket Envelope Freebie
Random Pick Coaster
Table Mat Freebie
Numbered Ticket Card for the Gift Shop
VALUE FOR MONEY
onsidering the price of the gift shop items, the food, the entry fee and the “limited time only” aspect of the event, there’s a few things we need to factor in to determine our rating for the cafe’s overall value for money.
Unexpectedly, I was gobsmacked by the price of some of the items for sale. While the smaller trinkets at the gift shop like the acrylic key chains and postcards were reasonable in price (650 yen and 300 yen respectively), there were others that were grossly overpriced. For example, the Luna Glass Cup was a steep 1,600 yen and the Clear Bag was a whopping 1,800 yen. Holy crap! They might be collectable items but I can’t fathom anyone would pay top dollar to own something that basic.
Considering the quality of the food was comparable to meals served at local family restaurants like Denny’s or Gusto, the prices were a tad higher than we would expect to pay. With the consistent hits and misses with dishes and drinks, I definitely felt
cheated paying over 1,700yen for a subpar dessert (I’ll have that weird blueberry risotto combo instead, please).
After crunching the numbers including the price of the entry fee (650 yen), the average base price for one drink, one main and one dessert would be roughly 4,000 yen per person.
So, did we think it was money well spent?
Despite all these criticisms, our overall sentiment is that although it is indeed expensive and overpriced, what we’re paying for was the nostalgia and the experience to relive something that we love – and in that sense we found it enjoyable and “worth it” for the fun. Though if we were to recommend our readers one or the other, we think you should save your money for the SHINING MOON TOKYO instead for a better experience.
Acryclic Coaster and Key Chain Displays
Luna Cup and Clear Bag
Acrylic Character Stands
How to Book
urious to explore the world of anime dining for yourself?
To find news about these special events or cafes especially if it’s anime related, it’s best to follow Japanese trend sites like SoraNews24 to catch wind of any new attractions popping up around Tokyo and Japan throughout the year.
For foreigners that don’t read Japanese, the reservation process can be a bit confusing, but generally follows a similar pattern:
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step inside of your favourite comic book (or manga?). Wonder no further because now you can do just that at Tokyo’s new 2D Cafe!
Setting & Atmosphere
alling all boba and manga fans alike – have we got a fun-filled cafe experience for you!
For those that don’t know, comic book culture or “manga” is intensely popular in Japan and, given Tokyo’s penchant for all things novelty, it wasn’t too much of a surprise when we found out a 2D Cafe had opened up in Tokyo just before our trip! Hooray!
Located in Shin-Okubo aka Tokyo’s Korea Town, the 2D Cafe first opened its doors in August 2019. Stepping inside this cafe is like stepping into the pages of a manga. Everything inside, from the furniture to the walls, is painted white and outlined with black, hand-drawn sketch lines, making for both a trippy and extremely believable manga experience. Not to mention it’s incredibly Instagrammable.
Given the cafe’s novelty and instagrammable-ness, it’s not surprising that the crowd here is rather international with tourists from Europe, South-East Asia, America, Instagrammers (hey they really are a breed of their own), and of course, us Aussies ;) In fact, I think there was only one table of Japanese girls! Despite this, the cafe was fairly empty when we arrived around noon, which made for a pleasant experience and allowed for some playful photo opportunities. With the comic book setting of our surroundings, choosing to wear bright colourful clothing really made our photos pop.
You might be wondering, ‘if this cafe is so mind-blowing, why didn’t it get a perfect 5 star score?’ That my friends is an excellent question that has to do with Tokyo’s 2D Cafe predecessor, Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 located in Seoul. But first, enjoy pictures from Tokyo’s 2D Cafe:
Tokyo’s 2D Cafe VS. Cafe Yeonnam-dong 2339-20 (Greem Cafe)
There’s a lot of confusion online between Tokyo’s 2D Cafe and its famous predecessor; Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 (now called Greem Cafe). Pictures of Greem Cafe will often appear in blog posts about Tokyo’s 2D cafe, and I’m here to set the record straight. There are some key differences between the two cafes which makes Tokyo’s version score just a little less than its Korean competitor.
Put simply, Greem Cafe steps it up a notch. Unlike Tokyo’s 2D cafe, where the floors are simple white tiles, Greem Cafe goes the extra mile with hand sketched floorboards and serves all food and drinks using sketched outlined plates, cups, mugs and yes – even cutlery. This attention to detail helps to elevate the 2D effect immensely and in comparison I couldn’t give Tokyo’s 2D Cafe a perfect score.
e gotta be honest with you. This score is solely based on our boba tea experience. Bubble tea has been in Sydney for quite some time, even before the recent viral trend taking over at the moment, so I have to say we’re quite the connoisseurs.
Apparently, the boba obsession is also the latest trend in Japan and to cater for this, Tokyo’s 2D Cafe is primarily a bubble tea cafe while also offering a selection of fruit juices, coffees and shaved ice desserts (Kakigori) and cake as the only food options. If you’re looking for a hearty meal or something savoury this is not the place. In saying this, the vivid colours of the fruity kakigori’s look stunning against the stark white and black backdrop of the cafe and are a great way to add more fun to your photos!
But back to the boba tea. I ordered the 2D Black Sugar Assam Bubble Milk Tea and Siree ordered a Cappucino.
Let’s start with the bubble tea. If you happen to take a gander at the menu below, you’ll see there is only ONE milk tea that has “2D” in the title. So naturally Siree and I were like ‘oooh, why is this called 2D? Maybe they serve this tea all special in a 2D looking mug or cup’ and we ordered it. To our disappointment, we received a regular looking bubble tea that looked exactly like all the others. Why the hell is it called ‘2D’ when it doesn’t have anything special about it???? We we’re kinda bummed.
While the flavours of the bubble tea were really nice, the pearls were unfortunately hard, which is a big no when it comes to bubble tea. Pearls are supposed to be sticky, chewy and almost gooey balls of pure joy (lol). Siree’s Cappucino was well received and had the ‘barista quality’ taste she misses from Sydney. Apparently a lot of Japanese cafes, particularly the chains, sell coffee similar to the instant coffee you buy in supermarkets and she very much enjoyed her coffee here.
Service
he 2D Cafe does not have table service, so there is very little interaction with the staff except for when you order. Staff were friendly and after you pay for your order, you are given a pager.
When the pager buzzes, you pick up your order from a separate counter.
The best thing about the cafe is that you’re never made to feel rushed out, you can stay as long as you like and just enjoy.
Value For Money
have to say, I think the prices here are pretty pricey compared to bubble tea prices in Sydney. But I’m told that in general, bubble tea is a little more experience in Tokyo with prices starting from 500 yen. The 2D Cafe has bubble teas starting from 600 yen, with the Assam Sugar Teas starting from 650 yen. It is also an additional 50 yen to add toppings.
With the quality of our bubble tea not being great, we deem this UNJUSTIFIABLE!!! haha.
The Cappuccino however was served in a large sized mug, which at 550yen was very good value for money, especially since coffee sizes are usually quite small in Japan.
Pokéfood ironically isn’t the very best… ( ♪ like no one ever was…)
Eager to dine inside one of the world’s most beloved animes in real life?
If you were (or still are) excited about how great Pokémon Go was, Tokyo’s new Pokémon Cafe now gives you the opportunity to transform those childhood dreams into reality. Hey, a Pokémon trainer has got to eat somewhere amirite? With a menu that is both fun and eye-catching these Pokéfood creations are sure to win over hearts, but, can it prove super effective on the tastebuds? Let’s step in to find out!
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
okémon’s story is all about adventure in the great outdoors and so, it seems only fitting to create an interior that simulates the same kind of environment – a woodland-inspired scheme with cozy wooden furnishings, pockets of shrubbery to mimic being amongst nature and lots of space. Who would have known a real-life Pokémon Centre would look this chic!
The thing I appreciated the most during the dining experience was that the staff
encouraged customers to walk around and explore freely, letting us take as many photos as we wanted. Especially since in Japan, some theme restaurants discourage photography.
With lots of different seating options, photo spots with prop toys, TV screens playing and merchandise areas to enjoy, it’s a calm, friendly, and lively environment with excited customers old and young. Like a small theme park, the restaurant is combined with a Pokemon Center Store right next door!
Food
hile the food was terribly cute to look at, the taste was definitely more suited to a kid’s palate. On the menu expect simple burger and fries combos, a limited variety of veggies and plenty of carbs and meat – the kind of things we all know kids love.
With no descriptions on the menu, you will need to ask the staff what is inside each dish should you have any dietary needs. Something I also noticed was that the food wasn’t served very hot and gets cold quickly if you leave it for more than a few minutes (most likely for little stomachs and mouths to handle). My Eevee Burger bun wasn’t even toasted! A burger with no toasted bun? What child-safe hell is this?! Due to the lackluster flavour of most dishes, I would only recommend the curry rice or
carbonara for mains if you care for at least a decent dinner.
Dessert, unfortunately, didn’t get any better. The Jigglypuff Cheesecake had no real cheese taste and had that “rubbery” gelatine texture you find when eating cheap cheesecake or pudding in Japan. The Eevee Pancakes were dry, at room temperature, and lacked any sort of taste alone or with the accompanying toppings. Imagine a store-bought pikelet, served untoasted with no jam or syrup to liven it up. This is what they tasted like and it was as sad as it sounds.
The only saving grace it seemed was the drink menu, which had a decent number of winners. Gengar’s “Suspicious-Looking Light Smoothie” was an absolute must-try. It was so creamy and the grape flavour tasted out of this world!
Greedy Pikachu Plate – A mixed plate of tomato spaghetti, hamburg patty, Pikachu themed omurice and salad | 1,706 yen
Energetic Pikachu Curry – Pikachu turmeric flavoured rice with star-shaped vegetables and meat curry sauce | 1,598 yen
Hide and Seek Pikachu Carbonara – Pikachu’s “butt” peeking out of a salad bush haha! It’s an omelette covering a creamy carbonara pasta underneath | 1,598 yen
Eevee Burger – A teriyaki chicken burger with bitter chocolate nachos ears served with minestrone soup and chips | 1,706 yen
Gengar’s Suspicious-Looking Light Smoothie – A creamy grape frozen smoothie with a glowing red ice cube | 864 yen
L to R: Float Drink (Jolteon Version) | 918 yen, Gengar’s Suspicious-Looking Light Smoothie | 864 yen, Iced Oolong Tea
Pokemon Cafe Fruit Pancake (Eevee Limited Edition) – A Pokemon Cafe original pancake served with fruit and whipped cream | 1,706 yen
Jigglypuff Sings Cheesecake – A strawberry rare cheesecake shaped like Jigglypuff | 1,166 yen
SERVICE
he experience of being at the Pokemon Cafe really shines because of the staff. I found that all the staff were friendly and extremely smiley even for the last session of the evening. The majority of the waiters are bilingual and always ask if you need language assistance while they serve you.
Since the staff help guide you through the experience of being there, it was nice to feel like you were being taken care of during your stay. An example of this is the bonus “mini-games” you get to play with your waiter. When you are seated at your table, the staff will treat you to a little game to reveal your lucky character placemat which you get to take home as a souvenir. Should you want a specific character or
another placemat you can buy another one for a small charge.
Another fun activity is all guests who order a drink get to play a roulette game to win a special character coaster. None of these mini-games are advertised on the menu so it’s a nice touch to commemorate your time there. Also, before the end of your session, a cute Pokemon mascot will come out to greet guests for photos before your time comes to an end. The character changes but we were lucky to see the very new Eevee mascot for the soon to be released “Pokemon Let’s Go!” games which was fun to see and touch its fluffy fur!
VALUE FOR MONEY
lthough I think the drinks are decently priced, the food is expensive AF!
Seriously that pancake cost 1,706 yen and I felt I could make a better version with maple syrup and more fruit for less.
Not to mention the portion sizes of the food were more suited for lunchtime rather
than dinner. You might find you’ll have to order more dishes to satisfy your hunger if you’re feeling particularly hungry when you visit.
It’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience but somewhere you wouldn’t want to visit without a good reason to blow all that cash for a sub-par meal.
A popular Kinfolkesque brunch joint without the upscale price tag. Sunday Brunch’s Shimokitazawa location proudly shows off its good quality ingredients and variety-on-a-plate concept. Could this be the best value for money brunch you have ever eaten in Tokyo?
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
mixture of quiet afternoons, Scandinavian simple finishes, and slow living element vibes Sunday Brunch’s Shimokitazawa cafe offers a stylish and cozy dining experience in the “zakka” aesthetic. With the space’s high ceiling and skylight openings in hipster-loving triangle cutouts, one can enjoy the atmosphere of a relaxed Sunday morning every day of the week.
It’s spacious and well fitted with many seating options suitable for big groups to
single-window dining and comes with fun features like the self-serve fruit infused water station, sweets corner, and even a lifestyle home goods store.
Since it is one of the more popular eating spots in the area, the best time to visit is to avoid the busy weekend lunch rush which peaks around 12PM – 1PM and opt for either an early-late lunch or early tea time to ensure you can enjoy it at your own pace with a good book or some work-time on your laptop.
Food
he first thing you will notice when glancing through Sunday Brunch’s menu is how gorgeous the food looks. Everything here from the plates of pasta to the generous cake slices is just as pretty as the pictures – well-balanced plates with lots of colour and variety.
The main dishes are simple brunch ideas of mixed plate combinations such as doria (a baked rice dish) with pasta, french toast with a side dish as well as curry butter chicken and they are all filling and satisfying. Vegetable produce seems to be the highlight of each dish as they generously decorate every dish with seasonal vegetables to liven up the dish’s presentation for that “wow” effect.
The first dish was a classic Japanese dish found in many cafes here: the omurice plate with a twist. Unlike the common brown demi-glaze sauce you see on most menus, this one was served with a generous helping of herb cream sauce adding a nice mild creaminess to the tomato rice mixture hidden beneath the egg. The egg omelette was nicely set with that gooey but not overly runny texture should you be the kind of person who doesn’t enjoy that texture feeling. Overall, it was a delight to eat if you feel like indulging especially on a chilly day.
Next was the double carb pasta and doria set: a creamy chicken vegetable cheese rice bake with a simple cured ham herb pasta. It was a combination hard to fault
because of its simplicity as all the flavours go well together. Best of all, the accompanying pasta rotates seasonally for more flavour combinations though the doria generally stays the same.
Moving on to dessert, although their stacked pancakes are a show stopper on their own, for a person who had only a little stomach room to spare their window cake selection was hard to beat with delicately decorated treats layered with fresh fruit and cream.
Before the season ends, we decided on the Mont Blanc with Seasonal Fruits Cake which had a nice height of light and airy cream and chestnut puree with a centre of fresh cream and some fruit pieces running through it.
To level up your already Instagram-worthy snack time, I highly recommend to skip the drink set menu and order their Uji Matcha Milk Tea for its decent size and good tea flavour. Using Uji’s famous matcha, the drink was nice without the addition of sugar to savour the slight bitterness of the tea powder’s taste. The cotton candy coloured rice puffs on the top was purely for decoration and fun but was a unique presentation that feels like you’re enjoying some sweets from a traditional Japanese sweets store.
Rice Plate – prawn omurice with a herb cream sauce and garden salad | 1380 yen
Doria and Pasta Plate – a creamy cheese rice bake with a simple cured ham herb pasta and garden salad | 1280 yen
Mont Blanc with Seasonal Fruits Cake | 680 yen
Uji Matcha Milk Tea | 650 yen
SERVICE
or all the times I visited Sunday Brunch, they all seem to fall on a weekday and the service is always very polite with a little local friendliness lent from the area. The staff is very responsive and the food arrives in a very orderly fashion.
The menu is bilingual with Japanese and English descriptions so ordering is a breeze and also some staff can speak a little basic English. The staff will also ask you about any food allergies during ordering which is a nice touch.
VALUE FOR MONEY
ith the cheapest dish being 1150 yen that also includes a salad and the cheapest dessert being around 500 yen, the price is quite average for the area. The best value definitely comes from ordering in sets.
The brunch set meal which includes a mini salad, pasta of the day, cake dessert, and a drink at 1650 yen is a cheaper choice if you want to experience everything there is to offer and expect to pay for a cake and drink set 1050 yen.
Good for a light meal but underwhelming for waffle lovers.
An off the beaten track waffle house cafe where you can celebrate and feast on waffles with not only a variety of toppings but waffle flavours as well? Hello! From savoury to sweet we all know waffles are the all day champion that can be not so breakfast and also not so dessert, but can this menu satisfy your all-day breakfast hunger needs? Playing Russian Roulette with sweet and salty, we find out what Orange Waffle Cafe is all about!
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
eing situated in the unique neighbourhood of Shimokitazawa known for its alternative vibe and interesting approach to shop fronts, Orange Waffle Cafe is a very cute homestyle cafe with two outdoor porches to sit and dine – a unique feature and a little rare to see in urban Tokyo.
The wooden elements mixed with modern mosaic tiles and worn out concrete flooring makes it a cosy and relaxing spot to sit down after shopping. Although the interior is quite simple, it’s the attention to detail in the small decor choices and
serving plates that make it cosy and welcoming in that kitsch zakka way.
The busy time trends to be after 1PM with the crowds still hanging around until 4PM for tea which changes the tempo of the cafe from being one moment quiet to the next lively. Nevertheless, if you are in a group with less than four people, you can definitely find a spot to sit during the busy times and not feel like you’ll have to leave soon to make room for the next awaiting party to eat, giving you more time to admire the street view at your own pace.
Food
s you might have guessed, the king of their dishes is the humble waffle. I was surprised that their menu not only offers a variety of toppings but a variety of waffle flavours as well. I enjoyed looking at the variety of their waffle bases from red velvet, cheddar cheese, chia seeds and more. Unfortunately, there was no option to switch a flavour from a plain to a flavoured waffle should you want to upgrade your meal to something more special and unique.
Tasting both savoury and sweet dishes, the waffles are always light with a crispy outside. If you are familiar with the Belgian waffle’s dense cake quality, the waffles at Orange Waffle Cafe are disappointingly not that kind. Though one could argue that a cake-ish texture and taste could affect the flavour of the savoury food, I argue that it would actually help the taste factor of the dishes as the waffle batter did not taste like anything but a generic bland “carb” taste.
Let’s start with the savoury dish: the slightly misleading “Vegetable” waffle. Topped with a sunny fried egg and bacon slices drizzled with herb cream cheese sauce, the “vegetable” in the title refers to the waffle’s flavour being made of spinach and corn and not for being vegetarian friendly.
Unfortunately, tasting the “spinach” or “corn” in these waffles was non-exist and though the spinach waffle was coloured green when cut with a knife, there was no distinct taste or food texture of the base ingredient even in the corn version. The egg and bacon was tasty with the waffle combination, though it felt a bit strange to eat my carottes râpées and salad with my maple syrup covered mixed herb sauce savoury waffle.
My thoughts were that this dish was supposed to be a twist on Eggs Benedict but it kind of missed the mark by doing too much.
For dessert, the “Cinnamon Sugar and Butter” waffle caught my eye but I decided to level up with a side order of vanilla ice cream because, why not right? Sometimes the simple things in life are the best and the thought of cinnamon sugar toast but in waffle form was an enticing idea. Yet, as with the “Vegetable,” the title of this one is also a bit misleading for people who are use to western food culture.
Let’s start off with the cinnamon sugar, a mixture traditionally made of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar sprinkled on dessert for that sweet kick with a bit of crunch as it caramelises from the heat of your warm carb of choice toasted together. At Orange Waffle Cafe, “cinnamon sugar” is simply cinnamon powder dusted on the waffle with icing sugar sprinkled on top tasting more like a decoration to keep the waffle from looking plain than a flavour. The fact that the cinnamon sugar didn’t melt into the waffle even with the butter to give it some sort of flavour element made it super dry eaten alone. The whipped butter was its only saving grace with the vanilla ice cream only being enough for one waffle in the end. Thank god for the jug of syrup so I could sugar overdose this dish to life again.
To summarise, the food at Orange Waffle Cafe will leave one underwhelmed by what could have been potentially a great tasting menu. I personally thought the creativity and idea behind the menu was fantastic with so much potential but it was let down by simply not enough finessing in the recipe department.
“Vegetable” – served with grilled bacon and fried egg with lettuce, tomato, and carottes râpées salad drizzled with herb cream sauce accompanied with a side of maple syrup. Waffles are spinach and corn. | 1200 yen
Hot Lemon Tea | 320 yen drink set price
“Cinnamon Sugar and Butter” – with added vanilla ice cream. Waffle is plain. | 750 yen + 150 yen
Service
aving both a half counter service for take-out and semi-full service when eating in, the service at Orange Waffle Cafe was very prompt and the staff are very attentive even when busy, continually checking to fill your water or knowing who hasn’t ordered yet.
Though the English level may vary from staff members, the menu has full English translations to aid in ordering should you feel worried about your Japanese communication skills.
Value for Money
hough waffle dishes will not exceed over 1500 yen (add another 320 yen for the drink set) the price point seems a bit overpriced for what you really get to eat. As the dishes are quite light on toppings, I left feeling like I had eaten a light sandwich than a proper waffle meal.
The drink set menu was definitely a deal and is very different from what I usually see offered at most cafes. It boasts quite a large range of a variety of drinks from coffees, teas, original soft drinks, juices, and even beer.
The ‘My Little Pony’ of ice cream parlours. Don’t have another boring ice cream when you can pretty up your next sugar hit at Eddy’s Ice Cream! We check out the newest ice cream trend to hit Tokyo’s beloved fashion street Harajuku to see if our creation will be a ‘flavour bomb’ or a case of ‘style over substance.’
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
Targeted for the high school crowd that frequently flock Harajuku’s streets, Eddy’s Ice Cream is just what you would imagine the kids of Arthur would have frequented on their after school adventures. It’s a tiny parlour with a cute pink interior that matches perfectly as the building is also called the “Pink House” and hidden in the quieter side of Harajuku Street.
Inside the parlour during the afternoon is the busiest time with crowds of young girls eager to take a photo with their decked out ice cream creations. Though there are some great little photo spots like the retro pink phone booths around the store, the tiny space leaves not enough room to move freely to take the ultimate Instaworthy shot. Wait your turn, or come earlier when it’s not as chaotic.
Though a handy pre-design menu is provided, at Eddy’s Ice Cream the pleasure comes from the ability to “customise” the ultimate ice cream cone of your dreams.
Not only can you pick what toppings you can have on your one-of-a-kind ice cream but you can also pick the flavour of the soft serve and also the base out of the 12 waffle cone designs they have on display. During the calendar holidays, they also offer a limited-edition food and drink menu for the occasion only adding to the fun!
For the month of December, two new ice cream designs were released: a Christmas tree design called “Christmas” and a reindeer theme called “White Bell.” In addition, two new hot drink selections were also released for the cold season.
In the spirit of the season, I chose “Christmas” with the mixed vanilla and strawberry flavoured soft serve as my pick. Although it is very impressive in presentation, the taste isn’t much to brag about. Overall taste-wise, it was a safe Neapolitan ice cream experience.
Toppings included: a yellow coloured star made of white chocolate, a shortbread butter cookie shaped present, holly leaves and candy cane and white chocolate covered waffle wreath with Christmas coloured cornflakes
SERVICE
As a parlour, the service at Eddy’s Ice Cream was friendly and brief. Just queue up and wait for your order. The orders can also affect the order time as one staff is usually stationed at the front ice cream machine and register while the few staff members at the back also help to cater to orders. Despite this, the orders flow quite fast from start to finish taking usually a few minutes to complete each cone.
As a parlour, the service at Eddy’s Ice Cream was friendly and brief. Just queue up and wait for your order. The orders can also affect the order time as one staff is usually stationed at the front ice cream machine and register while the few staff members at the back also help to cater to orders. Despite this, the orders flow quite fast from start to finish taking usually a few minutes to complete each cone.
VALUE FOR MONEY
For sure Eddy’s Ice Cream is a lotpricier than your general double scoop at Baskin-Robbins but for the elaborate designs, it’s money well spent if you want a pretty
looking dessert. Value for flavour though, not so much, unfortunately.
Run by two travel and lifestyle bloggers, The Hidden Thimble focus’ on creating truthful and in-depth travel guides, food & beauty reviews. Enjoy drool-worthy photography from around the world!
