Tsubakiya Coffee

I had another language exchange meeting today, but this time was a first meeting. The person I met found a cafe in Ikebukuro for us to go. It's a small local chain with a few shops in various places throughout Tokyo. He said that he had never been to the Ikebukuro branch but the other ones were good so, "let's go!"

So, this shop is called Tsubakiya Coffee. And it's definitely different than the other places I've been. The female uniforms were maid style and the service was impeccable. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable by the level of service. There was no refilling of water, for example. No, the waitresses replaced your empty glass with a new full glass of water. But before they did that, they'd wipe the table to make sure it was dry first. This kind of service isn't bad, but it was a little much for me. I'm used to a more homey feel, I guess.

Anyway, aside from the service, the place is comfortable. Not in that relaxing or cute sort of way. More like a restaurant actually. According to the website, the theme is supposed to be Ginza in the good old days, and they're trying to give people a sense of old but chic luxury. But at any rate, it was nice. My language exchange partner and I both ended up ordering the "Mix Sandwich" with hot coffee. The sandwich wasn't that great, but it wasn't bad either. It was nothing to write home about. But the coffee was good. Usually I go with cappuccinos at new cafes, but this was a plain coffee kind of place. I even drank it black! What!? And while I'm not actually a fan of black coffee, I wasn't complaining.

Anyway, while this is a place I would have never come to on my own, and I have no real intention of coming here again, it was a pretty good place for a first meeting. So if you've got some sort of language exchange or business meeting, I might suggest Tsubakiya Coffee to you.

Order: Mix Sandwich and coffee set (1500)
Review: A decent place for a formal first meeting.

Hours: 9:00~23:00
Non-smoking / Smoking Sections
Website:http://www.tsubakiya-coffee.com/
Access: Ikebukuro Station (a few minutes from the East exit)
Address: (B1F) 1-6-4 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo

Cafe Pause

So my friend (the one from my first caffeinated adventure) and I decided to head to her local cafe after work since we both finished early and at the same time. We got on the train and went all the way out there only to discover that they were closed! We were pretty disappointed, but we weren't about to give up. So we got on the train and headed to the nearest train hub, Ikebukuro. Surely there would be a good cafe somewhere around there, right?

Image from Cafe Pause's Website

So we did a little Google searching and eventually found Cafe Pause. It's on a bit of a back road so it took us a little work to find it but we eventually did. We had to wait a few minutes to get seated because they were pretty full but it was just a few minutes. We ended up at the counter facing the street which meant we got to people watch too.

My friend and I ended up ordering toast and coffee. My friend got plain buttered toast and I got ham and cheese toast. We both ended up getting two cups of the house blend in the end. The coffee was pretty good. Not the best but definitely better than a few places I've been. Obviously it must have been okay since we both ended up with seconds. As for the toast, it really is a hard dish to mess up.

The place was pretty nice. Quiet and comfortable. They also had free wifi and that's always appreciated. The staff was like most are in these places. Polite but not particularly warm. I wouldn't be excited about going back but I wouldn't be opposed to it either.

Order: House Blend Coffee - 2 cups (¥400ea) and Ham & Cheese Toast (¥350)
Review: I'd recommend it to someone who wants a place to do some email checking and whatnot.

Website: http://cafepause.jp/
Access: Ikebukuro Station (About 10 to 15 minutes)