{  Hoshino Coffee — 星乃珈琲店  }

Hoshino Coffee -- 星乃珈琲店
Hoshino Coffee -- 星乃珈琲店
Hoshino Coffee -- 星乃珈琲店
Hoshino Coffee -- 星乃珈琲店
Hoshino Coffee -- 星乃珈琲店

Hand-drip coffee shop Hoshino is located throughout Japan but one of their stores is located directly above the Shibuya Scramble. If you sit by the window, you get a view of the cross-walk while sipping on some delicious hand-drip coffee. Visit between 11am – 3pm and you can get your drink for 300yen if you order any food along with it.

The Souffle Double Pancakes are 680yen (a single pancake is 530yen) and it comes with your choice of maple, honey or black syrup. The souffle pancakes were so fluffy, thick, yet tasty. (The pancake takes about twenty minutes to be made). I really enjoyed their hand-drip coffee as well. If you are looking for a place to take a break right by Shibuya Station, this may be a good option. The coffee shop is separated into smoking and non-smoking sections which was nice.

Address // Shibuya 109 Men’s 2F, 1-23-10, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (map)
Phone Number // 03-3477-8038
Website // http://www.hoshinocoffee.com/

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{  Rainbow Pancake  }

Rainbow Pancake
Rainbow Pancake
Rainbow Pancake
Rainbow Pancake

I stumbled upon this pancake shop after having coffee at Identity Coffee as it’s in the same plaza!

Rainbow Pancake is located in the back-alleys of Harajuku/Meijijingumae so the line is not as long as other popular pancake shops in the area. In total we waited about 30~40min which wasn’t too bad since they take your order while you’re standing in line so you get your pancakes pretty quickly after you get seated.

Their pancakes taste exactly how they look. Fluffy, soft, and yummy. With all the whipped cream and sauces, you might think these pancakes would taste too sweet but they were flavored perfectly and they are snack-sized so it’s easy to finish the entire dish by yourself. I personally enjoyed the ‘Seasonal Fruit Pancake’ (1300yen) which has a ton of delicious whipped cream. The other pancake pictured above is their most popular item + the chef’s recommendation: the ‘Macadamia nut sauce Pancake’ (1200yen). It comes with a small sugared fork and knife pancake cookie(?) that was such a cute touch. They do have savory pancakes too but I would definitely go for the sweet ones here.

Address // 2F, 4-28-4, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6434-0466
Website // http://www.rainbowpancake.net/

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{  Number A  }

Number A
Number A
Number A
Number A

Number A is a cool hip cafe located in the alleys of Omotesando. It has a pretty diverse crowd and it was a nice chill place where you could sit down for hours and they don’t mind it.

The best thing about this cafe is they serve lunch from 11:30 to 17:00. You could come here for a late lunch and still get a great lunch deal, which is a bit unusual in Tokyo. The food is not bad either. The pasta was ‘Spaghettini cream sauce with corned beef, mushroom and cabbage’ + soup + drink for 1000yen. The savory pancakes were ‘Cheddar cheese + spinach’ with a soup and drink for 1100yen. For this open space, ambiance, food quality, and price, what a deal. We saw many people just having a beer while chit chatting to pass the time as well.

If you’re looking for a slightly hidden spot with a cool vibe to hang out at, check this place out.

Address // 3-12-2, Kitaaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6427-4038
Website // http://www.theroundtable.jp/number_a.html

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{  Cafe Kaila  }

Cafe Kaila
Cafe Kaila
Cafe Kaila
Cafe Kaila

This is probably the Hottest cafe for pancakes in Tokyo right now. Cafe Kaila came from Honolulu, Hawaii and they supposedly received the “Best Breakfast” award 2 years in a row in Oahu. It recently opened in Meijijingumae/Omotesando and is located on the B1 floor of the same building as CHANEL, BVLGARI, and the MOMA design store.

This place has the longest line I’ve seen for pancakes. Yes, longer than ‘Eggs ‘n Things’. It’s easily a few hours wait but perhaps it’s a bit less crowded if you go on a weekday. We happened to be in the area over the weekend and decided to check it out hoping that it wouldn’t be too crowded for dinner. We arrived at 7:15pm and guess what? They said their last order is at 7:20pm and the restaurant closes at 8pm but if we eat fast, they would let us in. Woo hoo! We delightfully agreed and went inside. We were so surprised we got to eat at Cafe Kaila without waiting.

We ordered their famous pancakes for 2000yen, which is a bit expensive but it’s also got quite a large volume with a generous serving of fruits on top. I am happy to report that it does indeed live up to the hype. The pancakes were great and I would come back here if the line wasn’t long. Their breakfast burrito plate (1700yen) with Italian sausage (extra 50yen) was also good and we were so satisfied with our meal here. They are impressively on top of their service too. If you are into pancakes and/or want a good breakfast, come here!

Address // GYRE B1F, 5-10-1, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6427-1310
Website // http://www.cafe-kaila.com/

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{  Ivy Place  }

Ivy Place
Ivy Place
Ivy Place

Ivy Place opened recently on December 5, 2011 and it is located inside of a brand new shopping center in Daikanyama called Daikanyama T-site Garden. It has the most amazing Tsutaya Book store that has all sorts of high-end artsy books, music, and movies with a very sheek lounge/book bar for relaxing with a nice book or magazine.

Ivy Place is located just behind the book store. It’s a cafe, restaurant, and bar that is open from 7:00~26:00 daily. Their pancakes were certainly above average but not entirely memorable. However, their Flatbread Pizza was delicious! We had the Roasted Vegetables, Basil Pesto and Mozzarella for 1400yen. Also, their Crunchy Thai Salad with Chicken and Bean Sprouts with Chili Lime Dressing (1300yen) was good as well.

Overall it was a pleasant experience and now that we’ve been to this place a few times, it’s gotten much better from when it first opened. One great plus (maybe part of their lunch special?) was that they give you free iced-tea (it was peach ginger tea when we went) as well as unlimited coffee refills (which is rare in Tokyo). The lunch set also included salad and unlimited bread which was nice.

Address // 16-15, Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Phone Number // 03-6415-3232
Website // http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/en/ivy/

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