On my way home I happened to stumble on a Cacao Sampaka cafe. I go to the Cacao Sampaka near Tokyo Station fairly often, but I had no idea they had opened a cafe this big in Aoyama. It does not look like much from the outside, but it runs deep inside and looked like it could seat well over 50 people.
The front entrance
Besides chocolate and cake they also have a tapas menu, so at first I thought it was not Cacao Sampaka at all. Even Cacao Sampaka has a local neighborhood feel in Aoyama.
Alhambra
I was going to order the simple chocolate cake, but they said it was already sold out, so I tried this fancier-looking one instead. And the cake turned out to be really top-notch. I would say it is on about the same level as the chocolate cake at Le Chocolat de H.
Herb tea
When I ordered it, they brought it out with fresh herbs in it. I tried to think of any cafe, outside of high-end restaurants, that serves fresh herb tea, but nothing came to mind. Goes without saying, but the aroma and taste were both superb.
Hot chocolate
Out comes a rich, thick chocolate. The tapas menu was pretty extensive too, and judging by what the next table ordered, it looked tasty as well. In the building right next door a wedding shoot was in full swing, and the candlelight was romantic. Aoyama is still a neighborhood where the bubble-era look remains intact.