I plan my travel routes around dessert first. The whole reason I deliberately picked Tempura Mikawa for lunch was that I wanted to visit this café, which I’d had my eye on for a while.
The entrance
It’s on the 2nd floor of the Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi. I’ve been around here plenty of times, and it’s quiet every time I come. Tokyo Station right in front is packed with people, so I guess it’s polarization..
From the first time I saw it, the interior looked sophisticated and the atmosphere calm, and I thought it was exactly my kind of café. It’s Joël Robuchon, so the taste goes without saying. But finding someone to come with was hard, so I never really got the chance to visit.
Water glass
The red color is striking.
Mille-feuille L’Atelier style (woven angel hair)
Crunchy pastry and smooth fresh cream paired with fresh berries. It was hard to cut with a knife, so eating it neatly was a bit of a struggle, but it tasted fantastic. Joël Robuchon’s desserts live up to their reputation. The price was 1,575 yen for a dessert + tea set. It’s on the pricey side, but if you love desserts I really recommend going out of your way to try it.
Tarte chocolat amer
A very rich chocolate tart. It’s far better than your average cake, but there are plenty of other places that do chocolate tarts well, so it didn’t have to be Joël Robuchon. The jelly was surprisingly good. I should have bought some to take home, but it seemed they don’t sell it separately.
Black iced tea
My companion ordered it and said the quality was very high. It’s expensive, but they said they really like this place.
I had the fruit tea
Apparently it’s Joël Robuchon’s own blend, and it’s pretty good.. ^_^
Seats inside and the open kitchen
A place with such a great atmosphere, yet it’s less crowded than I expected. Probably because it’s inside a department store and the prices aren’t cheap. Besides desserts they do lunch, there’s a café menu, and there’s an afternoon tea set too. If you have business around here it could be handy for all sorts of things.. the only problem is that I rarely have a reason to come to this area these days.
Classy interior..
Very elegant. I’d like to go again.