Toshi Yoroizuka is one of the hottest cake shops and dessert bars in Tokyo right now. I love sweets ^_^ but when I thought about it, I realized I’d barely been to any dessert places lately. What a shame… Today my work finally got more or less sorted out and I had a bit of free time, so I was able to go.
Toshi Yoroizuka has its main shop in Ebisu and a branch at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi. I was originally going to go to Ebisu, but apparently pâtissier Yoroizuka has been focusing on the Midtown branch lately, so at Ebisu you can’t even buy a cake without a reservation. So I made the trip all the way to Roppongi.
The entrance
It’s on the plaza on the ground floor of Midtown, so it’s very easy to get to. There’s a takeout counter on the right and a dessert bar with an open kitchen on the left. I’d originally planned to use the dessert bar, but it felt a bit awkward on my own, and the dessert bar doesn’t serve the cakes but its own plated desserts, so I decided to keep it light and get takeout. For reference, the desserts at the dessert bar are around 1,200 yen and drinks around 700 yen. The tables and lighting were really stylish, like a high-end French restaurant. Everyone raves about the desserts, but today I’m holding back.
The takeout box.
You can buy cakes at the takeout counter and eat them at the tables right in front. The staff’s service was excellent. They put real effort into helping me choose, and they answer any question very kindly. I never imagined I’d get three-star service at a cake shop. ^_^
Drink: Appletiser, 200 yen
A very kind price. They sell Perrier and Appletiser, and maybe Perrier would have been the better pick… Later I asked the staff whether they had anything like coffee on the menu, and they said they don’t serve it themselves, but I was welcome to buy some at the Starbucks right in front and drink it here.
Opened up
On the left is the KITANO at 490 yen, and on the right the Choux Paysanne at 400 yen. When I said I’d be eating right there, the staff fixed the cakes to the bottom of the box. It gets in the way of taking photos, but it’s so the cakes don’t get squashed while you carry them around. I didn’t expect such attentive service…
After paying, I couldn’t help thinking the cakes were way too cheap. Everything including the drink came to 1,090 yen. Buying a cake at Starbucks would cost about the same. I wonder if this place is even trying to make money. Rent at Midtown can’t be cheap, and they have quite a lot of staff. I was impressed all over again.
KITANO
They say it’s a slightly spicy chocolate cake made with pink peppercorns and sansho flowers, but by Korean standards it was on the mild side.
Cross-section
I cut it with a fork, so it’s not neat. There are lots of layers. It starts with a light, fresh chocolate on the outside, and the chocolate layers get richer the further in you go. The bottom was like a biscuit. It’s a fun chocolate cake where you get to enjoy different kinds of chocolate, but unfortunately I’m not that into chocolate, so it didn’t particularly move me.
Choux Paysanne
It’s a cream puff with two layers: custard cream and a nutty praline cream. Compared with this, every cream puff I’ve eaten so far was really nothing. Who knew cream, pastry and nuts could go so well together. The only thing is that it was so packed with nuts that it was awkward to eat. It’s an open-air café, so it’s not the kind of place where you can wolf it down while dropping crumbs everywhere. I think I’d have enjoyed it even more at home.
It’s a place that makes me want to come back again and again. If I end up at Midtown again, I’m not sure about the dessert bar, but I’ll at least stop by for takeout.