This post was written in 2008. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
During Golden Week everywhere is packed, so it’s hard to find a spot to take a break. After wondering where to find a decent café, I headed to ig café on the 5th floor of the Shin-Marunouchi Building. It’s the sister shop of a French restaurant called Igrek, and with a nice atmosphere, good food and easygoing prices, it’s always popular.
I took a shot of the sign.
I had to wait quite a while here too. That’s just how it is with popular cafés. The only places without a line are the bad, overpriced ones, and if it comes to that you might as well go to Starbucks.
The display case, snapped on the sly
The cakes are prettily designed but a bit pricey. The bread, on the other hand, is cheap.
Here’s how it came out.
Cute, right? Tastes good too.
The gelato I ordered
Cassis and vanilla. The cassis was a little better. It beats most specialist gelato shops.
Regular coffee
Bread I bought separately.
A 220-yen cranberry baguette and a 180-yen condensed-milk cream bun.
Cross-section of the cranberry bread
It’s crammed full of fresh cranberries along with nuts. I have to confess, cranberry baguettes are my favorite kind of bread. The tart, nutty flavors on top of a fragrant, well-baked baguette multiply the joy of chewing several times over. The crust was a little soft, which isn’t ideal, but given the price that’s a flaw I can easily live with ^_^ The condensed-milk cream bun was good too, but I seem to be a baguette person at heart..
It was so crowded that the café was a bit noisy, but the menu was so good I was glad I came. The PG Café on the 1st floor is pricier and not as good, so it doesn’t live up to its name — quite the contrast. I’ll have to drop in often whenever I’m in the area.
The ceiling decoration in the Shin-Marunouchi Building that I spotted on the way down.
It’s all decorated with fresh flowers like that. A very luxurious feel. They must really be raking in the money.