What I find interesting is that there are brands or companies that have cafes in Japan, cafes I never thought existed. Especially with luxury brands like Bulgari, Gucci, and Chanel, cafes can be another way of reaching out to consumers through a shared experience associated with the brand name.

Sadly, I did not visit any of the luxury brand cafes as they all tend to be quite expensive and well past my current budget. Nevertheless, my accidental stumble upon the Nestle Cafe in Harajuku is worth noting since Nestle is a diverse company accessible to many people.

The Nestle cafe is on the second story (the first story is a parking lot if I remember correctly) and located near the ever-busy Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. The inside of the cafe is very spacious and decorated with a type of study room, relax feel to it. The tables are various shapes and sizes, desk lamps attach to some tables, and books in English line are displayed on the bookshelves. When you order a meal set during lunch time, you get to pick a drink and serve yourself salad while you wait for them to prepare your main dish. It is a wonderful place to meet up with friends or chill with a book to read; I have even seen salary men hold business meetings in the cafe.

For my set, I ordered an iced cocoa and an ebi (shrimp) croquet burger. The iced cocoa was not too sweet, which I liked and the croquet burger was crispy and delicious. Other menu items at the time included macaroni au gratin, sandwiches, and pasta. Dessert ranged from parfaits to cheesecake.

Would I come back again? Yes, and I would definitely like to try the other specials they have. I saw pictures of chocolate banana pancakes from people on tabelog tokyo (a dining review site similar to yelp) and I think that might be my next victim....

More information on the Nestle Cafe Website: http://nestle.jp/entertain/cafe/shop.php

Eat Well,
T.W.