Shimokita Cafes
cafe ordinaire
cheapest coffee: 500 yen, "burendo coffee"
most expensive coffee: 800 yen, "cafe korente"
decor: simple Ikea furniture, plants
seating: sofa or tables
food: salads, sandwiches, and limited rice/pasta dishes.
music: Brazilian, light rock/pop
other: books to browse
refill: "burendo coffee" only, 300 yen
alcohol: beer, wine and some liquor
table close to an AC adapter: one, upstairs
Situated on Shimokita's much overlooked Number-One Street (Ichiban-gai), cafe ordinaire takes up two floors of an apartment building. A brief climb up two flights of narrow stairs off the difficult-to-find side street entrance is required to get to the door. Despite its hidden location, the cafe had many customers as I visited there one Sunday afternoon. But not to worry, as the waiter informed us there was indeed an open table upstairs. After another brief climb up another narrow flight of stairs inside the cafe we pleasantly rediscovered ourselves in a spacious and bright loft with a sofa, and two tables. The sofa is close to the balcony, and would make a nice place to read a book, but today the sofa was taken and we were led to a table in the back of the loft away from the balcony, which was a little bit dark.
hours: 12:00-23:00
address:3F Shimokita MT Building, Kitazawa 3-25-1, Setagaya-ku
phone:03-5738-0880
web: http://www.ordinaire.net/ (Japanese)
Cafe Onsa
cheapest coffee: 550 yen
most expensive coffee: 600 yen
decor: bright and simple, with plants, seating: sofa or tables
food: Light meals
music: electronica mix
other: non-smoking
refill: N/A
alcohol: N/A
table close to an AC adapter: one, close to the table at the far corner from the entrance
Cafe Onsa - one of the few nicer cafes in the south exit area - shares a big room with Onsa Records with a tall partition dividing the two. As a result the BGM of the Cafe is provided by its sister record store, which features mostly unobtrusive electronica music. The menu features more tea items (incl. Chinese tea and masala tea) than coffee, and everything is a tad more pricer than other cafes in the area, but if you are a non-smoker you will appreciate its non-smoking policy. Light meals are also available, at around 1000yen.
The cafe is not that big; my rough guess is at most 12 people can be served. With a low turnover rate, they might politely ask you to buy another cup if you stay too long, as they did to me when I went there the first time. (1.13.2002)
hours: 13:00 - 23:00
address: 2F Rain Forest Building, Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku
phone: 03-5433-2342
North Side Cafe
cheapest coffee:
most expensive coffee:
decor: bright, stylish (more suited for Roppongi) ; tall ceiling gives spacious feel
seating: tables, some in the outdoor patio
food: salads, sandwiches, limited rice/pasta dishes.
music: techno/rock
refill: N/A
alcohol:
table close to an AC adapter:
One of the newest additions to the growing cafe society of Shimokitazawa, North Side Cafe is a fancy, upscale-looking cafe restaurant that would probably be more at home at Omotesando or Roppongi.
When the weather is nice and warm, the nicest tables in the cafe are the ones closest to the street because the glass doors would likely be opened, giving the cafe a semi open-air feel. The bgm is quite loud and features mostly rock and techno; the patrons are mostly young and lively (ie talk a lot) so with all the buzzing the cafe is probably not the place to go by oneself to relax or read a book. It would seem better to go there with a stylish date or a bunch of friends for a light meal or after-meal drinks.
Ah yes, the food. The hamburg steak brunch I tried was ok but nothing special or inspiring about it. However the 850yen price did not include a drink and when I ordered an iced tea my tab came to almost 1500yen. For food there are probably much better values here in Shimokitazawa, so I suggest using the place just for coffee and drinks. After all, isn't that what the word "cafe" means?
hours: -24:00
address:
phone:03-5738-3636
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© Copyright
2002
Ivan Chung.
Last update:
2002/04/13; 22:36:49. |
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