Summary: Decent cafe food and coffee made extra cute.
Last Saturday, I revisited
POLAR BEAR'S CAFE at Takadanobaba. My friend was looking for a 'special' sort of cafe in Tokyo, so we decided to visit this interesting little cafe in Takadanobaba.
POLAR BEAR'S CAFE is a cafe based on a Japanese manga series called Shirokuma Cafe (aka Polar Bear Cafe) by Aloha Higa, which revolves around the everyday lives of a group of animals mingling with humans at a café run by a polar bear.
I last came here in February 2015, so it was a bit nostalgic for me.
It was quite crowded on the day we went, which surprised me slightly because the last time I went, it was quite quiet and empty.
We were quite restless while waiting for our seats, so we decided to take photos of everything we could see at the waiting area, including ourselves.
Apologies for all the pointless photos in advance..!
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| table at the back: "look at those weirdos, guys" |
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| cool as a polar bear |
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| reading my bookie |
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| comic strip of the cafe |
After about 30 minutes of waiting, we were finally lead to our seats. We were given a menu and they informed us to go to the counter to place our orders once we have decided on what to eat.
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| so much i want to eat, so little daily calorie allowance |
We decided to get a drink and a main each.
For every special food or drink order, you are given one of their cute six different design coasters. However, you aren't allowed to decide on the design - you will have to throw a dice and you will get a coaster according to the numbers you get.
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| i got two of the same numbers... |
We got our drinks at the counter, before heading back to our table with a number for our mains.
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| mine: shirokuma (polar bear) cappuccino 600yen |
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| his: panda-kun matcha latte 600yen |
After about 10 minutes, our food came.
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| shirokuma-kun fried salmon sandwich 800yen |
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| quite volume-y! |
I got their
Shirokuma-kun Fried Salmon Sandwich. The fried salmon was warm and crisp, and slathered with a generous amount of tartar sauce. Although it was fried, it didn't taste too greasy to me.
My sandwich had a hole in it, but I thought it was brilliant that they arranged the face of the polar bear to be positioned perfectly so it looked like it was his mouth.
The potato wedges that came with it was hot and well-seasoned - I had been craving for fries for a really long time, so I was glad to finally have finally satisfied my belly.
My friend got their
Panda Family Curry.
Huh, what panda? It just looks like some kind of strange black beans on rice!
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| our dinner |
When I looked at it from his direction, I finally saw the panda.
That's such an awesome idea - just strategically arrange five little pieces of beans and you can get a panda! I am definitely going to try this next time.
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| panda family curry 850yen |
Throughout our meal, their TV was showing some of Shirokuma Cafe's anime episodes, and occasionally there would be really loud music or shouting from the show, so it can be a little distracting.
Apparently, they also have a kids room, but because I don't have any kids, I didn't bother to check it out. However, I am sure it is something parents with young children can appreciate it very much.
Overall, I had a very enjoyable experience with my friend. Service here is so-so (the waitress was friendly but the gentlemen at the counter was a little standoffish) but the interesting atmosphere and adorable food makes it worth a visit if you are around the area.
Address: TOHMA Takadanobaba 1F 2－1－2 Takadanobaba Shinjyuku-ku Tokyo 169-0075
〒169-0075 東京都 新宿区 高田馬場 2-1-2 TOHMA高田馬場 1F
Phone: 03-3204-7818
Hours: 10am - 10pm (last order 9pm)
Website:
http://www.shirokumacafe.net/.en/
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