Tokyo 東京 Espresso エスプレッソ

Enoteca Bar Primoordine >>MAP 2-11-20 Higashigaoka, Meguro-ku TEL: 03-3410-8810 東京都目黒区東が丘2-11-20 Tipped off by friend of Tokyo Espresso Daniel N., Primoordine is one of the few cafes in which you can take your espresso at the counter, “Eye-talian” style. Although I question Primoordine’s use of already-roasted Passalacqua beans imported from Naples (once the bag’s open, the window on freshness closes--and roast dates may certainly exceed two weeks prior to landing in Tokyo ), this café is doing espresso right. (Don't get me started on the topic of importing roasted beans. Tokyo has enough experienced roasters that, if you don't want to roast in-house, a cafe here is almost always better served by using a domestic roaster--in terms of freshness and taste--rather than importing already roasted beans. It's nonsense, really.) But back to Primoordine. What's better still is that a single shot at the counter costs 150 yen (as opposed to 250 yen if seated). One is c...

Cubstar >>MAP 1-4-7 Komazawa, Setagaya-ku TEL: 03-3418-3534 東京都世田谷区駒沢1-4-7 [UPDATE: Cubstar is permanently closed for business.] The kind of café one wishes were in the neighborhood, Cubstar surprises with its superb espresso. Boasting a Faema E92 Elite 2 Group espresso machine, Cubstar takes its espresso seriously and the results are impressive. Snag one of the two seats on the front porch, take in the lonely commuters walking to and from Komazawa-daigaku station along with Wootan, Cubstar’s resident pooch, and you have yourself a very enjoyable afternoon.

Deli & Café 5 >>MAP 3-25-17 Den-en-chofu, Ota-ku TEL: 03-3721-7951 東京都大田区田園調布 3-25-17 Den-en-chofu, home to many wealthy expats (it’s one of the few areas in Tokyo where one can get a house AND a yard), is home to this café. Service is stiff and largely ignorant of good espresso. However, if you don’t mind passable espresso from a super-automatic and are looking for a comfortable spot to read or study, I can’t recommend this place enough. The secret is, however, to bypass the first floor and head upstairs to the newly-renovated and lovely loft space. There are two sofas and some comfortable chairs.

Café Frangipani >>MAP 6-8-21 Roppongi, Minato-ku TEL: 03-3478-2966 東京都港区六本木6-8-21 Okay, so the place has a VW Bus smack dab in the middle of the café with seating for two. Unfortunately, this novelty does absolutely nothing to compensate for sub-par espresso. You get the feeling that the staff is simply too cool to care about much of anything except their ‘dos.