Tokyo 東京 Espresso エスプレッソ

Unice >>MAP 1-34-17 Ebisu-nishi, Shibuya-ku Za HOUSE Bldg. B1 TEL: 03-5459-8631 東京都渋谷区恵比寿西1-34-17 Za HOUSE ビルB1 Sure, the place stays open until 5:00 a.m. , but with espresso that's pure drek, it makes no difference. The cafe's perpetually smoky too.

Ura >>MAP 1-17-1 Ebisu-Nishi, Shibuya-ku TEL: 03-5489-1117 東京都渋谷区恵比寿西1-17-1 A gorgeous Brasilia espresso machine sits behind the bar and it's put to expert use. Beans are ground fresh for each order. This is an extremely proficient operation with food and espresso at a very high level. It's also something of the gaijin scene for weekend brunch (but not obnoxiously so).

Café Pause >>MAP 2-14-12 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku TEL: 03-5950-6117 東京都豊島区南池袋 2-14-12 One of the few cafes in Tokyo with free Wi-Fi, Café Pause is a very able café. Though the crema on the espresso was a tad blond for my taste, the beans were ground to order and the taste was sweet. The food menu is lacking, however.

Ben's Café >>MAP 1-29-21 Takadanobaba Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo TEL: 03-3202-2445 新宿区高田馬場1-29-21 [UPDATE: Ben's is permanently closed for business. It will be missed!] Ben’s bills itself as Tokyo’s only New-York style café. I’ve had some uneven pulls of espresso here, but, all-in-all, Ben’s is truly a community café (poetry readings, open mic, go lessons, etc.) that gets a wonderfully eclectic mix of people in the door. The hummus plate will transport you home. Free Internet and Wi-Fi too (a rarity in Tokyo ).