Chatei Hatou — Restaurant in Tokyo

My experience was not good probably because I didn’t speak Japanese and ultimately coffee was disappointing.

I visited in the late afternoon. I was escorted to a seat at the end of the counter table after a short wait. They did have a menu written in English and I ordered Hato Original blend coffee (¥900) and pumpkin pudding (¥600).

I waited over 20 minutes for the coffee and the pudding to arrive. The place was full and loud with customers conversing on the round tables. There was also really loud noise coming from the back of the counter giving me a headache (maybe it was a dish washer plus the hand mixer being used by a person working really hard to make whipped cream I later saw on my pudding).

Understandably it was Saturday afternoon and noticed only one person was working on the drip coffee orders. While waiting, I wanted take photos of the beautiful teacups on the shelves with my mirrorless camera but the same man pointed at my camera then made an X with arms… meaning I can’t take photos? I thought I missed a notice written somewhere in Japanese. As I’m looking through a million photos posted by other reviewers maybe he thought I was taking photos of him (ew… I wasn’t 😂). The same man continued to communicate with body language and not a single word. When I wanted to leave and asked for a bill after seeing other customers from the round tables bringing what looked like a bill to the register, he again gestured with hands to the register. The person at the register had to ask me what items I had. I’m still not sure if this is the system when dining at the counter table. Still I felt unwelcomed as most citizens and service employees I’ve met in Tokyo so far were kind and tried to help me even if they didn’t speak any English.

All this would’ve been alright if my coffee tasted good. I watched many coffees being ground and brewed by the X man and I don’t think the technique was the issue. Hato original blend I had was probably dark roast beans like French roast and I’m used to medium to light roast for drip coffee at home. I tasted burnt beans like Starbucks Pike Place blend coffee but not as bad. I admit that the tea cup and the saucer it came in was cute (Bernardaud Grand Versailles). I failed to see anything that resembled or could’ve inspired Blue Bottle Coffee which is now primarily owned by Nestlé.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the pumpkin pudding!

I can’t recommend to visit for their coffee. I wonder if I would’ve liked the single origin coffee better. I will definitely try to visit another kissaten though I won’t come back here as I didn’t like the coffee that was named original blend and priced at ¥900.

I also smelled cigarettes while waiting by the entrance but smoking appeared to be limited to certain rooms.

If you don’t speak Japanese and want to feel like a foreigner and alienated then this would be the place for you.

If you have yen to dispose this place is cash only. You’d be paying to experience the atmosphere, the vibe of a kissaten. Don’t waste time to travel to Shibuya specifically looking for good coffee and don’t wait in line for more...

My favorite tucked away shop in Shibuya! The Rare Cheesecake was so good 🤤 and their coffee was excellent! Great place to chill and take things slowly amidst the hustle and bustle of streets of Shibuya ☕️

📸 Rare Cheesecake & Hato Original Blend 📍 @hatou_coffee_shibuya

I came across this place while wandering around randomly on a rainy night in Shibuya after eating dinner in the basement of a department store (gotta go while they're closing for the best discounts!). Not many places were still open at this point (at least taking new customers in, that is) and so I thought that maybe I could just go to an internet cafe and chill for a bit to escape the rain. Lo and behold, I came across this coffee shop that was still open this late at night and decided to give it a chance. And I'm so glad that I did. This place has such a deep history and has been mentioned in several books and by icons in the coffee world. The techniques they used to prepare the coffee, the atmosphere, the attentiveness and kindness shown by the staff, the calming vibes that almost made it seem like time had slowed down; all of this went into the amazing experience that was dining at Chatei Hatou. I'd 100% go back here given the opportunity, and I now know and have experienced why this 30+ year old coffee shop has been around for so long.

Also, it was cash only and I didn't have enough on me 🙃 so I frantically ran in the rain to the nearest 7-11 to withdraw cash at like almost midnight 🫠 that was also an...

Very nice cafe with a great interior and atmosphere. It wasn't clear at first that you had to wait at the front because I didn't see any signage, but the staff member I asked directed me to wait for an open seat near the door. He was also understanding when I remembered to tell him a bit later while I was waiting that I was also waiting for a friend, so my party was for 2 instead of 1. Given the other negative reviews about service I was apprehensive about that.

My friend arrived and we were soon seated at a shared table with plastic partitions, and given an English menu when I asked for one. Unfortunately they only had the Black Sugar chiffon cake available. We waited quite a long time for our two cake slices and our drinks, but it wasn't too bad since we were catching up anyways. Place was packed so if you were in more of a rush this would be an issue. Cake slices were big and pretty tasty, and the coffee blend I ordered was fine.

The prices were a bit on the high side but the atmosphere was good and we didn't feel pressured to leave early at all. When we went to pay the staff member at the register barely seemed to acknowledge our existence, so a small miss there.

Payment is cash only. As for taking pictures, I don't recall seeing any signs forbidding it, and when I asked the staff member who seated me he clarified that it's only pictures of people that were not allowed. We were fine to take pictures of our food...