English only cafe — Restaurant in Tokyo

I dont really write reviews but this is probably the worst place i've ever been to. I came here as a tourist 6 times being fluent in english and wanting to practice my japanese(intermediate level). The owner here is probably the worst part but some staff are no better.

As most reviews state the owner is terrible. The way he makes you sit at a separate table and lecture u about the rules with awkward silencs mimics how a school teacher reprimands students. Considering i am paying him, it was probably the weirdest interaction i had in japan. He is also barely understandable in english and his tone was really rude regardless of language, only difference being japanese sounds more polite due to keigo.

The weird and unpleasant experience was bareable until the 6 time i went, that was when i encountered a japanese lady who was at the japanese table who probably kickstarted all of this. Because of the japanese table being for english beginners, i guess she wanted to speak english. However, me wanting to speak japanese asked questions in japanese. she would reply in japanese, however she not once said english to me the whole time until i noticed her frustration and offered to speak english with her but she turned me down scornfully. (I did switch to english since she insisted on playing a game in english). Also there was a lady from taiwan who could also speak english who was also practicing japanese with me but i seemed to be the main target of her ire. Personally i was more than happy to talk to her in english if she asked but she ended up filing a complain to the owner claiming i didnt speak english at a japanese table which was factually incorrect.

Later the owner called me out of a table and started attacking and belittling me in english about not following the rules which i responded puzzledly asking for an explanation. At first he was trying to attack me for moving chairs which i didnt do(the staff did it) then afterwards he started telling me i didnt speak english at the table and lecturing me, half of which i barely understood due to his english. It was until i raised my voice in japanese asking him what he wanted to say to which he proceeded to continue lecturing in english. Being really stressed at the moment i explained to him in japanese since i barely understood him that i did nothing wrong and explained what had happened in detail. After realising i was innocent, he started to back down. I was already on the verge of tears being wronged and humiliated like that, as much as i wanted to tell him he was wrong, i caved and just let him finish what he had to say. As a person struggling with social anxiety, this was probably the worst thing that happened to me.

For a place hosting people from all over the world and with diverse backgrounds and cultures, i expect more cordial and respectfull hosts than this. I know this started from that lady but the lack of factchecking and hostile nature of the staff makes this place unrecommendable. Disregarding other shady tactis used by them on meetup to boost numbers, the majority of the ppl i met were nice and friendly.

At the end of the day. There are much better and much more friendly hosts and meetup events in tokyo. Respect youreself and...

Absolute worst customer expereince I have ever seen anywhere in the world, and an owner that is one of the most egotistical and rude person I have met anywhere, in any setting.

If you want the short answer, go to the other English Cafe, I haven't been but I would be shocked if it was a worse expereince.

I went with a friend while we were vacationing in Tokyo. We wanted to meet some other English speakers and see what the expat expereince is like. Each time block as a start time and I noticed a girl had joined maybe 1-2 minutes after everyone had sat down. None of the staff or the owner explained to her the seating arrangement when she arrived and so she simply was the only person in the entire establishment standing for roughly 10 minutes. She was entirely ignored and it was almost like she was in a time out punishment.

I started to notice as she was looking visibly uncomfortable and I offered her my seat and I could just leave. It was at this time the owner started screaming at me to sit down and that no one is allowed to offer her a seat. I started to explain in English that I thought it was very rude a room full of people was just ok with her being clearly ostracized and I believed it is the right thing to do to offer her a seat. He started to yell that it was his place his rules. That I was wrong to offer a seat to her. I backed down because I was with a friend and I didn't want to cause the girl any trouble by escalating the situation. I still don't know if that was the right move.

The girl eventually waited another 20mins or so until the seat change time, being ignored by everyone again for the entire duration. It was a surreal scene. She eventually was able to sit down and join the tables. I got to speak to her later when she came by my table to thank me. She was on a language exchange program and had just arrived in Tokyo, she didn't know much English or Japanese. I feel terrible for her that this was one of her first experience of Japan.

Beer is very cheap, so...

Read the other reviews. The owner is cold and unfriendly! He has a terrible attitude👎

This is a nice place to speak if there are actually speakers of your language. For example, I came to speak French one evening but there were no French speakers. So I came all the way (a 40 minute journey, one way) for nothing.

It would be nice if they had a phone number to call to make sure there’s someone to talk to before visiting. I suggested this, but he refused to even listen or understand.

The owner refuses to understand or help or do anything to improve communication. It’s not the first time he’ll lose business with such a foul attitude I’m sure. So, 3 stars for the experience. 1 star for the unhelpful and unfriendly owner.

Some feedback if you’re reading this: you can at least have some point of contact such as a phone number or messaging platform (IG, meetup, etc) that customers can contact before they make their journey to your cafe AFTER the event starts. Imagine if you traveled an hour to go to a language exchange and no one was there to speak with you? It would take just 5 seconds to reply and it would have saved me a 1h 20 min round trip journey. It’s simply baseline manners and service. I’m sure I’m not the only one with this issue either.

I don’t know if I’ll visit again, I’d be reluctant to support this cafe due to this owner’s attitude and his...