KOFFEE MAMEYA Kakeru — Restaurant in Tokyo

I like to be constructive. Always learning to say something positive. Then build in some constructive criticism and then end with something positive.

So the good. The interior design is nice.

And the constructive part and honest opinion: Avoid at all costs. Don’t get sucked into the fake reviews and influencer effect. This is the most pretentious veneer of a business model and if it survives it must be the end of civilization.

Our expectations were high but frankly it comes down to this. Very poor, watered down and insipid coffee. Terrible service with missed items and rude behaviors.

Two of us went a la carte and probably had a slightly better experience because we at least got a tiny cup of coffee and style (including the coffee based cocktail) we might choose in a store - although they were still awful roasts, over priced and not reflective of the styles we said we liked.

And two of the group went with courses; an upgraded coffee course and upgraded coffee cocktail course. Let’s be real here, trying 6 small coffees made from the same bean is interesting but in reality it doesn’t work. It especially doesn’t work if the coffee itself isn’t good. And even more so if after explaining your preferred style of roast they bring out what is more like cold tasteless tea. Just to make it worse each of these guests had kashi (snacks) forgotten and were ignored by our dedicated barista who turned 100% of his attention to a group of Japanese ladies. He was annoying and rude but we had to flag down other team members for everything once he had switched to them - from hot milk to water refills to reminding about next course or kashi.

A note on the coffee cocktails. All 3 from the upgraded ¥6500 course were an abomination. The one I had a la carte (a take on caramel macchiato) was worse than the cheapest highball with nothing resembling a macchiato. None of the coffee cocktails you expect and actually work were even offered and what was the flavours don’t integrate.

Read some of the other negative reviews and if you still go and accept this as a positive contribution to our society then we are all doomed. I have never wanted a business to fail but this is wrong on every level - and I am willing to drop a bank when the place truly does special things. This doesn’t. Take your well earned money and buy a good coffee at dozens of other shops and buy dinner at a nearby restaurant.

But to end on a good note. The bathroom was clean and we had fun...

Astonishing temple of coffee. A must for all coffee geeks and even those who are not so obsessed. Located quite a way from the center of the action in Tokyo, this beautiful, modernist designed coffee shrine is where to come for a qualitatively different coffee experience. And that is saying something in Tokyo where standards are already ridiculously high.

At Koffee Mameya (Kakeru branch) the best option is to take one of the coffee tasting experiences. Ours (the Koffee Mameya Course - ¥3,000) included five or six different formulations of coffee, cold brew, milk brew, coffee mocktails, filter coffee, cafe latte and espresso. (Note that the portions of each of these drinks are quite small so the total amount of caffeine that you will consume is no more than a couple of decent cups of coffee.) You are given the choice of choosing the core coffee for your experience although it is worth noting that some of the more expensive coffees may incur a supplement.

Each customer has their own coffee expert to guide them through the whole process. Ours was the delightful Hitomi. Wearing bow ties and possibly even lab coats, the incredibly knowledgeable staff will tell you everything about the coffee, the processes, the techniques, the recipes and the taste profiles.

Everything we tried was exceptional and it made such a difference to have expert interpretations of what we were tasting.

I explained that my favorite coffees tended to be naturals with a funky, fermented profile and so our guide recommended a separate taste of one coffee from Columbia which was completely stunning. Basically it was like a very ripe nectarine in black coffee form. (They sell these beans at over ¥38,000 per kg or £230!)

Every drink was beautifully prepared and presented in front of us and the entire experience was magical. After our tasting course we moved on to a small dessert, cheesecake and tiramisu, and then finished with coffee-inspired cocktails. Hell, we even bought two of the beautiful mugs.

Yes we did some damage to the credit card - circa £70 plus extra for the mugs - but we were there for almost 2 hours and loved every minute of it.

Finally, just a brief word about the bathroom which was a concrete brutalist...

No matter if you like it or not this is one of the most sofisticated places for high quality coffee and cocktails in combination with coffee, in the world. Let me start by saying that the reservation makes the whole process and experience very lag free. You don't really have to wait and you get welcomed by name. This shop is not a coffee shop this is an experience. And you pay for that. You have basically for the whole time of your stay, a barista dedicated to your table. They will serve you the menu you ordered and even prepare some stuff in front of you. They are extremely careful to observe your reaction and see when you finish what so that you can have the best experience. I had the standard menu with pastries and the standard coffee selection. It was truly an experience. And I think if I wasn't such a nerd I would have found it not so good. But I loved the care they put into it and the combination was also always very enlightening. Also the conversation you have with the barista is very personal and if you want something special they will definitely have it here. Furthermore I think that the design and whole build of the place compliments the whole experience in the best way. The bar is huge and open and the barista have enough place to help and hand each other stuff. The bartender itself is the coffee in good spirits champion of japan as far as I understood it and this guy is extremely skilled. So yes I would recommend this shop for true coffee people. For the critique: They had good beans in the selection but I found myself gearing towards the very expensive ones. I would have liked a funky coffee that doesn't cost you 2000 yen for one cup. But that's sometimes the price you have to pay for extraordinary coffee. Maybe they could also add more coffees from Japanese roasters, that would help to promote the scene here, which is one of the best I personally know. Thank you for reading. Check my profile for my...