L'atelier de Plaisir — Restaurant in Tokyo

You can tell this bakery is trying to do something special.

Ordered about 6 different breads from this bakery after a long queue in the rain. (Haha everyone is trying to make their queue worth it, and ordering plenty, so the queue moves slowly) Service is extremely patient and kind, and the staff are happy to cut individual portions so you can sample many breads.

Back to the bit about doing something special — the loaves are chock full of ingredients, and taste intensely of them. The focus isn’t on texture of the crust (it doesn’t have much character), or the crumb (you barely feel it under all the other stuff in the bread), so it can be divisive for strict bread-lovers, but never have I eaten, say, a matcha loaf with nuts that hit me in the face with so much matcha flavour that I could be eating a parfait. The red fruit loaf, one of their mainstays, felt like imbibing a bottle of berry juice.

If anything, it’s 5/5 simply for the bravery and innovation here. (P.S. if you’re not into strong fruit and nut flavours, the cheesy loaf here is...

I think this will be come my favorite bakery.

I knew about this place, but it was located in a little outside of central Tokyo, so I was determined to go someday, but I came here on this trip after hearing the reviews and compliments of other. As it was my first time visiting, I asked for a recommendation. They recommended the bakery's 2022 version signature bread, 2019 version signature bread, and one more bread, but I can't remember the name of the menu. As far as I know, the 2022 version of Signature Bread uses no water at all, only grape juice for the dough, and the contents include fruits, nuts, etc., and the acidity and sweetness were really good. The 2019 version of the signature bread felt like sourdough, it had a really luxurious sour taste, and it was so chewy. The last bread was a slightly different texture than the ones I had before, and it felt soft like a muffin. The chestnuts inside were also very sweet. Even though it is quite far from central tokyo, it's a place I want to visit every time I...

I've lived beside this bread shop for 3 years. This is an artisanal shop, not a chain, and this is reflected in the quality. Breads with fruits, nuts or chocolate will be packed with quality ingredients. Butter is expensive in Japan, but it clearly uses a lot. Special shout out to their chocolate orange bread, absolutely marvelous. If you live anywhere near this shop, and want to impress guests or have some paté and cheese, this is the best you'll get.

Of course, the price point will be on par. Simple bread might be around 1000 yen for a good loaf; a small but dense fruit bread the size of a hand will be around 700 yen. The bread is made once and if they're out for the day, they're out. People regularly line up before the opening time, and you might wait up to 30 minutes if you want first pick.

In short, for the best in Japanese bread...