Pokemon Cafe Tokyo Nihombashi — Restaurant in Tokyo

Story of a 10h waiting experience mid-March.

I came to the shop one day for shopping, and realised the café was next to it with a queue of people waiting for reservation cancellations. I did my shopping (about an hour), and when I came back, I saw less people in the queue. So I told myself: if I go back some other day without any reservation, I might be able to eat there.

So did I. I came back a few days later, before opening. There was already someone managing the queue on the first floor of the building to make sure the first-come, first-served basis rule was respected as soon as the shop would open (good point 👍🏼). I was number 3 in the line, it was 10:15. I entered the restaurant at 20:15.

Let me explain.

First, here the rule of first come-first served applies very strongly. So if they cannot accommodate the groups number 1 et 2 before me, they won't accommodate me. If the groups before me are of, let's say, 3 and 5 people, even if they have a table for 2 that could accomodate me (being alone), they won't offer it to me. Because groups 1 and 2 were here waiting before. So you'll have to wait for the very first group to be able to be seated. Good luck if it's a big family of 6. You can wait all day.

So group 1 (a couple) abandoned after an hour or so, group 2 (a family of 4), abandonned after 2-3 hours of patient waiting. So I became first in the queue and resisted, making friends with the solo travelers behind me. At this stage we became a funny group of French, Canadian and Polish, not knowing each other before, willing to share the very first table available.

So first advice, be careful when you see people changing in the queue, you think people are getting in, but NOT AT ALL. People are giving up! At the end of the day, we were the only ones remaining in the queue (you know, when you think you've been waiting for so long that you cannot abandon now), and people were coming naively to us, asking for how long we were waiting to see if it was worth, and immediately left when we told them we were patient for 10 hours in a row, sitting on the floor. Because you may end up with nothing as well, you're making a bet.

Other warning: the restaurant staff will tell you in English that they cannot make any promise about availability, but they are not coming every 30 minutes or hour to tell the new comers in the queue about how it works. So ask the very first people waiting.

To be fair, we were told it was holidays in Japan and that they had a lot of reservations from nationals, implying less cancelations than usual.

So at 20:15, someone came out and offered a table of 4 to us. We were so happy. The experience was very cool. Of course you're not after the taste much but here more for the atmosphere and the fun pokemon design they created.

When we settled the bill, we asked a couple who came after us how they had booked to come in, because it was so hard to find a reservation slot. They replied that they didn't, but just entered the cancellation queue and found some seats after only 20 minutes of waiting. Here we are. We waited 10 hours for the very first cancellation of the day, and the second cancellation of the day happened just a few minutes after we managed to come in. That's a very good example of how the system works and the bet you're making.

I saw some reviews of people complaining about seeing tables empty and not understanding why it was not given to them who had been waiting. As far as I understood, it's because there is a rotating system with people being seated every 10-15 minutes and then Pikachu is coming for a show when all the customers are seated. I guess the rotation is here to alleviate the kitchen from having too many orders at the same time. So if you see an empty table, they cannot necessarily give it to you, it surely is for some guests that are coming in the following time slots. I guess this process is hard to explain in English if you ask the staff.

I don't regret my experience. I made good memories with people and enjoyed the restaurant. The staff was lovely and...

Pokemon Cafe should only be enjoyed by die hard fans of the franchise. You pay a premium to dine here and the food and drink options may not be worth the price. It is entertaining and fun but geared towards a younger audience.

I've been to the Osaka location multiple times and this was my first visit to the Tokyo location. Unlike the Osaka location, where random passerby-s could see the cafe, the Tokyo location is tucked away and completely hidden. So if you are coming here, you know what you are getting yourself into. The Tokyo location also is larger and is more spacious, you aren't touching elbows like in Osaka. When the performance time comes, Pikachu (I've only ever seen Pikachu) is able to walk around and come up to everyone's table. Unlike Osaka where there is only space toward the entrance of the cafe. The overall experience is the same in each location so you won't be missing out by going to one or the other.

With that being said, I decided to order the two most expensive items on the menu. The Mega Evolution! Charizard's Flame Blast Curry Plate and Mega Altaria's Fluffy Rare Cheesecake. I tried all other food options and this was last on my list. Unfortunately it's just as bad as all the other food options. Well, the Charizard Plate is, the Altaria Cheesecake was actually acceptable. The Charizard Plate has the "been stored for awhile" taste to it. Bits of hard rice, bland flavor, it does not taste as good as it looks. There is a small amount of spice to it, but if you are used to any level of real spicy food then this will be considered baby level. The Altaria Cheesecake had the tell-tale signs of being pre-made and stored in a refrigerator. Condensation on the plate, slightly mis-shapen presentation; I was surprised it tasted okay and wasn't dried out. I'd recommend it if it didn't cost as much as it does. The drinks at the Pokemon Cafe are hit or miss. I will say the Cream Sodas and Pikachu's Lemon Float are among the better choices but can be too sweet. And I mean too sweet. I prefer "American" levels of sweetness and these drink are borderline or cross over in terms of the limit. The Gengar Smoothie lands at just right for me and would be my recommendation, especially if you like grape flavored stuff.

So I'd hand it to the Pokemon Cafe for consistency. They have great, friendly service, hit or miss food and drink offerings, but an overall entertaining venue (at both locations). But the down and dirty is, this is a theme cafe and if you don't like the theme here, don't bother, you will regret it. However, if you are into Pokemon, I'd say this is an "at least visit once" type of place. Just remember you are paying a premium for...

We had a terrible experience trying to book a reservation at this cafe. My friend, who lives in Japan, tried several days in a row to get a reservation, but to no avail, so we gave up on being able to visit during our week in Tokyo.

Fast forward to a month later, and I found myself outside the Pokemon Cafe entirely by accident, having seen people carrying around Pokemon Center bags on the street outside Tokyo Station and navigating to the source to investigate. It was then that I learned there was a line for people who did not have a reservation, and that while there was no guarantee, it was completely possible to get in without a reservation if I was willing to wait long enough.

The experience was totally worth it for me, the food not so much. Since ordering is done from a tablet rather than out loud, I flagged down our server to let her know I had allergies. A warning here to American visitors with allergies: the wait staff don't speak any English, so if you don't speak enough Japanese to clearly communicate your needs, make sure to bring an allergy card. The server told me that because I'm allergic to wheat, not only could I not eat any of the food items, I also couldn't have any of the desserts, so I ended up stuck with a mediocre (but cool-looking) Zapdos (Instinct pride! Whoo!) ice cream float instead of one of those neat burgers, or curry rice, or the parfait. A lot of the decorations that make the foods look like or contain Pokemon are cookies and such, and therefore contain wheat. Not a good experience for me with my allergies, but my friends that I came with really enjoyed it, and because my friend ordered the Gengar drink, I got to take a Gengar cup home with me so I can recreate the Gengar drink on my own, in my gluten-free environment at home.

Each drink also came with a clear plastic coaster, which was a fun bonus. None of us got our favorite Pokemon, but Johto was my favorite generation and we went during the limited-time My 251 event, so every Pokemon there was something that could be found in the gen 2 games. Even though I didn't like my drink very much, I had a lot of fun.

All things considered, it was a good experience. If you don't get a reservation a month in advance, expect to wait 1-2 hours on the standby line. You can play Pokemon Go while you're waiting in line, or pull out your 3DS/Switch. Nobody will...