Porta Coffee Stand — Restaurant in Tokyo

Porta served the best cup of coffee I had during my stay in Tokyo. I had been to quite a few traditional Japanese cafes, and despite the fancy and attentive service, the coffee was always overextracted and poorly balanced. Happening on Porta was like an oasis in a desert.

Pourover was a decent extraction, with nice body for the light roast. Speaking of the roast, the owner offers espresso with a choice of light or dark roast, which I have never encountered. It's a rather bold thing to offer. My wife thought the light roast shot worked well as a macchiato. You'd probably do well to choose the dark roast for a latte or flavored drink, but the option is delightful.

The barista (owner?) is quite talented and very friendly to boot. His sunny attitude makes you really root for the guy and the success of this coffee stand. There are some packages of beans available to take home, and I don't doubt the quality, but I believe this coffee works because this barista knows how to make them work. Some of the cleanest, tightest latte art that held up well to the bottom. The space has a small bar and two tiny tables, and the decor makes for an intimate space for two....

Came by entirely by chance in April 2024, and so glad we did as we found our favourite coffee in Tokyo here!

Our gripe with most of the coffee in Tokyo is that they’re often too acidic ; sour or too light! Their hot cafe latte (dark roast) was ace, perfect by our standards, and they make a mean chai latte too! We also got the strawberry jam cold brew which was a spring limited flavour 🍓🤍

Don’t sleep on their drip coffee packs which you can purchase home - my way of bringing a bit of Tokyo back home! I’m writing this in June 2024 during our return visit to share our love of this wonderful place.

Bonus: Owner barista is warm and friendly and really hospitable. 🤍

Note: Space is cosy with 2 tables and approximately 3 - 4 counter seats and an...

A cute little coffee shop in Koenji. The space is rather small so you might not be able to sit inside if it's busy, but if you just need an espresso hit to keep the motor running while you're out and about Vintage clothes shopping then you can't go far wrong. We decided to sit outside for a couple of minutes while we decided our next move and luckily enough someone did leave so the nice girl working the coffee machine invited us in. Inside on the back wall are some magazines and children's books to read so your little ones can be occupied while you recharge. I bought a lovely little Brazilian drip coffee sample pack for later. I'll probably be back soon as I rather...