TOLO COFFEE AND BAKERY — Restaurant in Tokyo

Things to know about Tolo: -They have a take our business and a very small dining area. You can do takeout all the time, but if you want to eat inside that sometimes may not be an option. -They're very busy, if you're not early to dine in you'll be waiting for at least half an hour after opening. -The guest base for the restaurant is very western. This has shifted over the years for sure, but I guess be warned that if you're a tourist who tries to not be around many other tourists, this isn't the place to go.

My wife and I have made a visit to Tolo a staple of every trip to Tokyo we've ever done, but I think after our last visit we may feel it a bit less of a necessity.

The creampuffs are still great, the staff is so kind, and I love how whimsical the dining area is. But the vibe has definitely shifted from customers who are here cuase they're big totoro fans to folks who found out about this place from popular restaurant Google searches. Take that as you will.

If you're a big Ghibli fan, make it out here Show up 30 minutes before open and wait outside. Get a table, order using their nice digital menu, and eat some totoro creampuffs (and spaghetti if you want!). There is a 1 drink minimum to get a seat inside for creampuffs, their...

If you are a Totoro fan, this is a must check out. It’s a cute little cafe off the beaten path. From the subway, navigate through the streets and finally up a hill & you’ll see the cafe tucked away on the corner—you could easily walk past it. We got there later in the day and we weren’t able to enjoy the cafe upstairs, so we bought some of the Totoro cream puffs to take home. The lower floor of the bakery is decorated with all kinds of Totoro figurines, stuff animals, etc. It’s super cute! We bought mango and blueberry filled puffs. They’re so cute, were decorated with little hats and they all had eyes. The cream puffs were wide bottom too. They weren’t oversized cream puffs by American standards. The cream was dense (not in a bad way) rather than light & airy/fluffy and too sweet, like traditional cream puffs. The entire Totoro choux pastry was filled with the cream which explains the density of the cream. When you cut the puff in half, the cream holds up well. Both the mango and blueberry were delicious—I wish I bought more! I think these were reasonably priced at under $4 USD...

The 1F (shiro-hige) sells totoro-shaped cream puffs. We tried the chocolate banana flavour, strawberry flavour, and custard flavour. The chocolate banana had lil chunks of banana in it and was especially nice. You can bring the cream puffs upstairs to the 2nd floor (Tolo Cafe) to eat if there is space. You'll have to pay an additional ¥50 per person for eating in, and each person must order an additional drink. Service was 5 stars - the server kindly helped us take our order for drinks despite us missing the...