JAPAN RAIL CAFE — Restaurant in Singapore

Japan Rail Cafe is a unique cafe where it is more than just food I feel. If it is a review based on it as a conventional F&B cafe, Japan Rail Cafe would be a 4/5 with room for improvement and some items on the pricier side.

However, it is a lot more. They have a seasonal retail corner which brings in items including food items from Japan that can be interesting : from Okinawan Chinsuko to confectionery from Tokyo Station. This seasonality is reflected in their menu as well, with items from Hokuriku, Hokkaido and recently the Tokai region. As part of certain travel events like their Japan Rail Festival, they even brought in ekiben.

Then there is also the travel agency aspect. Before Covid-19, it served as an information counter for getting advice on rail travel as well purchase of Japan Rail Passes.

For the food, I had the Kaisen Avocado Don which was delicious. My friend had the Watashino Curry Rice which was described as a decent "ski-resort katsu curry rice" which he wiped clean. The warabimochi here however have an agar agar/jelly kind of texture, I prefer the soft, chewy mochi like warabimochi (i.e like those by 108 Matcha Saro) The food, especially the drinks are a little pricey though.

All in all, it is an interesting place to check out from time to time for their seasonal items, atmosphere or food if you miss Japan. Expect some crowds during their peak hours though. The cafe is...

Despite the average rating, I just love this cafe because of its charming, bright and lively atmosphere. I also love its concept. Every month the Cafe features food and products from different prefectures of Japan. Inside the cafe, there is a corner dedicated to gifts, clothes and handicrafts from the region of the month, and next to it, a counter where you can get more information about the various JR passes and tours by JTB. You can also buy JR passes there. Decorative tracks are suspended overhead in the dining section and give the cafe hip feel. Because its walls are glass and little effort was made to sound proof the cafe, expect it to be noisy especially during peak hours. Also expect to queue for a table - they take no reservations. Off peak, you can really enjoy the cafe at its best. While it may not be conducive for tete-a-tete, it's a great place to catch up with a friend or two for a chat. The menu changes and every month, the menu is printed up as a colourful little newspaper called the "Japan Rail Times". The publication covers what food is currently being featured at the cafe as well as travel ideas to the featured region. Diners can take home the publication if they want to. When the place first started, the food was quite good. But my recent visit was a little disappointing and was a factor in the lower rating. Expect to pay just under S$40 a person for a meal with...

Service has plummeted tremendously. Went there with a group of friends on a Saturday afternoon. Upon entering the cafe, the staff seem to assume the couple waiting in front of us is part of our group, so he tried to serve us first instead of them.

Afterwards, we were told that there are no more indoor seats available, to which we said we would wait. The waiter walked away then and a new group queued behind us. The waiter then came back and asked if we wanted high tables or low tables without further context. Since we had already conveyed that we will wait for indoor seats, we naturally assumed that he has managed to secure a indoor table for us.

Imagine our surprise when he took us outside instead and another staff seated the group of 3 behind us indoors. When we reiterated that we wanted indoor seating, they became defensive and blamed it on us, saying we should have mentioned it to them earlier (which we did).

All in all, the staff have become incredibly unprofessional over the years and we ended up leaving right after. We went to another cafe nearby that was more than happy to serve us.

It is unfortunate, but we do not think we would ever want to visit the cafe again. The food and drinks are good and we used to visit frequently, but we definitely do not wish to deal with passive...