KIJITORA East — Restaurant in New York

Great drinks every time, but inconsistent food and service. This is my third time here, and while the first two times were good, this morning was not a good experience.

Ordered a strawberry matcha (the only good thing today) and a Tamago Sando. Waited 20+ mins to then be told they’re out of the stock for the sandwich. So I asked for the Salmon Sando instead. Waited another 10 minutes to be told it’s out of stock. Okay… It wasn’t very busy. Why is this person not checking for stock before they submit the order ticket??? After waiting 30 minutes and being told two items are out of stock, I decide on 2 Onigiri (Rice Balls). They then asked me to pay for the 2 Onigiri, which should be a substitution for the Tamago Sando I paid for 30+ minutes prior. I thought I was paying the $1.60 difference (sando $7 / 2 Onigiri $8.60) but I paid for the 2 onigiri in full, which I then caught their mistake afterwards and was refunded the difference ($7). Finally I get my food after 30+ minutes of waiting from my initial order. Unfortunately, the Rice Balls had way too much rice. Either add more filling, or lessen the rice. Also, the filling wasn’t even in the center of the rice! It was placed on the side of the rice, squished against the seaweed/nori (see picture of it badly splayed out). I’m not an Onigiri expert, but I don’t think that’s the right way to do it. The imbalanced (this is my review & personal opinion) ratio of rice to filling made the onirigi overall dissatisfying, let alone the fact that I waited 30+ minutes for this.

I don’t believe a customer is entitled to anything free and I know there are many hidden costs in restaurants/cafes, but considering I waited 30+ minutes for 2 food items they determined is out of stock way too late, did they really need to charge $1.60 for the food difference cost? The poor customer service and food quality today could have been slightly made up if they told me they’ll cover the $1.60 difference for their problems today… but no. Whoever the staff was today likely needs more training. This isn’t a starbucks or another chain, so I’m not expecting immediate quick service.. but with a smaller/personal operation you should be able to be more considerate of a customer’s time, needs, and experience through quality, consistency, and service.

I would give this place 4.5 stars solely for the drinks, but their food and service is too...

Everyone raves about the matcha here, so I was disappointed when I gave it a shot.

I asked if it was possible to have a straight matcha shot. Someone was standing in front of the menu so I could not see it.

The cashier/barista suggested I get the matcha latte or they could do a matcha fizz for me. Fair enough. There are many places that don’t do straight matcha. I decided on the matcha latte.

The matcha tasted like matcha/green tea flavored candy, like the green tea flavored pocky. The drink was also incredibly sweet and sugary tasting. I wish I would have gotten it unsweetened, so maybe that was my mistake.

In the end, it tasted like a Starbucks matcha.

A lot of people rave for the strawberry matcha here, so given the added sweetness of the strawberry, people might not typically notice or care about it being super sweet.

I also ordered the matcha chocolate chip muffin. It was fine! It also had the candy green tea flavor and there were only chocolate chips on the top. Compared to other matcha pastries I’ve had in the city, this one had a stronger flavor than most. I would probably get this again or try their other baked goods if I was in the area, but I would not go out of my way to return.

The service was good and I appreciated the barista tried to find a solution to my request for straight matcha.

The cafe and cat decor and merchandise is adorable. The atmosphere was calm. Definitely a...

Kijitora is a cat-themed Japanese cafe. It has been a while since my last visit. Their drink menu has largely expanded. I was honestly attracted by every item, like Matcha Mango, Tiramisu Latte, and Shiso Sencha Soda. I also really enjoyed their Black Sesame Latte and Hojicha Latte.

I visited their Williamsburg East location. I like this location more as it’s more spacious with restroom and seatings. They also sell some really cute cat merch (I got some stickers!).

＊Matcha Peach Fizz Inspired by my favorite home cafe influencer to try their seasonal matcha. I was quite surprised by the harmony of matcha and peach flavor combination. The peach flavor really came through and the sparkling soda was so refreshing for summer.

＊Strawberry Matcha Latte Finally tried their viral strawberry matcha. The strawberry milk base was very creamy and rich (we ordered oat milk). The strawberry purée was lightly sweetened. A good strawberry matcha but It didn’t impress me. I don’t really like the purée here tbh. My favorite is the one from Postcard in West Village (it costs...