Jade5 is one of my favourite places for a solo brunch in Tokyo, located in the back streets of Hiroo.
The cafe only seats about 10 people and is a quaint cosy cafe to grab a coffee and eat a hot brekky with a book.
The small interior:
The brunch offering is tasty and in the comfort food domain.
On this particular day, I was hungry having just been for a swim.
I ordered the Lumberjack and it didn’t disappoint.
I may be back to try the rest of their menu:
Finally got to check out Cicada (a mediterranean cuisine restaurant) for brunch, which is more like a lunch menu rather than traditional brunch items. They are part of the same food group that runs other great dining establishments like Ty Harbour, Ivy, and Beacon (which also does a great brunch).
Cicada was pretty packed on the day we went which happened to also be Mother’s Day. You generally need reservations to get a table. The front part of the restaurant is a bakery cafe BreadWorks under the same company umbrella, so you’ll need to proceed to the back where there is also an outdoor terrace dining area. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Our group of 6 shared quite a few dishes so we got to sample a bit of everything.
I can’t resist scallops:
There’s something so meaty and satisfying about good chunky scallops:
And beetroot salad was not quite what I was expecting, but still tasty nevertheless – thin slices of beetroot with ricotta cheese in the middle.
And for mains, I went with the lamb which didn’t disappoint.
It was a lovely Sunday feast.
More like a lunch than a brunch.
We didn’t try the dessert menu but we did end up going to Blue Bottle coffee instead afterwards for coffee and beignets.
I’ve written about Mercer Cafe before having been there for dinner.
The food is really good there and the stylish cafe is sophisticated and cozy. Who doesn’t love a big open hearthen fire inside the cafe.
The place is famous for its french toast so I had to go back and try their brunch menu.
The brunch plate menu comes with a serving of french toast. I went the salmon and scrambled eggs option.
The food is well presented and it was lovely enough. Not sure that it was french toast to die for, but yes, it made for a nice brunch and I am slowly running out of new places to visit for brunch in Tokyo. The scrambled eggs though were divine. Very creamy.
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
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| From Mercer brunch |
Great brunch to be had at Ruby Jacks. It will set you back some money but well worth it if you’re in the mood to splurge.
On weekends, they offer a brunch course menu, but with drinks ended up quite pricey.
The brunch course came with starter options, a main dish and tea/coffee. I added on a bottle of wine to share and an extra cocktail. And dessert. So yeah, I guess that adds up.
It’s a fancy venue though. Service was exceptional.
Although pricey, would totally go back. Great service and the food was top notch.
Had the fried prawns as a starter:
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
And I went the steak sandwich for mains. They do have more breakfasty options, but this place is a grill bar, so supposedly do good meat – steaks and the like. The lamb looked really good.
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
The dessert was amazing. Carrot cake – my absolute favourite. Served with peanut butter ice cream, which was genius, not to mention delicious.
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
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| From Ruby Jacks brunch |
Indulged in a massive carb-laden brunch yesterday. But I totally deserved it. I swam my first ever 10km swim race on Saturday (race report to come), so Sunday was spend putting all the calories back in.
The Four Seasons Hotel, Marunouchi is my number one spot for Afternoon Tea (have been there twice). Of all my high tea reviews in Tokyo, this one is my favourite. Was keen to try out their brunch.There weekend brunch offering did not disappoint. The food and service is really awesome. A pleasant experience is always had here.
Totally went all out on the calories. The weekend brunch set consists of your choice of appetizer, main dish and then the chef’s dessert, along with tea/coffee and a basket of complimentary breads/rolls. Wine was extra but hell I had just swum 10km the day before so I had a little celebratory drop.
I went the scallops for appetizer. Can’t resist scallops whenever they’re on the menu. Served with a sweet potato puree. My friend had the foie grais with mango chutney. Both were really delicious. The foie grais is a good choice though. Great flavour combination and a generous serve of foie grais. The scallop dish would have been perfect had it been served with three scallops rather than the two. But maybe that’s me being shellfish 😉
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| From Ekki Brunch |
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| From Ekki Brunch |
The brunch is certainly filling, especially with the complmentary bread basket dipped in olive oil and salt. Was torn as to what to order for mains – there were several options but narrowed them down to two. Was in need of some meat. The Wagyu burger with truffle fries or the Aussie lamb. Went the burger and fries and went the whole hog with the extra topping of bacon and cheese.
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| From Ekki Brunch |
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| From Ekki Brunch |
Yum yum. Divine. Wagryu burger was perfectly cooked and awesome portion for those with big appetites like myself.
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| From Ekki Brunch |
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| From Ekki Brunch |
And who needs ketchup for your fries when you have a truffle oil mayonnaise instead. Fancy burger and fancy fries.
This is a burger with height:
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| From Ekki Brunch |
And if that wasn’t enough food, the brunch set also includes the chef dessert. An orange sorbet with yoghurt and orange and hazelnuts. And a whole pot of English breakfast tea. Was dying for a cuppa. Hadn’t had one in nearly 48 hours.
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| From Ekki Brunch |
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| From Ekki Brunch |
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| From Ekki Brunch |
Everytime I go to the Four Seasons, Marunouchi, I can barely fault them. Food and service is also top notch. Brunch is about 4000yen for a 3 course meal. Alcoholic beverages extra and they’re not cheap. I deserved to induldge a little though. And for the record, I did not eat dinner that night. Was sooo full.
Been a while since I’ve done a brunch review.
This was a celebratory brunch back in December of last year. It was a much needed celebration after a month of crappiness (think police, compensation and exams to boot). I got myself into a bit of pickle last year, but that’s another stay for a time when I have left the country. Best to retell that story once I’m out of Japan.
It was time to indulge and nothing says indulgence more than all-you-can-eat brunch AND all-you-can drink Dom Perignon!
The Peninsula Hotel’s Peter restaurant offers this brunch menu on Sundays only (so book in advance).
The brunch experience is unncessarily complicated, but the free flow champagne is definitely a bonus.
One of many glasses:
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| From Peninsula brunch |
Let the brunch begin:
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| From Peninsula brunch |
Salads and appetizers are buffet style. Easy. Knock yourself out.
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| From Peninsula brunch |
In addition to that you can order a whole bunch of other dishes. All these dishes are all you can eat as well, but you need to order a la carte and each dish is literally a mouthful portion. So the waiting time is a little longer every time you want to order food. However, it also means that the table is full of tiny plates of bite-sized dishes:
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| From Peninsula brunch |
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| From Peninsula brunch |
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| From Peninsula brunch |
The variety and quality is pretty good though, but it was rather slow service. This is definitely a slow leisurely brunch, so you better not make plans afterwards. This is a 2-3 hour eating ordeal.
The highlight here is the dessert buffet. They sell honest to goodness real Pavlova. Wow. Gobsmacked. It was damn delicious. It tasted like home. If you don’t know what pavlova is, in a word, it’s “divine”. A giant meringue nest topped with fresh fruit and cream.
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| From Peninsula brunch |
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| From Peninsula brunch |
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| From Peninsula brunch |
Would totally go back there just for the pavlova.
Brunch here was very good, if not a little convoluted. Considering it’s the same deal as the Ritz Carlton, you’re better off going to the Ritz Carlton. (Just realised that I haven’t blogged about that…so I must get around to doing that. I have a huge backlog of blog posts to do! This thing called “work” is really cramping muh style.
I can never turn down an invitation to brunch. And hell, I deserved it after the previous day’s half marathon walk.
I had a most perfect Sunday.
In the morning, I went to the Tokyo metropolitan photo museum to catch the annual World Press Photo exhibition. I go and see this religiously every year. The exhibition ends in Tokyo on Aug 4, so I finally got around to seeing it. Very sobering pictures. You should definitely go and check it out before it finishes.
I then met up with a friend for a late brunch (late lunch?) with a view – at the New York Grill on level 52 of the Park Hyatt hotel (of Lost in Translation fame). Awesome brunch was had. It’s basically a course that consists of a glass of champgane, unlimited bread, a gourmet appetiser buffet, a choice of main protein, a dessert buffet and tea and coffee. That’s a lot of food.
To our surprise we had scored window seats that look out over Tokyo:
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
Time for Brunch:
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
I could get used to this:
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
The appetiser buffet is a spread of gourmet goods – cheese, smoked salmon, salads, prawns etc.
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
And it’s all you can eat!
I managed to stop at one hefty-portioned plate.
For the brunch main, I opted for the Aussie lamb cutlets. It’s been yonks since I’ve eaten lamb cutlets.
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
A nice leisurely brunch indeed.
Once you’re ready for desserts, they move you over to the lounge area where you can enjoy a pot of tea and the dessert buffet. I might add, that the lounge area is right near the buffet. Rather dangerous! In addition, you get a different angle view over Tokyo.
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
I didn’t get through all the desserts, but I damn well tried:
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
The highlight of the dessert buffet was the whole bowl full of gummi bears! I absolutely loved that at a 5-star hotel you could get your fill of gummi bears. Very classy. I’m rather obsessed with gummi bears. I dared to take a photo of them.
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
I was suitably impressed with the service here too.
A very pleasant long brunch. Can’t complain of going hungry here nor the prime piece of real estate.
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| From brunch, park hyatt |
Whilst it is a brunch, you won’t find traditional fare like waffles, pancakes, eggs benedict etc here. Nor is it cheap. But very reasonable and worth it for the quality. Reservations essential to secure a seat (tip: request a window seat if you can). Check the hotel website for the menu.
By the time we left at around 4pm, we were positively satisfied and full. Practically had to roll out the door!
Another brunch venue ticked off the list.
If you like bread and got the dough to spend, check out Le Pain Quotidien (means “The Daily Bread”) right near Shiba Park and Tokyo Tower.
Here you’ll find a great bakery with real breads – a bit of a luxury in Japan.
Breads and pastries galore and tarts to boot, including lemon tart!
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
I got a pot of tea (surprise, surprise), but I highly recommend ordering a large cafe latte or cappuccino, or any large coffee for that matter. They are served in awesome bowls (oversized handle-less mugs).
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
Le Pain Quotidien is open for breakfast/brunch, lunch, afternoon, and dinner.
It’s a great breakfast spot because they’re open from 7:30am in the morning – a rarity in Japan. Throughout the day they serve quiche, mezze platters, open-faced sandwiches, waffles, breads, cakes/pies etc, and even serve alcohol. It’s a great all-day venue.
The first time I went there was in the afternoon for a late lunch and cake break with friends.
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
The second time I went was for breakfast/brunch. Note that the breakfast menu stops at 11am. They have an assortment of eggs they do. I opted for another open sandwich – prosciutto, fig, and ricotta.
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
The restaurant itself is comfortable. There’s an open street terrace out the front perfect for summer al fresco dining.
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
Tokyo Tower in the background:
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
Tower reflection:
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| From Le Pain Quotidien |
Drool over the menu here.
Hooray for Friday. This week has flown. Last brunch review for this week is of Suji’s in Azabu Juban. This was the first place I ever did brunch at in Tokyo and my least favourite. Yet it seems popular amongst Tokyoites with differing tastebuds. Considering I’ve had way better brunch at other places, I probably wouldn’t recommend this place. It’s not that it was absolutely terrible, I’ve just had better. At the time (July 2010), it was the first time I had brunch in Tokyo so, of course, I went the traditional hot breakfast. Toast, eggs, bacon, potatoes and pancakes – a good combination of breakfast favourites. I think I ordered the best thing on the menu.
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| From Sujis brunch |
Someone else ordered the eggs benedict (I think Beacon’s does the best).
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| From Sujis brunch |
I really liked the egg yolk and egg white salt and pepper shaker.
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| From Sujis brunch |
And pancakes are also on offer, which did not look at all appealing to me. Something like this would be the last thing I would want to stomach. Way too much blueberry concoction on top.
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| From Sujis brunch |
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| From Sujis brunch |
Suji website here. Tabelog entry here. It surprisingly gets a high rating over there.
I was just thinking to myself yesterday how I could really go for some crumpets with maple syrup. Yum. Sadly, I don’t think crumpets exist outside of Australia (and NZ) and the UK. Today’s brunch review is of the time I went to Roti in Roppongi. Brunch here was really good. I had arranged for a brunch course party plan for our group when we went here back around October 2010. We got an array of different dishes for a brunch banquet – a sit-down shared platter-style brunch. Food here was amazing quality and super tasty. They brought out a few plates of each item to share. First up, was the platter of Mediterranean mezze plate- pita bread, hummus dip, chargrilled vegetables.
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| From Roti brunch |
Followed up by some popcorn garlic mushrooms with a dipping sauce.
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
There were also the onion rings.
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
And one of the most amazing salads I have ever eaten – the stilton, apple and pecan salad. This salad was amazing – apples, grapes, shredded beat, and stilton cheese. And the dressing was lovely.
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
I was rather besotted with the salad. So light, yet so flavoursome. There was also then platters of pancakes.
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| From Roti brunch |
In addition to all the above starter shared dishes, everyone could then choose their brunch main dish. I went with the crab cakes.
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| From Roti brunch |
But you could have gone this option – egg and salmon bagel.
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
Or the omelette.
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| From Roti brunch |
Or a club sandwich.
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| From Roti brunch |
Plus more options from their brunch menu. Tea and coffee also included.
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| From Roti brunch |
This was quite the brunch feast.
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| From Roti brunch |
This brunch course was about 4000yen per person which was really good value for all the food we got. And it was good quality food as well. I had negotiated a personalised brunch course with the chef here, so that we would get a choice of 3 entrees, a salad, a brunch main of our choosing, plus tea and coffee. Really good value, because a brunch main and a drink would have cost you about 2000-2500yen alone if you go here for brunch. 40buks for a lot of tasty food was well worth it. Roti is one of the better places for brunch for Tokyo (although maybe just a tad more expensive than some of the other places I’ve been to brunch. But I think it’s worth it.) Indoor and outdoor seating available. A nice place to while away some time on the weekend.
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
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| From Roti brunch |
Like most other places in Tokyo, brunch here is only available on weekends and public holidays. You can view the menus here and/or contact them on their website to discuss a menu that suits you. They also do catering. Tabelog entry here.
Memoirs of Aleisha 
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