Reservations, Review, and More: Everything you need to know about the official Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo
A must-see for any big Pokemon fan, Pokemon Cafe Tokyo offers an adorable menu featuring many popular Pokemon. They frequently offer seasonal and limited-edition dishes, so there's never a dull moment in this cafe! It's annexed to a Pokemon Center, so you have your merch needs covered too. They recently opened an Osaka location.
We visited! Get the full review below.
The Menu
The menu changes periodically, but there are certainly a few favorites that are here to stay. You can get the full menu here.
Food
Of course, there's Pikachu and Eevee! These guys are pretty popular, especially since Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee! came out on Switch.
Curry rice is also a favorite in Japan.
I think this Snorlax dish is one of their rotating ones, since previously there was a Pichu dish. But we'll see.
Desserts
Drinks
The drinks are adorable here too! You can keep some of the cups if you pay a bit extra, for example the Eevee Cocoa cup.
Previous Seasonal Menus
There has been quite a variety of Pokemon served at the Pokemon Cafe. Here are some of the older ones that were available.
Cafe Merch Corner
Of course, they also sell some adorable goods at the cafe. So, so cute. Also, they have some plates and cups that are used in the actual dishes. For some of the plates, you can buy them together with your meal.
FAQ
Since they don't have an English version of the site, here's my translation.
Can I go without a reservation?No walk-ins. You must have a reservation (at time of writing). (Note from TBJ: There's a caveat - they do have a line for people who came without any knowledge of the RSVP system. Some people get a ticket, go shop for an hour, and come back to get their seats. However, be forewarned that you may not get a spot if the cafe is fully booked.)
Can I cancel my reservation? Yes, you can cancel online up until 10pm of the previous day. On the day of, please call (03-6262-3439).
Do you have English or Chinese menus?Yes. They have English and Chinese menus.
Can I get a private room?No, all the seats are regular table seats.
Can I go alone?Yes.
Can I take food home?They sell snacks, but no takeout.
Do you accept credit cards?Yes.
Can I smoke?No, the whole cafe is non-smoking.
Is it wheelchair-friendly?Yes, there are slopes in the store.
Can I bring my pet?No, they don't allow pets.
Make a reservation
Excited? Well, make sure you get a reservation. The cafe doesn't do walk-ins (with the caveat - but at your own peril). For the most part, reservations will be open for up to a month in advance, but you'll see seats free up closer to your desired day to visit.
Get your spot on this site.
Enjoy your meal, and don't forget to take some nice photos!
Full Review: Our Visit to the Pokemon Cafe in Tokyo
Here we go! We decided to hop in on a weekday lunch hour. We made our reservation well in advance, so all we did was show them the confirmation email. They didn't ask us for IDs (but you should carry it just in case). They give you your table number - we got seats in the Eevee area!
When you walk in, you get these paper lunch mats for free. Some of the more experienced anime cafe goers pull out those plastic folders that they use to preserve them.
You get to order your cafe food on a tablet. And look, there's English! (as well as Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese!) There were plenty of travelers at the cafe, and the staff made a good effort to speak to them in English.
The Food, Drink, and Dessert
We got the Sword & Shield limited edition Scorbunny plate with meatballs and the Pikachu plate that they usually have.
Food quality? Pretty good! And very soft meatballs. I think they make an effort to make it easy for kids to eat too.
The Pikachu on the Pikachu plate turned out to be omelette rice, so there's egg covering a big ball of ketchup-flavored (?) rice. The ears were potato chips.
We got a little cafe latte and a Jigglypuff cheesecake as well. For the drink, you get one free coaster. You can play a little choose-a-Pikachu game to see what design you get.
Cameo: Chef Pikachu!
Halfway through our meal, we got a surprise -- they announced that a special guest is coming out to greet us, and guess what?
He danced around and wiggled his ears. They told us we can only shake his hand, not glomp him. Too bad. Still adorable.
Conclusion
Worth it? Yes. Pricey? You betcha. We ordered two plates, a latte, and a dessert, and the total was around $50 USD, so about $25 per person. But you can't get this anywhere else (except Pokemon Cafe Osaka) and the experience is pretty solid. If you like Pokemon and cute things, it's worth checking out.
Our ThoughtsWorth the Experience: ★★Would Come Back Again: ★Great for:✔︎ Pokemon fans✔︎ Kids✔︎ Adults who grew up with Pokemon
Pokemon Cafe TokyoHours: 10:30am - 10:00pmAddress: 103-0027 Tōkyō-to, Chūō-ku, Nihonbashi, 2-chōme−11−2 Nihombashi Takashimaya S.C. East Building 5FPrice: 1,000 - 2,500 Yen Range ($10-25 USD)Website: https://www.pokemoncenter-online.com/cafe/ (Japanese)