Haru&Haru Review

This small cafe would go unnoticed unless you know about it. It is a french toast cafe run by a cute, fairly young Japanese couple and a few other workers. The location is right next to a railroad crossing and across from a Family Mart near Midorigaoka station in the Meguro ward of Tokyo. My friend from France wanted to try it out since we pass it every day on our walk from the station to our dorm. I had paid not much attention to it previously except for it's interesting exterior decor and the name which reminded me of a Korean boy-band (Big Bang) song.  She also wanted to see how Japanese take on french toast, and being French she says that there are not restaurants for french toast in France because that is something you make at home with your baguettes that have gone stale.
The food there is exceptional, but a bit on the pricey side. They serve gourmet french toast of sorts. Generally, you can order a french toast plate with a variety of toppings ranging from the seasonal fruits to regular menu choices like chocolate and banana or roasted almond for example.

Mango French Toast With Iced Coffee

The french toast plates come with two slices of authentic french baguette and the topping (most have a scoop of vanilla ice cream as well) and along with your meal you can have coffee hot or iced or tea hot or iced. I was not sure what to expect when I went there for the first time, but I was thoroughly impressed by the plate presentation and the overall taste over the food. It definitely had my French friend's approval because we decided to come back many more times.

On our second visit (I think), I brought my friend back on her birthday. I told them that it was her birthday and they wrote her a special message on her plate that she ordered. Also, because my friend doesn't like chocolate they allowed her to change the one she wanted to a caramel topping instead of chocolate. While there for her birthday, the couple's son was brought into the shop and the mom brought him over to talk to us. She tried to get him to tell my friend happy birthday, but since he's a little over a year old he got confused and thought it was his birthday and acted all shy after that.

To say that the service is great and the staff are friendly is an understatement. There have been very few restaurants that take the time to learn and remember people's names and genuinely care about how someone is doing. They know me and a few of my fellow exchange students by name. My favorite thing is when we pass by and they see us, they make an effort to wave at us or even come out of the shop to say "Welcome Home" because they know that we live close to there. I enjoy leaving out for the day in the morning and they tell us "Good Morning" and coming back from a long day to be greeted by them if they are not to busy with customers. One time my friend and I were low on money but we had not been in a while and wanted to go in and see them again, so we just went for coffee. It was near closing time and my friend and I were pretty much the only customers there. We had a nice long talk with the workers and she even showed us a video of her son eating cake for the first time on his dad's birthday. Since we had not ordered any food, they gave us free french toast while we were there talking. That was so unexpected. Since then, there have been other times that my friends and I have been given things for free.

Complimentary French Toast With
Cappuccino 

New Years Greeting Card 

"Sweet Shanghai" Hot Herbal Tea

Recently, I was asked to help make an English menu. Their menus are hand written and are all in Japanese. The owner and one I mostly talk to expressed to me that foreigners come there all the time and ask if they have English menus. My friend and I tried our best to translate things as best we could, but my Japanese skills are not that great. She ended up translating most of it with her phone and asked us if it made sense. As compensation for helping, they let us taste the topping that is currently in season as well as some complimentary herbal tea.

Hamburg Plate (Fried Egg on a
Hamburger Patty)

Strawberry And "Sakura-An"
(cherry-paste)

Haru&Haru Quiche Set

 Every time I go, I order something different and each time I have been completely satisfied with the taste. I am excited to try other items on the menu and decide on a favorite. If you are ever in the area, I do highly recommend my favorite little French themed cafe that makes you feel at home.
http://haruandharu.com/