Operating an old-school kissaten like Cafe Bon in Shinjuku involves more than just offering drip-brewed coffee from house-roasted beans. This café prides itself on the quality of its ingredients, particularly those used in its signature strawberry shortcakes–a menu highlight that often sells out by early afternoon. With only 16 slices available daily, these cakes feature fresh strawberries and natural dairy cream (none of that artificial, aerated nonsense that comes from a can here!). The shortcake is delicately sweet, with a fluffy texture and subtly enhanced with an elegant strawberry liqueur as a secret touch.
The menu offers five types of coffee: Mocha, Colombian, Brazilian, Special, and Blended. Coffee is priced from roughly ¥1,400 per order, but remember that this isn’t your everyday grab-and go caffeine stand. Each order is good for about three full pours of coffee, which is served in one of the 1,500 vintage coffee cups carefully displayed behind the counter.