Saboru

The totem poles flanking the entrance to Saboru announce loud and clear that this is not your ordinary café, and stepping inside the wooden interior confirms it. This venerable, 60-year-old establishment feels less like a downtown kissaten and more like a cosy cottage up in the mountains. 'Pizza toast', coffee, tea and a selection of fruit juices are on offer alongside their original menu items (including some booze). Saboru has been a favourite among Jinbocho's students, literary luminaries and other university folk since opening in 1955, and is one of the city's finest representatives of the old-school Tokyo kissaten ideal.