BYRON BAY COFFEE Company
Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo · Tokyo · Steep Index 8.3/10
The Nihonbashi branch of an Australian coffee company, two floors on a quiet street in the middle of the business district.
The Steep Index
What earns this is the room above the queue. The ground floor fills and stays full, but the windows on the floor above look out over a quiet Nihonbashi street, and it is a genuinely good place to sit alone with a book. The coffee is good rather than remarkable, which is what keeps the drink axis where it is.
- Coffee / Drink Quality: 8.2/10
- Atmosphere: 8.7/10
- Solo-Friendliness: 8.8/10
- Value: 8.0/10
- Staying Power: 7.8/10
- Overall: 8.3/10
Perfect for: reading, people watching
The Space
Two floors, on a quiet street in the middle of the business district. The upstairs windows look over the road, and when the plum trees are in bloom that is the room to be in.
The Coffee
The coffee is good, from an Australian company that has been at this since 1989. Order the beef and gravy pie with it, which is the thing people come back for.
Walk past the ground floor and go up. The view of the street is the whole point.
The Vibe
Quiet on a weekday, which is when it works best for sitting on your own. At weekends the tourists come through in numbers and the ground floor goes first.
The Verdict
Go up the stairs before you decide the place is full. Take the pie, take a window seat, and give it an hour.
Practical information
- Address: 1-5-2 Nihonbashihoncho, Chuo City, Tokyo 103-0023
- Price: ¥¥
- Type: specialty cafe
More in Tokyo
- Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, By Hyatt Steep PickToranomon, Minato · Steep Index 8.9/10
The rooftop bar on the 51st floor of Toranomon Hills Mori Tower where the Tokyo skyline does the heavy work and a genuinely imaginative cocktail program does not let it do all of it alone.
- VERVE COFFEE ROASTERS YOYOGI PARK Steep PickYoyogi, Shibuya · Steep Index 8.8/10
A California roaster that landed in Tokyo and immediately felt at home: park-facing, communal, and serving some of the most considered pour-over and cold brew in Shibuya.
- Tokyo Confidential Steep PickAzabujuban, Minato · Steep Index 8.8/10
Six floors above Azabujuban with a secret 7th-floor rooftop that most of Tokyo has not found yet. The cocktails are creative enough that the view almost becomes secondary.
- The Bvlgari Lounge Steep PickYaesu, Chuo · Steep Index 8.8/10
A 40th-floor afternoon tea lounge inside Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, built around Italian-inspired sweets, scrumptious scones, and a genuinely exceptional tea list.
- Nadoya no Katte Steep PickNishihara, Shibuya · Steep Index 8.8/10
In a small Nishihara space with garden seating and communal tables inside, Nadoya no Katte runs one of Tokyo's most considered coffee experiences. You choose the bean. The barista explains everything. Then you wait, and you taste.
- wine bar juni Steep PickMeguro · Steep Index 8.8/10
California-born chef Katy Cole opened this eight-seat Meguro natural wine bar and hand-threw every ceramic piece in it. Around sixty bottles, mostly Savoie and Rheinhessen, ten by the glass, in a room that looks like a Georgia O'Keeffe painting had good taste in wine.