Bakeries in Tokyo

[ak4na2]

I am going to be in Tokyo for a week and was wondering if you wonderful folks could help me out with some good bakeries/pastry shops in Tokyo. Or even just general areas where bakeries/pastry shops are in a little more abundance so I could plan my trip accordingly. Thanks.

[chowmouse]

There are plenty of great patisseries with amazing French pastries. Hironobu Tsujiguchi is a famous pastry chef who has a few stores out; the only one I've been to is Mont St Clair. It's very good, you'll probably find that the stuff there is about as good anything you'll find in Paris. But it's just standard French pastries and not what I would go to Tokyo to load up on personally.

I know you say you're not really into bread, but I would encourage you to check out Japanese bakeries nonetheless. All kinds of unique savory stuff (curry, piroshki donut, Japanese-style nan bread), flaky buttery croissants, some amazing chocolatey stuff. There are several prominent bakery chains. My favorites are Pompadour and Vie de France. You can find both throughout Tokyo. For example, both are located inside the massive Ikebukuro station complex.

[graceface]

Here are a couple fairly recent threads that I found helpful:

Advice on pastry shops please:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/658567

French pastry shops:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/616978

The second thread focuses on Tokyo but encompasses discussion of patisseries across Japan.

[ak4na2]

sweet. you guys are awesome. that interview with nakajima is very interesting. keep it simple. he is added to my must stop list. i should be good now or else my waistline is going to hate me too much.

[ak4na2]

any other suggestions?

[kamiosaki]

Maison Kayser - more bread than pastry, but pretty much as good as it gets in Tokyo.

http://www.maisonkayser.co.jp/

[Uncle Yabai]

So I go to Paris (hadn't been there in a long time), and on the ride from the airport, I passed Dalloyau, Eric Kayser, Retrodor, Laduree, and Paul. I felt I was in Tokyo, completely failed to connect that these were all French brands...

[amrx]

Pastry is generally excellent in Tokyo. Despite the use of famous foreign names the pastry makers are Japanese for the most part so I'm not impressed with names as such. Besides the department stores you should also check out the elite hotels that have their own pastry kitchens. At the Peninsula Tokyo downstairs you can look through the windows and watch them work.

[amrx]

Here's an interview with the executive pastry chef at the Hotel New Otani. I have no knowledge of the pastry.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/
cgi-bin/fl20090611jk.html

[amrx]

Well my favorites are the fruit tarts at Qu'il fait bon which has several locations in Tokyo. Here is a post with pictures from another blog:
This was posted on " sleepwalkingintokyo" in March with heading: killer-tarts-from-quil-fait -bon

[ak4na2]

thanks for that blog. looks like the blogger visited some interesting bakery/cafes. plus has hopped around from japan and korea. might check out some of the korean places although my stay in korea is more of a play trip. (ie eat drink sleep. wash rinse repeat for two weeks.)

[AngelSanctuary]

Well haven't been here but from this guy's description Hidemi Sugino sounds pretty amazing: http://www.chuckeats.com/2010/07/05/h...

But sounds like you have to practically camp infront of the door to get a bite.

[kersizm]

Viron is probably the first one that springs to mind. It's a french bakery in Shibuya.
http://www.bento.com/rev/2503.html

My girl friend loves the simple doughnuts at Hara Donuts, who have a few spots around Tokyo. It's cute and trendy from what I could tell.
haradonuts.jp (Japanese

)

When I'm in town next week, I'm planing on trying Maison romi-unie in Gakugei Daigaku.

[ak4na2]

cool. i have actually heard about sugino. if nothing else i am going to have to pick up his book. and looks like he has an obsessive fan on the web.

thanks for all the other suggestions as well. i am slowly mapping out my routes around tokyo. granted i may stop into several shops that catch my eye in between.

and from quick web searches i am definitely stopping by maison romi unie. a waffle cookie intrigues me like no other right now.

[prasantrin]

I'm not a big fan of Sugino--I find his mousse-based cakes to be rather mucilaginous. And they tend to be quite sweet without a lot of nuances in flavour (in my opinion). But it's a very popular place.

I very much liked a tes souhaites, though it's a bit out of the way.

Viron has the best kouign aman(n). I miss it a lot.

I like Joel Robuchon's caramel tarts and citron tarts.

I really really like the palmier at Freundlieb. Worth the trip if you can find it.

I am also very fond of Henri Charpentier. It was my go-to pastry shop in Japan.

[ak4na2]

thanks for the suggestions. i guess that is why there are so many restaurants, cafes and bakeries out there. =) one is bound to find some that fits their palette.

[gkanai]

There are bakeries near many of the train stations but that probably doesn't help you. If you can clarify more as to what sort of bread (French? Italian? German? Middle Eastern?) that would help.

You can try the Joel Robuchon bakery at Roppongi Hills for high-end pastries.

[ak4na2]

actually not really looking for bread. more of the pastry types of shops. any type is fine as visiting various bakeries is all i am going to be doing in japan. if anything a cute trendy place may be the closest to what i am looking for.