Architect Café
Stay abreast of the latest design trends at this stylish new Gaienmae bar

Photos by Kohji Shiiki

If you’re a fan of this magazine’s biweekly Goods section, you’ll love Architect Café. The walls are lined and the tabletops covered with nifty interior design products. The financial backing from exhibitors allows Architect Café to keep prices down, even with an address in Gaienmae’s sparkling new Passage Aoyama complex.

This is the second (and slightly smaller) incarnation of Architect Café; the original is located within that cobblestone swath of Shiodome known as Little Italy. But what the Aoyama branch lacks in size—though there’s seating for 50 and standing room for 90—it makes up for in style.

The bar has several distinct zones, including a swanky lounge boasting several of Herman Miller’s award-winning Leaf lamps, a modern dining room with chic white chairs, and an earthy section in the corner decorated with garden tools and strawberry plants under grow lights. On a recent Tuesday evening, we sat in the garden area, as it afforded a direct line of sight to the bar. A friendly waitress soon approached with fold-out menus, from which we ordered a round of drinks.

The Bloody Mary (¥700) was served, sadly, without celery or celery salt, but on the plus side did arrive with a salt shaker, pepper mill and bottle of Tabasco. And judging from the fantastic service we received during the course of the evening, the bartender would likely have popped down to the supermarket to pick up some celery had we requested it. (The drink, by the way, was delicious.)
All beer, shochu and cocktails—including the stellar Moscow Mule (¥600)—are in the very reasonable range of ¥500-¥800. Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut sparkling wine starts at ¥1,500.

The food is also quite well-priced, especially considering the tasty dishes we discovered hiding among other decidedly mediocre options. To start, we ordered the wild rice green salad (¥700), a pleasant mix of romaine, mushrooms, tomatoes and long-grain rice, tossed in a Balsamic vinaigrette. Next came the delicious fried potatoes (¥480). Not your ordinary spuds, these were diced, fried and drizzled with house-made sour cream and sweet chili sauce.

When our margherita pizza (¥780) arrived, however, our hearts sank. After recently sampling some truly great hand-tossed, wood-fired pizzas at Seirinkan in Nakameguro, we’re confident this spongy, perfectly round specimen would be the laughingstock of Naples.

Things soon picked up when the still-smiling server came round with the most interesting dish of the evening: the “herb-crusted baguette, mixed mushrooms and dried tomato” (¥780). This delight is difficult to describe, and drool-inducing to recall. But here’s a go: it consisted of a bowl of baked cheese, mushrooms, sun-dried tomato and breadcrumbs atop a bed of bread that had absorbed all the cheesy, garlicky goodness.

As we were leaving, one of our waitresses handed us a card with a handwritten note: “Thank you for coming!! I’m so happy to see you here and to talk with you guys. Hope to see you here soon…”

Guaranteed.

2F Passage Aoyama, 2-27-18 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5771-2570. Open daily 7am-11pm. Nearest stn: Gaienmae, exit 1a. www.architectcafe.com

Got something to say about this article? Send a letter to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.

Listen to the Metropolis Podcast, the coolest guide to what goes on this week in Tokyo.

Looking for international friends? Check Japan, Inc. Friends now - it's 100% free!