Tokyo's best coffee shops

Tokyo: nice city, shame about the coffee. This used to be a standard complaint amongst foreign residents and visitors alike, with even people who'd considered themselves permanently indisposed to Seattle's most famous coffee export being forced to seek out the 'Bucks in order to get a cup of Joe that seemed even halfway worthy of the name. And while part of the problem was down to ignorance (Café de l'Ambre has been open since 1948, for crying out loud), the good places generally took a lot of effort to find, with shops specialising in espresso drinks being particularly thin on the ground.

No more. The last few years have seen a sharp increase in the number of serious-minded coffee makers plying their trade around the capital, many of them roasting their own beans and wielding heavy-duty espresso machines. Moreover, with the odd exception, most of them actually know what they're doing. Time Out spent a few over-caffeinated weeks trawling around the city in search of Tokyo's best coffee shops, and we were impressed by how many good places we found. If we've missed your favourite, let us know via our Twitter account. And remember: drink responsibly, now.

Espresso style

North Tokyo

Espresso Felice Roaster
Why can't all espresso be this cheap?
The best coffee shops in Tokyo tend not to be the most conveniently located. Felice Roaster's top-class lattes and ¥200 espressos make up for the awkward location. Read more

West Tokyo

Bear Pond Espresso
Coffee, with attitude
If you can get past the fussy rules and occasionally truculent service, they've got the best espresso in Tokyo: a syrupy trickle that's unbelievably potent. Read more

Caffé Fresco
Looks can be deceptive
This unprepossessing Asagaya cafe opened eight years ago and has been getting increasingly serious about its coffee ever since. The owner pulls a mean shot. Read more

Lo Spazio
Your neighbourhood (Italian) bar
Think of it as a local hangout transplanted from Italy to the suburbs of Tokyo, complete with shabby decor, casual food and some seriously good coffee. Read more

Amameria Espresso
Let the aroma reel you in
Worth a detour to Musashi-Koyama, this intimate shop offers consistently good espresso drinks, and sells all the gear you need to make your own. Read more

Coffee Amp
Small and immaculately formed
It's hard to believe that Koenji managed to go for so long without a single decent coffee shop. Coffee Amp addresses that deficiency with panache. Read more

Nozy Coffee
The young turks
The fresh-faced kids behind the counter are barely out of university, but they're already making some of the best espressos and lattes in town. Read more

Primoordine
Drive-by caffeine fix
It may look like a branch of Pronto, but don't be fooled. Espressos and cappuccinos are cheaper if you drink them at the bar – which is open 18 hours a day. Read more

Central Tokyo

Sarutahiko Coffee
The fuelling station
Ebisu's newest coffee spot serves satisfying lattes and drip brews at a location that's ideally positioned to snare office drones on their way to work. Read more

Paul Bassett
Like Starbucks... but good
Australian coffee king Paul Bassett's Japan empire didn't work out as planned, but his last shop still serves the best espressos and caffe lattes in Shinjuku. Read more

Streamer Coffee Company
Latte art goes OTT
While the free wifi and communal seating are nice touches, it's the 'extreme' latte art of Hiroshi Sawada and his crew that keeps people coming back. Read more

Omotesando Koffee
Tokyo's strangest pop-up shop?
Coffee dispensaries don't get more unusual than this one, where espressos are whipped up within a cube frame deposited inside a 60-year-old wooden house. Read more

Little Nap Coffee Stand
In park. Need coffee
You'll be getting your latte in a paper cup at this friendly little shop, which opened in February at a location just across the road from Yoyogi Park. Read more

Drip style & others

North Tokyo

Coffee Tei
Deep menu, deeply confused decor
Try not to get distracted by the decor – equal parts British pub and British tea room – and dive into a coffee menu that's the size of a small guide book. Read more

Coffee Western Kitayama
Putting the eccentricity into coffee
They give the impression that they'd much rather have no customers at all, but if you can get through the door, the brews are superb. Read more

West Tokyo

Tocoro Cafe
Coffee + tea ceremony. Really
A minimal, uncluttered interior provides an apt setting for the unlikely – and surprisingly successful – fusion of coffee making and Sado, Japanese tea ceremony. Read more

Coffea Exlibris
Shimokitazawa's other coffee shop
'This is going to be different,' promises the menu, and they aren't lying. Tuck into a strong selection of single-origin coffees at this secretive Shimokitazawa spot. Read more

Harmony Coffee
The intimate option
Sparsely decorated with a collection of antique coffee percolators, Harmony Coffee is as quaint as the name suggests. Meticulously prepared coffee, minimal seating. Read more

Horiguchi Coffee
The perfect hideaway
Toshihide Horiguchi is revered on the Japanese coffee scene, but his shops are about more than beans. Grab a good book and a spare couple of hours and this place is very heaven. Read more

Cafe Obscura
Coffee for the arthouse crowd
Brush up your cultural cred at this Sangenjaya cafe, where the siphon coffee is accompanied by a well chosen library of art and design books. Read more

Cafe Facon
Would you like a sandwich with that?
The Francophone trappings are a distraction, but the blends and single origin coffees are délicieuses – especially with a sandwich or hunk of cake. Read more

Mocha Coffee
The hardcore option
Owner Hussein Ahmed imports beans from his native Yemen, and his cafe doesn't sell coffee from anywhere else. Expect some robust, explosive flavours. Read more

Sarugaku Coffee
Tokyo's favourite, apparently
So popular that it even comes with a decoy coffee shop, Sarugaku actually lives up to the hype. Perfect if you prefer to drink your Joe like a fine wine. Read more

Central Tokyo

Café de l'Ambre
Vintage shop, vintage beans
'Coffee Only' reads the sign outside this bustling shop, which has been keeping the Ginza hordes well caffeinated since 1948. Unpretentious, with aged beans aplenty. Read more

Guild Coffee
Drive-by caffeine fix (again)
With seating for just four people, they're clearly aiming more at the takeaway crowd, and the coffee is a steal if you're ordering it to go. Read more