Bear Pond is one of the better known specialty coffee destinations in Tokyo, having made a good impression on a number of blogs, magazines, and newspaper articles over the past few years. Owner Katsu Tanaka lived in the US for many years and apparently worked as a trainer with well known specialty coffee purveyors Counter Culture Coffee and Gimme! Coffee.
Bear Pond’s small, unassuming location is opposite a gourmet donut shop, on an interesting street full of similarly quirky establishments in Shimokitazawa. The cafe is easily overcrowded with reverent patrons waiting for their coffee. I was looking forward to this visit, having heard their reputation, but I guess I came on a bad day.
The whole experience was fussy and overly precious. First, the no-photos signs plastered all over the walls aren’t exactly welcoming. Second, when I ordered an espresso I was told that I couldn’t, and something about having run out of beans. According to their website, they only serve espresso until 2 pm. The woman behind the counter then tapped her fingers and stared until I relented and ordered a cappuccino, served up in a paper cup. Why couldn’t I just try the espresso blend they were using for milk drinks? I didn’t push the issue, so who knows. I could have explained that I wanted to write a post about their cafe, but I’d lost interest by that point. When my friend and I finally received our drinks, we stood by the boards that serve as tables, and took the first sips — whereupon we were told, passive-aggressively, that we should get out because my girlfriend, the third person in our group, hadn’t ordered a drink.
I get it. It’s Tokyo and rent is high and space is limited and you’re running a business. You take your coffee very seriously and you’ve gotten a lot of positive press. You want to assure high quality standards. That’s fine. I’m sure your espresso is great, but the only thing I remember is how glad I was to leave.
Maybe I visited on a bad day. It happens. So take this review for what it is, and let me know how your experience was in the comments below.
Map after the break.
View FRSHGRND – Global Cafe Guide in a larger map
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Bear Pond is one of the better known specialty coffee destinations in Tokyo, having made a good impression on a number of blogs, magazines, and newspaper articles over the past few years. Owner Katsu Tanaka lived in the US for many years and apparently worked as a trainer with well known specialty coffee purveyors Counter Culture Coffee and Gimme! Coffee.
Bear Pond's small, unassuming location is opposite a gourmet donut shop, on an interesting street full of similarly quirky establishments in Shimokitazawa. The cafe is easily overcrowded with reverent patrons waiting for their coffee. I was looking forward to this visit, having heard their reputation, but I guess I came on a bad day.
The whole experience was fussy and overly precious. First, the no-photos signs plastered all over the walls aren't exactly welcoming. Second, when I ordered an espresso I was told that I couldn't, and something about having run out of beans. According to their website, they only serve espresso until 2 pm. The woman behind the counter then tapped her fingers and stared until I relented and ordered a cappuccino, served up in a paper cup. Why couldn't I just try the espresso blend they were using for milk drinks? I didn't push the issue, so who knows. I could have explained that I wanted to write a post about their cafe, but I'd lost interest by that point. When my friend and I finally received our drinks, we stood by the boards that serve as tables, and took the first sips -- whereupon we were told, passive-aggressively, that we should get out because my girlfriend, the third person in our group, hadn't ordered a drink.
I get it. It's Tokyo and rent is high and space is limited and you're running a business. You take your coffee very seriously and you've gotten a lot of positive press. You want to assure high quality standards. That's fine. I'm sure your espresso is great, but the only thing I remember is how glad I was to leave.
Maybe I visited on a bad day. It happens. So take this review for what it is, and let me know how your experience was in the comments below.
Map after the break.
View FRSHGRND - Global Cafe Guide in a larger map
10 comments
Johnny says:
Nov 11, 2010
Wow, what a bummer!
TUG and I have been there twice since you left, and it’s always the owner dude and his wife running the place. They’re always full of smiles and very welcoming. But, then again, I’ve always gone on a Friday morning.
I definitely agree with the “No Photos” thing. In general, I hate “No Photos”. One of these days I’m going to get cybernetic implants and take all the photos I want with my eyes.
Oscar says:
Nov 12, 2010
I visited in February on a rainy weekday and had one of my best and most inspiring coffeemoments, we stayed almost an hour chatting with the owner about his coffee-vision, design and life. I guess they might have become too popular?
Too me their excentric quirks were very interesting and exotic at our visit but I can understand that in certain circumstances they just become…..unwelcoming?
Aaron Frey says:
Nov 12, 2010
Thanks for sharing! It was disappointing, I’d heard so many good things. Guess it was just one of those days, but unfortunately that was the day I went. Glad your comments can offer a balanced perspective, hope for more in the future.
Oscar – yeah, I suppose the quirkiness can be endearing in a sense. But altogether left a bad taste in my mouth on that day. I’ve still put them down on my coffee map as a ‘must visit’ due to the coffee fanaticism.
Allen says:
Jul 26, 2011
I’m sorry to discover you had a bad experience. I went there twice. Katsu and Chiza were super friendly and we chatted for an hour. Everything I had from his espresso, gibraltar, to his sig drink the “dirty” was pretty effing amazing. Hope you get a chance to revisit!
Aaron Frey says:
Jul 29, 2011
I’m glad for the comments that balance out my bad experience. I’ll have to give them another shot when I visit Tokyo again.
Liang says:
Nov 19, 2011
Hello,
They have a second outlet in shibuya http://www.bear-pond.com/no8/
Outlet is cafe style that serves hot meals too. Pretty nice place!
Sara Kirchheimer says:
Nov 22, 2011
Hey…! I like Bear Pond Espresso. They’ve always been friendly to me and I think I could get addicted to the Gibraltar because I like dark chocolate so much. There’s nothing “precious” about their prep, if you understand Japanese cultural values and are not prejudiced in favor of our barbarian American abruptness. Where else can you get one-stop cultural and coffee exposure? Or for anyone who doesn’t want that, McDonalds is also selling coffee in Tokyo.
Eric says:
Feb 13, 2012
2 out of 3 times I have been to Bear Pond Shimokita Katsu was very rude. But today he was over the top rude, completely passive aggressive over nothing.
In both cases, I politely made an inquiry to certain things in the shop. The first being why is there no espresso after 2 pm? He immediately became irritated and had suggested reasons which didn’t make any sense to me, such as: “the air changes after 14:00 and because of the quality of the air after 14:00 we can’t serve the same taste so we stop”. I too, had travelled far specifically for an espresso. I later made the same inquiry at the Shibuya location, and the staff there had said it was because Katsu only brought in limited amounts of beans daily and it sold out by 14:00 usually.
Today myself and some friends were enjoying ourselves, one of them took a picture. They asked no photos. That’s fine. But I tend to be a curious person so on the way out I asked why the no photo policy? Wouldn`t it be free advertising as people talked about being there? Katsu and his wife launched off into a rather rediculous tirade suggesting: I don’t know how to follow rules, rules are rules, why do police have rules? What if he touched me, what if he went into someone’s house, am I not able to understand rules and privacy!? Eventually his shouting and verbal attacks on all 3 of us had the entire shop cleared out as frightened customers headed out the door. So in the end, he yells at me “you destroyed my business!!”.
I think the taste is good, but you’ll need to be able to stomach Katus’s F*CK-YOU-I’M-FROM-NEW-YORK attitude.
Aaron Frey says:
Feb 13, 2012
That sounds unpleasant. Thanks for sharing your experience, at least now I know I’m not the only one who didn’t find the place very welcoming.
VJ says:
May 5, 2012
Changed two trains to get to this espresso bar at 4:30PM. Did not know I would be denied an espresso, what I went there for. Not really a welcoming atmosphere with the owners’ snobbish attitude. Coffee may be good, but I didn’t really enjoy the whole experience. Disappointing and a waste of time and money for a place with so much good press.