Tricolore coffee - Chuo City, Tokyo

Alyssa N.

This retro coffee shop in Ginza has been around since 1936. The vibes here are everything.....you instantly get transported back 100 years in time.

Coffee is delicious even though I don't usually like coffee. It's amazing to watch the craftsmanship of these longstanding Japanese spots. The dedication to the craft is what I love about Japan. They care about all the small details.

I will be back to try the dessert and different coffees!

Highly recommend this spot to anyone!

Fiona F.

My second time here so you could tell how much I liked the place! Vibe was fantastic without doubt. Food and coffee were unexpectedly good too! The shop opened at 8am and this time we arrived at 8:13am, got the second last empty table. Last time it was a 45 minute wait when we arrived around 9am.

Nezan

An elegant café with a beautifully curated interior and ambiance that instantly transports you to the chic corners of Paris. The warm, attentive service and the gentle classical music create a refined and relaxing atmosphere.

Cointreau Coffee – A wonderful blend where the rich coffee perfectly merges with the Cointreau, giving a festive and elevated feel. An excellent pairing.

Vienna – A very balanced drip coffee with a strong, pleasant bitterness and aromatic depth.

Éclair – The cream was rich and sublime, paired with a soft, perfectly made pastry. Absolutely delicious.

Tarte Fromage – Sweet, smooth, with a lovely biscuit base. A delightful finish.

TING Y. L.

This long-standing coffee shop is a nostalgic delight, with charming decor that transports you back in time. The service was friendly and attentive, creating a warm atmosphere. I came for the highly reviewed milk coffee, and it did not disappoint—smooth, rich, and served with a fun two-jug pouring presentation that added a unique touch. The breakfast combo was decently priced and satisfying, though the food itself was solid. A great spot for a cozy, memorable experience!

Emmanuel P.

Tricolore Café is a long-standing Ginza institution. The brick walls, revolving door and vintage atmosphere are genuinely charming, and the café has clearly cultivated a sense of old-world elegance since 1936. With a name like “Tricolore,” it also carries a subtle evocation of French culture, even if its history is entirely Japanese.

This is why my experience there felt so out of character for a place with such a refined image.

I had a business meeting and was taken to the upper floor, which was almost empty and very quiet. Having lived in Japan for many years, I am extremely conscious of local norms, especially about keeping a low voice in cafés. I also fully understand how mass tourism has made service jobs more stressful and how much staff often have to deal with guests who ignore the most basic unspoken rules.

Yet despite speaking in a moderate and respectful tone, the waitress came over and shushed me in a passive-aggressive way, without even making eye contact. No polite request, no gentle reminder, just a cold gesture that immediately created an uncomfortable atmosphere and threw off the meeting.

For a café that presents itself as elegant and premium, with prices that reflect that positioning, the level of hospitality was remarkably poor. The attitude felt needlessly brusque and left a very negative impression.

A beautiful setting can only go so far when the welcome is this icy.

SL Y.

Dec 2025
Finally got to try out this place.....and we found it to be average so a little disappointed after so high expectations.
Not sure why the hype. We tried in March 2025 and it was so busy and we didn't want to wait 1 hour in the long queue then, so now we are back in Tokyo in Dec 2025 we came here at 11am on a weekday and got a table immediately as there was no queue! The key difference is that PRC is discouraging tourists from visiting Japan in Dec 2025. So it is much quieter here. Now it's clear to see that the reason why this cafe is popular is only because of PRC tourists. We were seated upstairs in 1st floor. Table service. We ordered a coffee set with cake and another coffee. It's a slower pace here as they only got a couple of staff serving on the 1st floor. Prices are higher than other coffee shops, but as we on holiday, we are happy to pay up. Relatively small. Have about 30 seats in total split over ground floor and 1st floor. Have toilet upstairs. No rush. We sat here for around 50 mins. Pay downstairs at the counter when leaving. When we left there were a few people queuing on the stairs

March 2025
Popular. We got there at 11am and the queuing time was 30 mins. We tried again at 2pm and the queuing time increased to 1 hour. There was a few people sitting on the stairs waiting for a table. We did not wait. French style coffee shop

Henry C.

A very elegant cafe with decent food and coffee. Friendly service, reasonable price, and it’s quite popular!

Alexis L.

This place is great for brunch and the decor within the cafe is really classy (so expect the cost to be high).

We had the smoked duck sandwich (with four half sandwiches of smoked duck, orange marmalade, lettuce and tomatoes) and smoked salmon sandwich (with four half sandwiches of smoked salmon, lettuce and tomatoes). The bread is soft and the tomatoes are sweet though there isn’t much meat for the price (~3,000 yen) and comes with a plate of salad.

The main star of the cafe is the orange Savarin (the Saverin is soaked well with orange brandy and baked well). We also ordered their signature apple pie (delicious since the apple bits are plenty and crust crispy) and their cheese tart (quite normal like usual cheese tarts). The desserts are priced slightly below 1,000 yen each.

Total bill was around 7,800 yen.