Must-Eat: Hudson Market Bakers

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I love bakeries. They’re wonderful. Hot, delicious bread and pastries? Give it to me. But as much as I love bakeries, my wife loves them even more. Her favorite city on our worldwide trip last year was Napoli, because we got to try Sfogliatella, and throughout Italy and France she loved going for croissants or starting off the day with Italian pastries and coffee. We love bakeries and everything they stand for.

But I have a confession to make: I have been a part of the shameful American practice of anti-breadness. I turned my back and said nothing while carbohydrates were maligned, even going so far as to give up carbs myself except for on Saturdays. Due to Americans’ hatred for bread, the country’s baked goods have not been allowed to shine. But Japan is helping to rectify this, putting a spotlight on the treats Americans have forsaken in their desire for the sexy stomachs they will never attain. Since Tokyo has everything, it also has an American bakery, and a darn good one at that.

Hudson Market Bakers: American baked goods on a Tokyo side street

Hudson Market Bakers is an Azabu-juban spot that from the outside doesn’t look much different from any other bakery (in fact, there’s a Japanese bakery around the corner that looks and smells much the same as this one from the outside).

Bakeries are popular in Japan. Much like in basically every country outside America, it’s not difficult to find a place where you pick up a tray and tongs and grab way too much sugary deliciousness. Hudson Market stands out from the rest because its offerings are based on the American treats I grew up with. Because I’m a big fat piggy boy, I was ready to judge this place harshly if it didn’t live up to my standards. How’d it do?

Ordering at the counter and cakes and pies

Hudson Market is not a large shop, with a small counter flanked by a big display case, and in the corner a massive table filled with plastic-wrapped cookies of all kinds. In the display case to the right were the things we didn’t try: a selection of pies and cakes that looked delicious but weren’t quite right for 11:15 AM when the place opened. We were the second customers of the day, with a small line quickly building behind us, even on a weekday, though the service was fairly prompt and the shop never got too terribly crowded.

Look at some of those flavors: pumpkin pie, double crust apple pie, banana coconut frosted cake, double fudge chocolate cake, spiced pumpkin frosted cake… in the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Yowzers wowzers, I want to eat that mother effing cake!”

But it was morning, and we wanted to be healthy, so we stuck with more breakfast-centric fare.

Cookies and biscuits

If you’re American like me, you’ll find lots of the choices familiar, like a New York Crumb Cake that gave me flashbacks to the coffee cake we used to sometimes get from school lunch, or oatmeal raisin cookies, muffins, and banana nut bread. But then there were other choices like butterscotch vanilla cake, snickerdoodle pumpkin cookies, and sweet potato muffins that you won’t find just anywhere.

The sheer number of cookies was astounding, though they were a bit pricey. A single item will cost you around 450 yen, which is about $3 as of this writing. While not everything was super fresh, they indicated what was freshly-baked, which was helpful in making our choices.

Our selections and the dine-in setup

Hudson Market has a small cafe section where you can sit at one of four or five tables. It wasn’t cramped because we were the only ones eating in at that point, but it can get crowded during peak times. There’s espresso drinks, but only the kind that come from an automatic machine. We are two dainty diet-conscious individuals, so we only ordered five things.

New York Crumb Cake: I love classic coffee cake, and this thing definitely looked fancy. It also had a special sign next to it, so I assumed it was one of their specialties. Unfortunately, it tasted like it had been made a day or two before: sweet and yummy, but kind of dry.

Cinnamon Glazed Coffee Cake: Now this was something I’d never tried or even dreamed of. On the outside, a glazed swirl donut. On the inside, moist coffee cake with a cinnamon flavor. Both layers were executed to perfection. Absolutely incredible. 100% chance I get this again next time I go.

Maple Buttermilk Biscuit: Please don’t mistake me for some sort of city boy just because I live in a city. My butt grew up in the country, and I have high standards for biscuits. Well, not that high. I’d probably eat a tube of raw biscuit dough if given the opportunity. Anyway, this thing was good. Very good. It was fresh and hot and moist and tasty, with a hint of maple flavor to take it over the top. We had no butter and didn’t really need it. This wasn’t just a good biscuit for Japan; it would be a good biscuit anywhere.

Snickerdoodle Brown Sugar Cookie: If you like snickerdoodle, you’ll like this. A nice, soft cookie with good taste. Nothing too fancy here, just a good cookie for when you’re already full but want to shove more food in your fat piggy face.

Peanut Brookie: Here we go. A peanut butter cookie inside a chocolate brownie. What mad scientist dared laugh in the face of the almighty when dreaming up this concoction? It’s soft. It’s sugary. It’s RICH in peanut butter flavor. It would have been amazing for three in the afternoon but was a bit much the piled onto an already sugary breakfast before 12.

All in all, we enjoyed everything, but the biscuit, glazed coffee cake, and brookie won the day. We were full. We went home. We napped.

Conclusion: why you must try Hudson Market Bakers

Was my tale of deliciousness not enough for you? What’s the matter with you? Do you not want to be happy?

Hudson Market Bakers does America proud, turning out fantastic versions of classic treats. It’s pricey, but worth it. We will absolutely be going here every time we’re in the neighborhood. You must try it. Go now. It will solve all your problems.

Location and details

Map courtesy of the HMB website.

Hudson Market Bakers is located in the Tokyo neighborhood of Azabu-juban, and is absolutely worth going out of your way to try.

Address: 1 Chome-8-6 Azabujuban, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0045

Phone: +81 03-5545-5458

Hours: Tues-Fri 11:00AM-8:00PM, Sat-Mon 11:00AM-7:00PM