Shoto Cafe's Giant Roast Beef Sandwich
One thing I still don’t understand about Japan is the Japanese cafe. There are plenty of cheap places to get delicious Japanese food at lunchtime, and Tokyo is home to all kinds of other restaurants, yet for some reason you’ll always see Japanese people flocking to lunch at basic middle-of-the-road cafes that serve doughy waffles and gross hot dogs and uninspiring coffee and sandwiches. Though there are certainly fancy third-wave coffee shops in Tokyo, there’s also a lot of the bland cafes you can find anywhere. If there’s one style of Japanese restaurant I trust less than any other, it’s the standard cafe.
That’s why it’s so remarkable when you find a good one, where they take pride in the food and coffee and provide a memorable experience, not just a sad curry plate and black coffee. We tried a new spot recently that stands out from the crowd, and couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it.
Welcome to Shoto Cafe
Tucked away in a Shibuya side street, Shoto Cafe is a Western-style coffee shop with a relaxed atmosphere and simple menu. The walls are adorned with autographs from satisfied customers going back more than a decade. We’d been here about a month before and really enjoyed it, and decided to come back for round two.
The style is cozy and the tables aren’t too close together, but this is not the kind of coffee shop you bring your laptop to and sit all day. Signs clearly state that you get to sit for 45 minutes if you buy a coffee and 90 minutes if you buy food. On our last visit, those rules seemed pointless, but they’re clearly posted for Saturdays.
We arrived at 11:15, 15 minutes before they started serving food, and there were only a couple tables full. But within five minutes of our arrival, EVERY table was full, with people seated outside waiting. Saturday is obviously a very busy day for them. There is also a to-go window, and the staff looked frantic the entire time. It’s a popular spot, is what I’m saying.
The menu
There aren’t a ton of things on the menu, just your standard drink choices, desserts like their fluffy chiffon cake, and a few lunch items like a Cuban sandwich and chicken curry. But there’s one thing that stands out from the pack: a stacked roast beef sandwich that comes in four sizes.
Roast beef is quite popular in Japan. For whatever reason, a lot of cafes offer a roast beef plate as one of their dining options. But it usually doesn’t come in an American-style multi-layered sandwich with cheese and lettuce like this. You can choose from several kinds of bread, and we went with Focaccia because the only thing we love more than a big fat sandwich is anything to do with Italy.
The roast beef sandwich is available in four sizes. The menu specifically warns diners NOT to order the large sandwich. The last time we were at Shoto, we got a medium sandwich and chiffon cake. But this was a business lunch, so we got the big boy. We do these things for you, dear reader.
Thankfully, there are no mirrors in this place so you don’t have to watch yourself be a disgusting pig.
The large roast beef sandwich
Folks, that’s ONE sandwich. They divided it in two because they knew we were sharing, but if you order a large, that is how much sandwich you get.
It’s a behemoth. It’s a monster. It’s colossal. But most importantly, how does it taste?
Feasting on roast beast
The only thing better than a big sandwich is a big DELICIOUS sandwich. This thing was great. The meat and cheese and lettuce were all high-quality and in perfect proportion, and the warm focaccia was melty and delicious. I ate probably 3/4 of the sandwich without touching my macaroni salad because why would I want to eat macaroni salad. Eriko had her pasta salad and said it was good.
Rarely in Japan will you come across a sandwich this tasty, and the humongo size is just a bonus. It’s probably not smart for a normal human to try to finish one of these things, but if somebody puts one in front of you, it’s so delicious that you’ll want to try.
The one drawback to our dining experience was that we still hadn’t gotten our drinks, and we weren’t the only ones. The sole waiter was overworked with to-go orders and a restaurant full of tables. It took almost an hour to finally get our beverages.
Coffee at Shoto Cafe
My latte was pretty standard - well-made in the modern style, but the coffee flavor wasn’t too strong. Eriko got a spiced chai, and oh man was there a lot of spice in that thing. A big roast beef sandwich between warm bread and nice warm drinks on a cold day. Could anything make this better? Yes. Something could.
Chiffon cake
You see, we’d sat there so long waiting for our drinks that we’d had time to ponder. We thought on an age-old conundrum: do we want dessert? Yes, we decided. We did want dessert. So we got some chiffon cake.
The cake comes toasted or not toasted and topped with whipped cream. They also have additional toppings like chocolate sauce or cinnamon sugar for an extra fee. We went with cinnamon sugar and toasted.
The cake was light and fluffy, crispy on the ends and warm and gooey in the middle. The whipped cream and cinnamon sugar were nothing special, but this is the PERFECT dessert for a November day. So warm, so sweet, so tasty. We were ready for a nap. Also, we were now fat. A successful afternoon.
Conclusion: should you visit Shoto cafe?
I highly recommend Shoto Cafe, but also suggest you go on a weekday, when tables are available and service is a little quicker. If you do go on Saturday, get there at exactly 11:15, because after that it’s way to busy.
Get the roast beef sandwich. Get the chiffon cake. Try the spiced chai if you must. But definitely try this place. Japanese cafes may not always be something to write home about, but this one is something to write to the world about.
Location
Shoto Cafe is located in Shibuya, a short walk from Shibuya Station and Shibuya Crossing. The details are:
Address: 1 Chome−29−24, Shoto, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0046
Phone: +81 03-5784-1566
Hours: 11 AM-6 PM (closed Mondays)
Tell them we sent you. They don’t know who we are and it’ll mean nothing to them, but tell them anyway.
