Cafes in Tokyo
 

Any recommendations for cafes in the Tokyo area?
Preferably local.

Thanks!

Local? To who/where?

To local people, of course.

Is Saitama local enough?
https://en.goodcoffee.me/column/area...d-trip-part-2/

The chain coffee shops have largely taken over in Tokyo, not only Starbucks, but also Doutor, Tully's, and places that try to look like Starbucks and come just short of trademark infringement.

Your best bet for finding old-style local coffeeshops, the ones where the owner chooses the crockery, the decor, and the type of music played on the sound system, and serves toast, coffee, salad, and a hard-boiled egg before 10AM as "morning service," is looking on the side streets or heading toward the less touristy neighborhoods.

I thought you were poking fun at Saitama but these look really good.

Tokyo has good third wave coffee shops if you're not looking for a meal set but the coffee itself
https://tokyocoffee.org/category/area-guides/
https://en.goodcoffee.me/area/tokyo/
I usually stop by Glitch to buy some beans for friends who love third wave coffee (I don't drink coffee myself, so secondhand recommendation).

+ksandness rec. Look for a kissaten. I believe smoking is technically allowed if that's an issue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kissaten
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6K_C122zpQ

There's also NaNa's Green Tea which is a Japanese chain oriented towards matcha & hojicha if you're looking for tea.
nana's green tea

Nana Green Tea is quite good, more of a cafe/restaurant feel with plenty of food dishes.
Went there a few times but in Singapore where they have a couple of shops.

Also tried a %Arabica shop when in Kyoto.
The coffee was ok and seemed very hipster type.

Tried Blue Bottle once before but was not impressed.

Last spring when some FT friends and I were looking for a place to sit and have coffee in Shinjuku Kabukichō, we came across this coffee shop. It’s part of a Japanese chain called Tsubakiya and turned out to be an interesting cafe. My friends were particularly impressed that they served coffee in Royal Copenhagen porcelain and that there was no indication outside other than in (old-fashioned) Japanese that it was a cafe. I couldn’t take a photo inside but it was similar to the interior photo you find if you click the link.

https://old-tokyo.info/coffee-taisho...in-maid-cafes/

haha the Panda sitting outside is really cute!

Local cafes are everywhere.
I've been to some really good ones, but I normally stick to Starbucks and can't honestly recall specific cafes by names.
However, neighborhoods like Hiroo, Sangenjaya, Omotesando and Kichijoji all have local cafes. I think those are neighborhoods that come to mind as far as places with cafes.

As for chain places, Nana's Greentea has been mentioned but I have to say it's decent but not great (maybe a bit better than KyoHayashiya) although I've only had tea drinks there. For tea latte or any tea drinks, it's hard to beat Gion Tsujiri tea at Sky Tree. Otherwise I actually think I'm best off going to Starbucks for maccha latte over Nana's or KyoHayashiya or most certainly Doutor's. But at Starbucks, they can sometimes butcher it even in Jpn and I always ask them to make it foamy a la cappuchino. Japanese ppl buy lattes at konbinis which I think are garbage. On the other hand, drip coffees and iced coffees I find to be pretty high-quality most everywhere including konbinis and Doutor's.

+1 is a fan of this place which is near the Tsukiji Hongwanji. https://metropolisjapan.com/turret-c...fkpEfvRGaYZmgc

Tsubakiya is definitely a good option.

Double Tall café in on Omotesando, Edinburgh in Shinjuku 3 chome, Hoshino (local chain, I usually go to the one by Roppongi Crossing)

There are many really good individual coffee shops. Often with siphon coffee. Can't think of any specific ones right now.