coffee/bars ginza

Ginza Tricolore: upscale coffee in Tokyo

Ginza Tricolore started out in 1936 as one of the many cafes in Ginza offering fragrant coffee and home-made pastry. Very obviously with the reference to the French flag, hoping to bring a French-cafe atmosphere to Tokyo. The interior reflects the Taisho Roman style with rustic wooden tables, chairs and old piano (on the first floor).

The current location was reconstructed in 1982 in a unique red brick 2-storey building, very small in comparison to the rest of this neighbourhood. The building together with the revolving door with small canopy right above tries to evoke the European feeling even before you enter.

The coffee is excellent, hand drip through flannel. The eclairs and apple pie go very well together. This eclair is the prized sweet to get here and comes as 2 mini eclairs, one with chocolate, one without, and with some roasted nuts for extra flavour.


The interior on the 2nd floor


On the stairway are a couple of old photos about the cafe through the ages

It all feels very refined, and hence this place attracts a lot of well-off (elderly) ladies. The type that speaks about their recent travel to Paris, as the group of elderly ladies did at the table next to me. Luckily there were also a couple of business people who used this cafe to have quiet business meeting away from the office.

The cafe turned into a minor chain with 5 cafes in Japan. Next to the main cafe in Ginza, it has locations in Tamagawa (outskirts of Tokyo), Nagoya, Sendai and Sapporo. It has also 2 cafes branded as Kissa Tricolore in Ueno and Omiya. The company behind Tricolore is running many other brands such as Burdigala and Saya Saya.


Coffee in stylish tableware


Mini eclairs

In practice

Address: 5-9-17 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Opening hours:
Weekdays 8:00-20:30 (last order 20:00)
Weekends and holidays: 8:00-21:00 (last order 20:30)

Nearest Station:
Ginza Station – 1 minute walk (Ginza Line, Hibiya Line, Marunouchi Line)
Higashi-ginza Station – 2 minutes walk (Hibiya Line, Toei Asakusa Line)

Budget: JPY 880 for one coffee

Web: http://www.tricolore.co.jp/ginza_trico/ (in Japanese)

Smoking: first floor smoking, second floor non-smoking

Name in Japanese: トリコロール本店