Marion Crepes

I had my first taste of Marion Crepes back in Asia and absolutely loved it! So when I heard Mitsuwa was going to feature Marion Crepes for a limited time, I literally jumped up from my comfy spot on the couch and raced down here asap.
When we arrived, the line wasn’t as crazy as I thought it was going to be, but it was, however, slow moving. As we waited in line, we were given ample time to stare bug-​eyed at the enticing display of both sweet and savory crepes, while we pondered our choices.
Usually, I would go for their savory crepes, but it seemed like their only 2 options of tuna pizza and tuna cheese were not as appealing as their sweet flavors. So, I went for the #10: banana with chocolate syrup and green tea ice cream. The crêpe was soft and chewy. And though I would have preferred it a little crispier, it was still delicious. They filled it up with generous amounts of ice cream which tasted awesome; however, I was kinda disappointed that they ran out of the whipped cream since I had heard Marion Crepes uses Japanese whipped cream which tastes different from the American whipped cream (and imo, better!).
I think the prices were somewhat okay, ranging from $ 4-​$ 6 depending on what flavor and whether or not you get it with ice cream (but get it with ice cream, I mean, seriously).
In the end, let’s just say I didn’t go all cray cray for crepes today. Maybe it was the lack of the Japanese whipped cream or the not-​so-​crispy aspect, but hey, I’m not complaining… much :P
It was good enough to satisfy my craving for Japanese-​style crepes and I left content.

I ordered the #12: red bean, strawberry, whip cream one with green tea ice cream. Best thing in the world! I wish they were always at mitsuwa!
The workers were super nice and even though the line was pretty long, the wait was not that long.

Taking my little sister out for lunch and she demanded something for dessert so I Unilocaled and found this place. The line was not that long and the wait for them to make the crêpe was about 10 – 15 mins. There were the pre made crepes lined in front so you could see which one you wanted and so you could order. My sister got the one with ice cream in it. It was pretty filling and large so she struggled to finish it but she loved it so that means it was good.

I really hope the ones in Japan taste infinitely times better because this was pretty «meh». Gosh I’m doing a lot of shoulder shrugging here. My sis and I were really looking forward to the crepes when we found out they were coming to Mitsuwa. There’s always a long line, but it goes quick when you’re figuring out what to order by looking at the plastic food models (a real crêpe doesn’t look like the model)…
We ordered:
Crêpe with Tuna, Cream Cheese and a lettuce
–I thought it was OK. Wished the cream cheese had a bit more cream cheese flavor. It seemed small.
Crêpe with green tea ice cream with red bean filling and strawberries
–I liked this one better, wished the crêpe was crunchy instead of soft because it was hard to eat when everything is soft and squishy.
Overall:
Glad I tried it, now when it comes to Mitsuwa, I won’t be lining up for it.

Since they come once in a blue moon, I just had to bring my sweet tooth to Mitsuwa and devour that wheat flour before it’s gone.
I was bracing for long lines but I must’ve been very lucky on my first visit, there were only 2 people in front of me and that allowed me sufficient time to check out the crêpe selections, how they made it as well as snickered at other people’s choices of crepes. #3 really? You must have left your taste buds at the parking lot!
My more fortunate taste buds enjoyed both #9 and #12 in my two trips with green tea ice cream in place of vanilla. I was informed to request for extra crispy crepes and my mouth was the gracious benefactor! The extra crunch packed a mighty punch and my stomach was swiftly knocked out (x_​x)
They are now gone for the winter and all that’s left are sticky floors where some of that delicious Japanese whipped cream sadly met its early demise. I’ll write you letters and send you postcards Marion… impatiently awaiting your return to fulfill my crêpe dreams.

Huzzzah! Marion is back again at Mitsuwa!
Simple & sweet is the best way to describe Marion. They don’t have a gazillion different fillings and toppings to choose from, just a handful of sweet and a couple savory fillings. You can never go wrong with strawberry, whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and green tea ice cream, just saying (#10). Their Japanese whipped cream is different than stuff you can get at Safeway. It’s thicker and the flavor varies a bit, so if you don’t like whipped maybe order w/​out it. Crepes are made to order and the strawberries are sweet and fresh!
I read that you can order your crêpe extra crispy, going to try that next time! They’ll be in Mitsuwa until ¹²⁄₈ so go get it now! I’d go on an off time /​weekday to avoid the long lines cos Mitsuwa is always crackin’ on the weekends.
For $ 6 plus .50cents for ice cream, it is a good deal for a decent sized crêpe! If you have one to yourself you’re gonna be pretty stuffed, but you won’t want to share!

Yay! They’re back! This is the second time I got to visit Marion Crepes and as usual, they don’t disappoint.
My favorite is their chocolate, banana and cheese crêpe. Yes, I get weird looks from the guy at the register everytime I order it, regardless, they manage to make it for me.
P. S. This time around, there is way less line and wait compared to the first time they were here.

It’s not worth lining up a long time for. Still, you’ll do it because you’ll see the long line and will be curious how good it can be.
The long line is caused by the workers making 1 – 2 crepes at a time. I mean, 1 guy makes the base, then takes the base and puts toppings on it, wraps it… and then he goes back to making the base.
The crêpe was filled with A LOT of cream and a BIG scoop of ice cream. The green tea ice cream was actually quite good, but the rest was not memorable or recommendable.

What better way to shop around Mitsuwa than a delectable Marion Crêpe in one hand and a basket in another?
I came in right when they opened at 11 with thankfully no line, I got the #8 which was adzuki bean paste, strawberries and whipped cream. They prepared the crêpe rather quickly which was awesome. The crêpe was the right thickness and sweet, but not so much so and the strawberry with bean paste was great. The only thing I didn’t like was the whipped cream, I found it to be too thick and rich for the crêpe. Also wish it had a little more strawberries than just on the top. If you want a crispier crêpe you can also request that as well.
The booth is cash only & lines can get pretty long here

I saw the Unilocal event for the Crepes and I knew I just had to come back for them since the first attempt was a fail.
— — — — —
I went here a couple of days before their last day and I guess the hyped already died down since the line wasn’t as long as the previous time I was there! We ordered the number 7 & 11!
— #7 (Banana Chocolate whipped cream crêpe) — I thought this was alright for the price!
— #11 (Strawberry chocolate special) — YUMMMMY! This was actually really good and you can choose between vanilla ice cream or green tea! Green tea ice cream, hands down!
— — — — —
Overall, I’m glad I got to try them out before they left! Prices were alright I believe my total came out to just less than $ 12. I don’t think it’s the BEST crêpe I’ve had.

Attempted Marion Crêpe for the 3^rd time yesterday and finally had one.
Attempt 1: out of the Japanese whipped cream (so what would be the point?)
Attempt 2: closed
Attempt 3: last day (³⁄₂₄) so the line was thirty people deep
Had the #11 ($ 6): strawberry, chocolate syrup (Hershey’s, unfortunately), whipped cream (5 stars for its pillowy richness) and ice cream (only green tea option available). Crêpe was a good size, soft and chewy (but I usually like a crisp edge), but rather unremarkable. Worth it if you’re in the mood and there’s no line.
Two people were running the pop-​up shop in Mitsuwa. One girl took the orders, cashiered, and watched her co-​worker make every single crêpe himself. No previous prep work done except for the batter, so he’s there slicing bananas and strawberries individually for each crêpe as it’s ordered. I admire his assiduousness, but he was killing himself.
Also, for crêpe enthusiasts, please note that there are no savory options other than tuna/​tuna pizza. There is no Nutella (sacrilege) and no lemon/​butter/​sugar.
Cash only.

I am so sad that I didn’t go visit this place sooner in the month! I have heard about the famous Marion Crepes in Japan & that they were coming to Mitsuwa this month. The hubs & I arrived around lunchtime & there were about 10 people in line ahead of us. That gave us plenty of time to look at the choices of crepes being offered. We ended up getting the strawberries with whipped cream & chocolate syrup crêpe as well as the bananas with whipped cream & chocolate syrup. The crepes were served wrapped into a cone shape with a paper to enjoy. I will say it was the best crêpe I have had in a very long time! The whipped cream was my favorite part along with the sweet strawberries. I shall return tomorrow for one more crêpe before they leave forever :(
Be sure check it out by tomorrow, March 25! Then they’ll be gone :(

I tried Tomi Sushi around the corner and was still hungry after so I came by Mitsuwa to look for snacks. I saw the Crêpe stand and I couldn’t help but get one to try. I got a strawberry and banana with chocolate syrup crêpe with green tea ice cream. They had run out of whipped cream, but I’m not a huge fan of that anyway so I didn’t mind. The crêpe was… really soggy. Not crispy in texture at all. It was just, not that great. The chocolate syrup just came from a huge Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle, I wasn’t too pleased. Unfortunately, I got the last scoop of the tub of green tea ice cream so it was pretty gritty and icy. Overall, I wasn’t too great. I don’t think I’ll be trying it again.

I’ve been meaning to come all month to try their crepes and today at work I couldn’t stop staring at all these crêpe photos on Unilocal!Darn you Unilocalers! :P It made me crave them even more! ahaha
After work today (and before dinner), I went straight to the Marion Crêpe stand that was inside Mitsuwa! I wasn’t surprised there was already a line wrapped around the small pop up shop! They’re only open for two more days (until Sunday, March 24^th)!
I was super sad they were out of #13, the one with chestnuts. They said they were totally sold out of chestnuts and aren’t planning to get anymore. They also ran out of #5, not sure which one that was. So luckily they still had #9 (azuki, strawberries, whipped cream and added the green tea ice cream for an additional charge). My friend got #14 (blueberry jam with cream cheese). I thought this one would be boring because who puts cream cheese on crêpe? No, it was actually really good! It didn’t need whipped cream or ice cream. It reminded me of a blueberry danish! It was super hot and yummy! They were both really good!
The japanese imported whipped cream wasn’t anything significantly special. It was really subtle in taste and not very sweet; very thick and smooth in texture. It felt like a combination of thick cool whip and thick whipped cream cake frosting.
Ordered:
— #9: recommend adding green tea ice cream for an extra $.50 ($ 5.50+$.50+tax)
— #14: tastes like a nice and hot blueberry cheese danish! :D ($ 4.50+tax)
The total came out to a little over $ 11. A lot of reviewers said the crepes were too pricey. I kinda think it was okay priced. Crepes in SF Japantown are around $ 5, too. At first I was just planning on ordering one crêpe and split it with my friend because we were gonna eat dinner right after. But after having to wait in line and craving crepes all morning, forget it… I ordered my own! It’s impossible to share. haha I guarantee you can easily eat the whole thing by yourself without any assistance! :P
TIPS:
— CA$H ONLY!
— hurry on over before they run out of japanese imported whipped cream! lol
— open from 11am-​7pm (last order is at 6:50pm)
— last day is this sunday, march 24^th!
— 1 person per crêpe… you will regret it if you share!

I was super excited to hear that Marion was coming to Mitsuwa this month since the last time I had a taste of Marion was during my EAP program back in 2008! I remember it being one of the best tasting crepes I’ve ever had … rich green tea ice cream, soft buttery crêpe just slightly toasted, fresh fruits and fluffy sweet whipped crème mixed with that irresistible chocolate drizzle … mMMmmm…
What I ordered at this Marion was like … ¹⁄₃ as good as what I had in Harajuku. Well, to be fair, they did only have ONE guy work the whole line… poor dude was like a circus act all by himself back there. :(Somebody lend him a hand!
After looking through the menu (and wishing that there were more amazing options), I ordered #11: Strawberry Chocolate Special for $ 6 — which in all honesty, was not all that special at all. Nothing super creative or special there. It just had strawberry slices, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. Except I substituted the vanilla for green tea because green tea is 100x more awesome!!! YEA! They do skimp on it vs the vanilla though. Eh oh well. Still worth it. I LOVEs me green tea ice cream!
They also have some savory options too if you like that. I felt like the strawberry special was the only one that was actually worth getting cause it actually had more variety in it than anything else on the menu. They even sold crepes with just jam and cream cheese in it… boring much? I can make that at home with a bagel!
On the plus side, you can beef up your crepes if you wish for 50cents more per add on: fruits, chestnut, red bean, extra scoop of ice cream, etc. Although I didn’t opt to add anything more, it’s nice to know you can :]
Overall, I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was good. And it definitely took me back to my stay in Japan which is always a great memory… ah those were such good times… Damn you Marion. Now I wanna go back and visit Japan again! Wahhh! T_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​T

Swung by Mitsuwa at lunch time today to try out the Marion Crepes all my buddies have been talking about. I ordered a crêpe with green tea ice cream, red bean paste, and 3 slices of bananas. I arrived at around 11:50am on a Wednesday and there was nobody in line so I was able to talk to the chef while he was preparing my order. I asked him where is Marion Crepes going to be after the 24^th of March and he told me he’ll be moving to South Los Angeles. As he was preparing, I captured a quick video clip, and snapped a few pictures of his booth. All the pictures have been posted on Unilocal and the video is now uploading to YouTube. Just search for «Japanese Marion Crepes at Mitsuwa Supermarket in San Jose».
Overall, the crêpe was actually not that bad. I was a bit disappointed that they ran out of Japanese whipped cream. I had heard from a buddy that Japanese whipped cream tastes better than American and was very curious to try out the difference. The chef told me the whipped cream won’t be arriving until Thursday (tomorrow). At first thought, I thought my crêpe will be on the sweet side, but surprisingly it wasn’t. The crêpe batter was crispy, the ice cream was just cold enough to bite into but not melt, the red bean wasn’t too sweet, and the banana was just right.

Crepes from Japan? How could I resist not going here?
Unfortunately, I’m from the Fremont area so it’s a bit of a drive down just for crepes and I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth it. BUT luckily I had schedule a doctor’s appointment in SJ and so I made the stop on the way back.
I went right when they opened at 11 and there were two people in front of me. There was only one guy working so it was like a 10 minute wait until my turn! It was a bit of a wait but in my opinion, worth it (or maybe it’s because I haven’t had crepes in awhile). It was delicious! I ordered #13(?), which is the green tea ice cream, red beans, chestnuts, and whipped cream crêpe. They did not skimp on anything! I kept thinking there would be no more red bean or chestnuts as I was eating it, but no, there was always more! The ice cream was really good and you can also get vanilla instead. The red bean paste was flavorful and complemented the green tea ice cream and chestnuts as well. There was so much of it all and I was super happy. I inhaled it all and wished I ate it slower so I could enjoy it more. :(
My main gripe about this place is that the crepes aren’t crispy. :(They’re rather soft and chewy. If that was fixed, I’d give this place 5 stars, for sure! Well, that and the price is a little high ($ 6 for the one I got but there are some cheaper ones).
Open from 11am-​7pm! Check them out before they leave on March 24^th!

Brought the gf here as a surprise dessert. Also, I guess these pop-​ups have a certain amount of appeal generated by the fact that they will only be around for a bit.
This was good enough. I don’t know that I’d specifically go out of my way to get this, and I’m not heartbroken that I won’t be able to get it after next weekend. Like another review I read, I think I’d prefer my crêpe cooked just a tad longer… more browned. Anyhow, we had the #11, which is with strawberries, whipped cream, ice cream (vanilla or green tea) and chocolate sauce. As noted, it was solid but unspectacular in my opinion.
The line does not move particularly fast since there are two people at the booth — one cashier and one crêpe maker. Not that these take a long time to pump out, but you might expect to wait 10 – 15 minutes in line.
Quick note is that while hours are listed as 11 AM — 7 PM, they cut off the line at about 6:45 PM, so you will probably want to avoid coming here last minute. We just made the cut off.
This is something I might have as a treat if I were already in the area or going to Mitsuwa specifically, but I don’t know (if this were a permanent storefront) that I’d go out of my way for it.

What has two thumbs and is guilty of eating a good amount of her boyfriends crêpe? THIS GIRL.
It was around 4pm when we arrived at Mitsuwa and was planning on getting food at Miyabi-​Tei. My boyfriend then spots the area where people were lining up for crepes and decided to get that first for some reason. He ordered the number 10 which was bananas, whipped cream and a scoop of green tea ice cream (choice between vanilla or green tea). It came out to the total of 6 bucks which I thought was pretty pricey even though I’ve never ordered one before. :P
It took about 5 minutes or less for it to be made since cooking the crêpe didn’t take that long. The crêpe came out wrapped in a piece of paper in the shape of a cone. It was so cute! The taste of the crêpe was pretty good too. The crêpe was freshly made and the ice cream worked sooooo well overall. The whipped cream however was pretty weird in my opinion. It tasted kind of buttery/​processed and didn’t have that ‘whipped’ cream taste. None the less, it was still pretty good.
I’ll probably get my own crêpe next time so my boyfriend can actually eat what he order tehehe :)
PS: I believe the last day they’re serving the crepes in March 24^th!

Heard about the famous Marion Crepes coming to Mitsuwa in San Jose and had to go check out! We got the chocolate banana with ice cream and the blueberry cream cheese with ice cream. The choco-​banana was good but was like any other dessert crêpe just with a more pillowy soft shell for a hand held crêpe. The blueberry cream cheese reminded me of the blueberry cream cheese buns I usually get at 85C in Southern California. YUM!
They are slightly more pricey for crepes but adding a scoop of ice cream is only 50 cents.