Gundam Cafe

Akihabara is a district in Tokyo, Japan, and is known for its Otaku culture. There are several themed cafes in the area, and one of the more popular ones has to be the Gundam Café. This specific café is themed after the Gundam series, and they offer a decent selection of food, snacks, and drinks. Many of the food and drink items are based off of the series, and there’s even a small souvenir shop next door for your Gundam needs.
Personally, I am not a fan of the Gundam series, as I have only watched a few episodes when the original one aired years ago. However, despite not being a fan, I was still curious about the café when I read up on it. So I added the Gundam Café to our itinerary since Akihabara was already on the list to explore.
I opted for the fondant au chocolat (¥590). The dessert was a simple yet warm chocolate cake topped with 3 pieces of Smarties, and decorated with peach sauce. The size of the cake was pretty small, and I finished it up pretty quickly. Overall, I thought that the chocolate cake was good but it’s nothing to write home about.
The Haro latte (¥380) on the other hand was disappointing. The drink tasted lackluster, and there was a lot more foam than milk in the cup.
The mister decided to go for the Heero & Relena dessert plate (¥890). It was a dish of mille-​feuille, mixed berry, vanilla ice-​cream and with a shot of espresso. He wasn’t particularly too happy about his dish as the mille-​feuille was just three pieces of tasteless crackers, instead of being three layers of puff pastry.
Service was pretty slow as it took them about 30 minutes to bring out our two desserts. Naturally, I took the time to take a few photos of the interior while we waited. Even though the desserts and service were both disappointing; it was still a nice experience to try out at least once.

I should start this review by noting that neither of us have seen almost anything from the Gundam franchise, so please keep that in consideration when I tell you about our experience with the Gundam café.
The reason we stopped in was there was a huge line out front when we first passed through the Akiba train station, so when the line was almost gone when we returned we decided to see what all the fuss was about. I still have no idea. Some of the food was designed to the Gundam theme (accurately, I assume) with a cool look to match their thematic names, but mostly what we saw was ‘okay’ food at high prices. There isn’t actually a wait staff to speak of, so I can’t say much about the service. It reminded me very much of an American Dunkin Donuts — a quick way to get a coffee without much pomp and circumstance… but unfortunately you’re paying extra for the pomp and circumstance you’re not receiving.
The ambiance is kind of there, with TV’s playing the animé and some plastic Gundam suits and paraphernalia on the walls. But nothing that I would say merit the cost or effort.
So in all, I would imagine you’d have to be a VERY big fan of the Gundam series to get excited about this café. Since we obviously aren’t, this was not a highlight of our trip.

Very disappointing. We stopped here since one of our friends enjoy Gundam, and they say, when in Japan, you must check out the themed cafes. It was not something I would recommend anyone to come do. We ordered a 626 Yen dessert which looked NOTHING like the picture on the menu and consisted of corn flakes and some fruit in a martini glass. Everything was over-​priced, especially if you tried to eat actual food. And there are basically just pictures and posters up. Otherwise, nothing really Gundam related. I would save your Yen and go elsewhere for a theme café. I think even Hello Kitty would have been better.

The environment and presentation of the food is inspired by animé Gundam, which makes the restaurant unique, and it’s also also not overly expensive for a themed restaurant. But honestly I didn’t find the taste of the omurice (omelet rice) and salad we ordered that interesting, and for me that lowers the value.
If you’re a die-​hard fan, by all means, go! But if not, I would probably eat someplace else.

Extremely UNDERwhelming. The chicken curry had maybe… maybe a cube (less than 1 oz) of chicken on the plate. The food is over priced and tasted horrible. Honestly, I don’t even notice the theme in the restaurant besides the Gundam clips playing on the large screen.
And seriously an 45 plus minute wait even when we got there once it opened??? There were tables empty. The food is bad. There is NO theme.
Honestly, I would rather head over to a Gundam model shop, sit on the aisles, and drink a coffee with a Gundam waffer design tossed on top on my drink to have a better theme. So be warned tourists… NOT worth it. Locals stand in line, but this time, does not equal good food or worthwhile attraction.
I will add that the toilet has a massage setting that make it feel like your a robot about to take off into space as you do your business.

There are two small Gundams guarding the entry way of this café, but if you want to see the large Gundam, you have to to go the Gundam «café» located in Diversity Tokyo Plaza. This café is located right next door to AKB48 Café (the girl idol group) and barely a block away from Akihabara Station. This location has way more food options than the Diversity Tokyo Plaza location (they sell mainly drinks). Small souvenir shop next door. No outdoor seating. You place your order at the counter, and then take a seat. Your order (s) will be brought to you.
My Order:
Gundam Coffee Latte
Standard coffee. Tried my friends’ desserts and thought the ice cream was just ok. Food & drinks were cute but just mediocre so no real desire to go back.
Note: Press the Start button in the bathrooms and you get a cool show! The men’s restroom has a Gundam’s eyes appear on the mirror & sound effects while the women’s restroom has a glowing Gundam eye and the lights flashing. Take a look!

There are plenty of themed cafes around Japan. We dropped by this one because it was conveniently located right outside the Akihabara Station. If you’re looking for the life size Gundam statue, this is not the right one. This is just a themed café serving food and drinks Gundam style.
Food isn’t that great, but what you’re really paying for is the theme. Their tomato beer is really good though. I recommend giving that a shot.

I think based off of my experience with other themed cafes (Shirokuma Café & @Home Café), I was expecting something really crazy with the Gundam Café. I left disappointed.
We decided to stop here for dinner after shopping and exploring all day in Akihabara. I’m not the biggest Gundam fan, but I thought this would be a fun experience regardless. The exterior and interior of the café is really nice. It’s spacious, clean, and organized. They have TVs playing the opening/​closing of the different seasons. I don’t believe they actually played any episodes.
Anyway, the staff at the café were very nice and polite. You get seated, you look at a menu, and then you go up to the front and put in your order. Pretty straight forward! The reason why I was so disappointed, though, was mostly the food. Nothing really screamed Gundam to me, save for the coffee art. None of the dishes were put in the shape of characters or related to the series. The food just looked like anything else you could get at any other restaurant at a higher price. If I am paying more for something I can get elsewhere, there has to be a reason WHY I am paying more. Unfortunately, the food at Gundam Café lacked the novelty factor — something I think is really important for themed cafes.
The food itself was decent, but in the end I don’t think it was worth it. If you are a huge Gundam fan then I do recommend you check this out. Maybe you’ll have a better experience than I did.

Your childhood relived into a gundam themed restaurant. It is how your expectations have it. They design your food to look like a gundam or the suit or helmet of one. Drinks are made into the color of them also. Not that good but all in all an ok place to stop by as a tourist. Minimum one item purchase per person.

Calling all Gundam fans! This is your café. A few hundred meters from the Akihabara Station, next to the AKB Café.
You will find that not only the interior and food are Gundam themed, but even the bathroom! The restroom are designed as if you are a pilot, which is pretty entertaining while you do your business.
I knocked down 1 star because the quality of food was just okay. However, the mediocre taste was balanced with the character themed food like the Halo Latte, Halo Cocktail, and Halo main dishes. The price was not cheap, but it was acceptable because again, you’re getting the experience of a character-​themed dish.
Inside, there is a large TV, but they only played videos of the opening or ending theme song and short video clips that looped. I wished they showed episodes.
Overall, it was a good experience because there is no other café like this anywhere.

For a theme-​restuarant, I think they could have done a better job. Great location, but I was pretty disappointed with the experience. There’s the small souvenir store to the right, and the inside of the restaurant has repeats of Gundam videos playing. That was about it as far as there was to offer towards the Gundam theme. Oh, and of course there was Gundam-​themed food. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. I got their ice cream dessert. Oh my, it tasted artificial and sweet. I couldn’t really finish it so I just kind of ate what I could until it melted. The staff, like most Japanese restaurants, are not that great at English. But they are obviously used to having English-​speaking patrons so they will find a way to communicate with you.

Great café for fans of the Gundam series with a cool Gundam décor. The entrance has two gundum statues that make for a great photo op. There is some Gundam memorabilia on display at the back of the café. This is a pretty informal type of café… order and pay for your food at the register and the food is brought to your table. The actual meal was disappointing… while it it did have some Gundam theme to it, it didn’t taste all that great. Right next door facing outward is a walk-​up carryout ordering place with a different menu. I got one of the sweet bean filled Gundams that was pretty awesome.

The food, drinks, and service here were fantastic. Been a fan of this place for years. Had a great meal with friends and was thoroughly impressed by the décor and items shop. My Japanese kinda sucks, but it wasn’t a problem for them at all.

Since I’ve already written more reviews that I can count today, I’m going to keep this short and simple. It’s Gundam. It’s a café. So if you like Gundam and food, go here. That’s all you need to know. Don’t take my word for it, just go. It’s Gundam!

They have an item shop and café! The workers were really sweet and helpful in assisting me with finding a gift for my brother. The items are really unique, and they have Haro ball sweets tins that are wonderful to give away as presents. I didn’t get to try the food, as we were in a rush but I’ll definitely recommend that people should come in to look at the store.

So this is one for the fans totally. A whole café surrounding the yearly gundam releases and characters from these. Walking in i was like wow so many fanboy items from the large haru chan to gundam statues and lot of memorobilia.
We get to ordering and we get some interesting gundam choices such as a kira yamato which is blue curacao and milk or a heero yue which was green tea, white chocolate liquour and milk i think and are all named after characters in the various shows. While we waited for our food we watched some openings and closings from the various series released through the years which was a trip down memory lane for someone such as myself.
The drinks were very nice, full of taste, interesting names for fans of the shows and many interesting things ot look at whilst there. The toilet is a show in itself, you walk in and it opens itself and you sit down to do your business and you spot a button saying start gundam which obviously i pushed. The lights go out and the gundam face behind you lights up in a startup sequence and a rumbling sound. A nice wee touch!
Very attentive staff as always, good menu consisting of food and drink named after characters and gundams in the shows in a really nice environment where i didnt feel rushed or exploited. Very nice indeed!

Comment aller à Akihabara et né pas s’arrêter au Gundam Café lorsque comme moi, on fut un gros fanboy de la série.
Imaginez, un restaurant aux couleurs de la série, les serveuses cosplayées en membre d’équipage qui font le petit salut militaire lorsque vous commandez *cute*
La déco est tournée entièrement vers la série, on a des serigraphie des auteurs des séries, des Tv où passent les génériques des séries. Bref, vous l’aurez compris, ça s’adresse aux fans. D’ailleurs je suis assez surpris, je pensais voir uniquement des mecs otaku et bien non, il y avait des groupes de filles qui étaient là aussi.
Concernant la bouffe, j’ai choisi par pur fanboyisme le plat «haro haro», par chance c’était pas mauvais :)
Il faut compter 900¥ pour un plat!

I admit it.
I am a big fanboy and going here was a dream come true for me. So this review is biased. My inner geek came out when I was saluted by the servers :)
Obviously, this café didn’t have the life size Gundam nearby (only a 4 foot statue) but this café does have its own little restaurant compared to the other one in Tokyo City, Odaiba that lacks one. I’d say it’s worth the visit for the diehards. There’s also a little shop nearby where you can buy Gundam themed souvenirs like chopsticks, figurines, and whatnot.
P. S. when getting the Gundam style taiyaki, opt for custard which is the best! They also have sweet bean jam and cheese & bacon. All cost around 200 yen, some more than others.
P. S. #2 if you’re coming here for food, you’re doing Tokyo wrong.

J’adore les séries Gundam, et je me faisais un réelle joie de venir en ce lieu.
Néanmoins, l’endroit, son cadre et ce qu’on y consommé n’ont pas de quoi laisser un souvenir impérissable.
Les plats semblent même du niveau d’une cantine, on apprécie juste l’effort sur la présentation, rappelant les éléments des séries.
En revanche, c’est effectivement le bon endroit pour trouver quelques produits dérivés, mais cela reste tout de même assez limité.
Voilà donc un café uniquement pour les fans, mais qui n’aura aucun intérêt pour les autres.

I was enticed because of the Gundam theme and the robot standing right before the entrance.
Well… food and drinks are another story. Sub par at best. Nevertheless, didn’t regret venturing into the Gundam Café. It’s an experience, some eye candy, and supposedly a must do in the Akihabara district.

Going to Akihabara without visiting the Gundam Themed restaurant is a definite faux paux. From my Experience they weren’t really English friendly, despite being a largely popular destination for tourists, but the menu is easy to understand and the majority is in Katakana. It would be unfair to criticize them for lack of foreign language skills
I ordered a rice meal set with grilled chicken and a gundam themed treat for dessert. They have meal sets that include a cocktail and a gundam theme cup you can take home. Their meal portions are quite filling, I managed to only just finish the entire meal.
The quality of the food is good, it’s better than fast food but a quick walk down the street will probably mean better food. When visiting this place you are more so coming for the experience and gimmick of a themed meal. It is still most definitely worth it.
If you happen to come to this café, visit the toilet and push the big red button.