Henri Charpentier

The tea and sake tasting room make this a must see if you’re looking for pastries and something to wash it down. Elaborate bakery, a bit over the top but definitely good.

This famous patisserie is a bit hard to find (take the Ginza A13 exit all the way on the other side of the station) but it’s worth the long walk!
The Ginza branch exclusive lemon tart (a bit less than 400 yen) is perfect with the right amount of tart that complements the sweet crunchy shell. I also enjoyed their take on the mille crêpe, as the Japanese fruits with delectably sweet and delicious. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a table since it was a Sunday afternoon and the queue had snaked around the lobby so we settled for take out. This shop is definitely worth the visit!

We arrived about 30 minutes after the pastry portion of the shop opened/​/​30 minutes before the downstairs dining opened. We ended up awkwardly waiting near their alternative Christmas decorations (guess there’s no line if you’re the first ones!), until it was time to go downstairs the slippery staircase.
SERVICE.
Impeccable, and it almost makes you feel bad if you’re not dressed up, to be honest. We were the first customers, so in comparison to their clean, perfectly pressed uniforms, we felt under-​dressed, but I don’t think it’s too formal of a place. Our servers were very attentive and helpful, although, of course, mild language barrier. They were still very polite and worked with us to help us order.
MILLE FEUILLE.
A crunchy, caramel-​y dessert, sort of like puff pastry layered with pastry cream and drizzled with caramel. Quite good.
MILLE-​CREPE CAKE.
My favorite — delicate layers of crepes covered in a sweetened cream, and fresh fruit on the plate. Very light, and perfect to share!
CREPE SUZETTE.
Henri Charpentier created this famous dish, so of course, you have to get it when you’re here! They make the entire dish in front of you on a push-​cart, and it’s a truly impressive sight. I learned that day that I’m not a fan of the dish, but it was worth ordering just to watch it made.
Each dish averaged $ 8 – 12, and was well worth the price tag. Do check out the brick and mortar location if you have the chance (there’s one in the basement of a nearby shopping center as well).

good:
— they are not only famous in dessert /​cake, the beef i tried was pretty good, soft and tender but not tasteless with mild wine flavor, great balance of taste of sauce. big portion of dish (comparing with japanese standard)
–they have seasonal limited edition menu or cakes from time to time, fun and yummy to try!
— quite good atmosphere but a bit noisy, as many women were chatting and distance of tables are quite close.
Bad:
— AC is not enough their, since the restaurant is underground. the air quality was stuffy, oxygen wasn’t enough. i needed to request them turn the AC for me, felt much better after then.
— Waitresses are cold, especially those older senior ones. they hardly cracked a smile to you, facial expression was stubborn and cold. even some others did smile, but trust me, you could only see their skin was smiling but not the real heart /​mind.
— if you wanna eat cake at the restaurant, an additional 100yen per cake will be charged. (or you can buy and take away cake, then no such charge)

Highly recommend the Ginza limited «Lemon tart», this is the best one with the best price among these jewelry-​like cakes. The lemon tart only costs around 350 yen (or 380… don’t remember the exact price, anyway, lower than 400 yen) but tastes like 600 yen in my mind. The inside cream is so creamy with thick but totally not heavy lemon cream. It is a must to try when you come to Henri Charpentier.
We felt pity that due to the day we went was weekend, there were too many people waiting here. Thus we didn’t get a chance to have the cakes inside. However, the interior decoration truly catches my eyes. Who can imagine this museum-​like outside with a whole wall of pink dessert books is a cake store? Well, Henri Charpentier did it and this indeed spoiled we the customer.