Sarugaku Coffee

When the users of obscenely popular restaurant review site Tabelog have pronounced you the best coffee shop in the whole of Tokyo, you can probably count on having a few customers. Sarugaku Coffee has dealt with success in an interesting fashion: it essentially comes with its own decoy shop. Follow the sign for Caffe Foglio down into the basement, then keep going and take the door at the end of the corridor instead. You'll be inducted into a warren of wooden beams and antiques, dimly lit by small lanterns, with records and faded photos pinned to the walls. Sarugaku is arranged in such a way that almost every table in the house feels secluded, leaving you to concentrate on the serious act of drinking Joe. (Unlike some other shops around town, conversation isn't frowned upon here, though the setting lends itself to hushed tones.) The coffee is prepared drip-style and served black as standard, with a choice of regular, bitter or strong, all priced at a flat ¥600. There's no faffing around with long lists of single-origin beans, and if you want milk or sugar, you'll need to order a separate drink. That's dedication. Our regular coffee takes an age to arrive, but when it does, it's so exquisitely well balanced that we drink it the way you would a good wine, taking deep sniffs before each mouthful. We can't resist ordering an accompanying dessert – they're only ¥200 – and the rare cheesecake is a nice complement, if a little gelatinous.