Though it might lay claim to the most passionate fans, Phin Smith is not the only business elevating the conversation around Vietnamese coffee. “Not too sweet, real nice nutty after taste. “God-tier cafe sua da,” commented Ns1 on the restaurant discussion board Food Talk Central in 2019. After three years in business, the shop maintains a perfect 5-star rating on Yelp with over 900 reviews, and is often heralded in online food communities as serving the best Vietnamese coffee in Southern California. ![]() Surprisingly, that was a rarity in Little Saigon.ĭo believes that extra effort is what has set them apart with customers. They’d struck a deal with a farming company they’d encountered in Buôn Ma Thuột and were importing green coffee beans directly from Vietnam and roasting it themselves. But Do and Ngo were doing something different. On the surface, Phin Smith might have seemed like just another café on the periphery of Little Saigon, the sprawling Vietnamese American enclave in Orange County, home to more purveyors of Vietnamese coffee anywhere outside Vietnam. Still a haven for smokers, the cafe’s solitude is a relief from Tokyo’s chaotic streets.A few years later, at the end of 2018, they and their business partner Xuan Ton opened Phin Smith, a coffee shop on a quiet stretch of Garden Grove’s historic Main Street where every drink would be “brewed by hand” using traditional methods. Opened in 1964 and refurbished in 1987, the shop, with a roasting machine upstairs, is filled with hushed conversations, soft jazz and the clinking of silverware on china. South of the west exit of the Shinjuku Station (Nishi Shinjuku 1-2-6 81-3-3342-0881 the corner coffee shop has a menu that includes 13 types of straight coffee, including Cuban Mountain (750 yen) that was mild and smooth and Grade 1 Sumatra (650 yen). Tajimaya Kohiten is equally evocative and marginally cheaper. A cup can cost up to 1,360 yen.īut each coffee, poured through a cloth filter, can be savored while sitting in a cafe where the furnishings haven’t changed in decades. Like a fine wine list, prices are not cheap. ![]() ![]() The menu includes coffee made with Cuban beans harvested in 1974, Colombian beans from 1989 and so on. Since then, he has been an advocate of aged coffee. He got his start by using Indonesian beans destined for Germany that were waylaid during World War II. The shop (Ginza 8-10-15 81-3-3571-1551 has a roasting machine that the store’s 95-year-old owner still operates. To channel Seattle, try Zoka, which has three locations, including one 100 yards from the Akasaka-Mitsuke subway stop (Akasaka 3-2-2 81-3-3560-7251 The airy cafe is filled with office workers who seem drawn to the hum of La Marzocco, the espresso maker.Ĭafé de l’Ambre, which opened in 1948, is as much about the coffee as the atmosphere. The macchiato (350 yen) was creamy without a bitter aftertaste, and the cappuccino (630 yen) was flecked with dark chocolate to create a savory balance. ![]() The branch in the Roppongi district (Roppongi 6-8-14 81-3-3401-3521) is a three-minute walk from the Hibiya Line subway stop and has tables in front that create a cozy cafe. The menu at Macchinesti (Minami Azabu 5-15-14 81-3-5739-1852 includes eggs Benedict (1,500 yen) and chef’s salad (1,100 yen).īar Del Sole is an Italian restaurant with a full coffee menu that is best enjoyed between meals. The Cubano (450 yen) included a shot of espresso, water, sugar, caramel and cardamom to create a pleasingly sweet but not cloying drink. The dry cappuccino (600 yen) was top shelf, with a leaf design in the foam. The Romano, an espresso shot for 450 yen, and the macchiato, espresso with milk for 500 yen, were smooth but impossible to nurse in three-ounce cups.
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