Café
Glitch Coffee & Roasters
A Jimbocho roastery-café serving light-roasted, single-origin specialty coffee designed to bring out the character of each origin.
Ginza West Ginza Honten
The original Ginza shop and café of Ginza West, a Western-style cake maker founded in 1947 and known for its leaf pie and dry cakes.
At a glance
- Type
- Western-style cake shop and café
- Area
- Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
- Price
- $$ · Mid-range
- Opening
- Open daily
- Official site
- ginza-west.com
Good to know
- 52 seats
- Non-smoking
- No reservations
- Cake shop
- French toast exclusive to this branch
Why we recommend it
Ginza West has been making Western-style cakes and biscuits in Ginza since 1947, and its main shop on Gaienhori-dori combines a cake counter with a classic café. It belongs to the generation of Ginza businesses that brought European-style baking and coffee culture to post-war Tokyo, and the café still has the formal, quietly old-fashioned feel of that era, with crisp white tablecloths and attentive staff.
The company's best-known product is its leaf pie, a crisp, sugar-glazed puff pastry shaped like a leaf, and its dry cakes, a range of small butter biscuits and baked sweets, are popular gifts sold in elegant tins and boxes. In the café, fresh cakes such as fruit tarts, cream cakes and seasonal specials are served with coffee or tea, and sandwiches make a light lunch. The house recommendation at this branch is French toast, which is served only here, while the hotcakes found on some Ginza West menus are offered only at other branches.
The shop and café are open from 9:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and from 11:00 to 20:00 at weekends and on public holidays. The café has 52 seats and is entirely non-smoking. Reservations are not accepted, so at busy times you join a waiting list; the café's online waiting-list status can be checked through a link on the official website. Weekday mornings are usually the easiest time to get a table, and an early breakfast of French toast is a good way to start a day in Ginza.
Ginza West suits couples, older travellers, families and anyone who enjoys a traditional café with good cakes. It is a calmer alternative to the busy coffee chains of central Ginza. The boxed leaf pies and dry cakes are a classic Tokyo souvenir and travel well, and mail-order enquiries can be made by email through the address on the official website.
The shop is at 7-3-6 Ginza, about five minutes' walk from Exit C2 of Ginza Station along Gaienhori-dori towards Shimbashi. The Ginza Six shopping complex and the galleries of Ginza 7-chome and 8-chome are nearby, and Kyubey and Café de l'Ambre are within a few minutes' walk.
Ginza West Ginza Honten FAQs
What are the opening hours?
9:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 11:00 to 20:00 at weekends and on public holidays.
Can I book a table?
No, reservations are not accepted; a waiting list operates at busy times.
What is Ginza West known for?
Its leaf pie, a glazed puff pastry, and its dry cakes.
What should I order in the café?
The French toast, which is served only at this branch, or a fresh cake with coffee.
When was it founded?
In 1947.
Is it non-smoking?
Yes, all 52 seats are non-smoking.
Are hotcakes served here?
No, the hotcakes are served only at other Ginza West branches.
How do I get there?
About five minutes' walk from Exit C2 of Ginza Station along Gaienhori-dori.