Tabelog ratingBunmeidou Sakan Ru Cafe (文明堂茶館 ル・カフェ) is the tearoom behind the Bunmeido castella shop in Isezakicho, Yokohama. It has been open since 1983. Its signature is the pastel, the skin of Bunmeido's Mikasayama dorayaki. Here it is griddled by hand to order without the bean filling and served with butter, the house syrup, whipped cream or red bean paste. You can watch the pastels being made while you queue. The room has a high ceiling, walnut panelling and a large stained-glass window of a Portuguese ship. Staff wear retro waitress uniforms. The café was selected for Tabelog's Kissaten "Tabelog 100" in 2021, 2022 and 2026.
Nearly every reviewer praises the pastel. They describe it as crisp at the edge and chewy inside, and good even plain. Butter and the faintly bitter house syrup are the favourite toppings. Several guests call the anmitsu (agar jelly with fruit, bean paste and black syrup) the best they have eaten, and say the same of the hand-baked castella. Two other dishes have a following: the Meiji Shokei, castella sandwiching rum-raisin cream, and castella with ice cream. Service is repeatedly described as kind and attentive.
Criticism is minor. The coffee is pleasant but ordinary. One visitor found the red bean paste too sweet, and another expected a fluffy pancake and found the pastel firmer. The main complaint is the wait.
Prices are low. Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid:
- around ¥300 for one pastel, ¥600 for two, and ¥1,250 for two pastels with coffee
- around ¥400 for castella and ¥700–800 for castella with ice cream
- ¥1,000 for anmitsu with hojicha (roasted green tea)
- ¥500–700 for coffee
A typical visit, at lunch or later in the day, costs under ¥1,000, or a little over with a drink. Reviewers consider it good value. They mention large pastels, generous toppings and free coffee refills on weekdays.
- Getting there: 2 minutes' walk from the north exit of Kannai Station (JR Keihin-Tohoku and Negishi lines), or 4 minutes from the Yokohama Municipal Subway Kannai station. It is inside the Isezaki Mall shopping street, on the 1st floor of the Bunmeido Building.
- Booking: reservations are not accepted. Walk in and write your name on the list at the entrance. Waits run from 5 minutes to an hour on weekend afternoons, and there are no chairs to wait on.
- Payment: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex and Diners cards are accepted, as are transport IC cards such as Suica and PayPay. No service charge.
- Seats: 35 seats at tables, some on sofas. No private rooms or private hire.
- Children: welcome.
- Smoking and parking: non-smoking; no parking.
- Other: take-out is available and the menu has photos. Free coffee refills are weekdays only.
