• CLOSED: Alfred Tea Room - Shinjuku

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    Closed

  • Coffee-tea Coffee & Tea

Tea cafe taking a modern approach to tea. Serves a variety of hot and cold drinks like loose leaf tea, boba, matcha, and milk tea. Can make your drink with alternative milk like almond, or add tapioca balls - both for a charge. Sells pastries, including a few vegan cake and scone options. Reported closed April 2023.


13 Reviews

First Review by VeganLea3

vegetariangirl

Points +2838

Vegan
10 Feb 2018

a nice find in the train station

Very tasty small strawberry cake! It’s hard to find vegan desserts so this was pleasant surprise. The cakes are tiny though.

andyjng

Points +6052

Vegan
04 Mar 2023

Almond Milk Tea

Boba used to not be a thing in Japan when I lived here a decade ago. I've since seen it explode with the arrival of Gong Cha, and then subside again. There's only a couple of surviving boba shops in Tokyo and thankfully Alfred is one of the places.

The biggest reason I came here for boba is because they clearly indicate a non-dairy milk option on their menu. None of the Gong Cha's or other Taiwanese boba shops that I've come across offer soy/almond/oat milk, which makes me sad. However, they offer almond milk here which is very much appreciated.

I ordered a large Hojicha Almond Milk Tea with Boba. Unfortunately, you're unable to reduce your sugar or ice level at this shop. My drink came out relatively quickly and it was great. I loved the roasted green tea that they brewed and the boba was soft and chewy. It was just what I needed to fill my boba cup.

Something I don't get is how gendered the entire shop feels in Japan. To me, boba is boba, and can be enjoyed/marketed by anyone. At this shop, it really feels like it's catering towards one particular gender demographic, and that's shown in the patronage.

Does that bother me? Nope, cause boy wants his boba. But I would hate for someone that is not female-identifying to feel like they 'can't' grab boba from here because it's a near 100% female clientele.

Pros: Almond milk for non-dairy option

Cons: Expensive for what it is

jessie0898

Points +616

Vegan
31 Dec 2022

Good bubble tea!

Sad to see the other location closed, as I think it's the one we got the sandwiches from which was yummy and fun to try (a bit small for the price though). Hopefully, this location or other locations in Japan do fun new vegan things in the future!

Updated from previous review on 2022-12-31

Pros: Vegan options

Cons: small portion for treats, needs more vegan options, bigger location shut down

panka

Points +57

Vegetarian
03 Aug 2019

Solo cupcake vegano y muy muy pequeño y caro. Bubble tea caro

Cafetería donde el principal producto es bubble tea

Pros: Tienen leche de almendra (100+)

Cons: Es caro y el cupcake es enano

emg1212

Points +58

Vegan
02 Apr 2019

Almond milk bubble tea

The almond milk bubble tea is pretty good but too expensive... even for the smallest size. They only have an almond milk option, no soy milk. They also didn’t seem to have any vegan food when I went.

doriri

Points +64

Vegan
05 Jan 2019

No vegan food

I went there and they told me that they don't have vegan food, only drinks can be made with almond milk. The falafel pita was not even on their menu so they might stopped selling it...

channellehazel

Points +353

Vegan
25 Sep 2018

It’s fine

I came here and got a bubble tea and a slice of the cake. Was pretty shocked at how tiny the piece of cake was, and I didn’t find the bubble tea that appetising, so not the best experience ahah. It might be a nice place for a couple of friends to have something small and cute to eat and drink, but seating is also hard to find from what I’ve noticed on the few times I’ve been in and walked past.

Pros: Vegan bubble tea, Cake is tasty

Cons: Tiny food portions, Can get quite busy and hard to find seats

ebunnybee

Points +142

Vegan
01 Sep 2018

Super cute cafe with lots of options

I adore this cafe. Many drinks (not all) can be changed to almond or soy milk depending on the drink. Lots of fruit based juices that are vegan friendly. The vegan shortcake is my favorite. I frequent this place and it’s very popular with young Japanese college age women so it can be difficult to find seats sometimes. All in all, definitely recommend.

ReiAmber

Points +3228

Vegan
28 Jul 2018

tried vegan scones and almond milk drinks

I tried the chocolate vegan scone, which was very decidedly a tasty brownie and not a scone. It was quite reasonably priced at 280 yen and they warmed it up- excellent.

I also tried that same scone again and three other flavors, strawberry, matcha and something else, not warmed up. I definitely recommend getting them warmed up as especially the matcha was like a sugar block when it was cold.

The strawberry was tasty but I'll definitely get it warmed up next time.

They said they didn't have any vegan drinks, despite having an entire menu of just regular hot tea, so it was clear the staff member who took my order had no idea what veganism was (unless their tea has some sort of non-vegan flavoring?). She did say that I could substitute almond milk in some of the drinks to make them non-dairy. I chose a hojicha (roasted green tea) boba tea with almond milk. It tasted artificial, and not undrinkable, but I would not describe it as "good" or "tasty" in any way.

I also tried the hot caramel drink with almond milk and I thought it was undrinkable.

I'll try the soy milk next time because the almond milk was really bad.

I'll go back for more of their fake scones but I much prefer nearby Futaba Fruits Parlor- their selection of vegan sweets is massive.

The location of Alfred Tea Room is good though, right near JR Shinjuku station.

I liked the Instagrammable pink interior decoration theme.

It gets really busy on weekends and sometimes there aren't seats available.

Updated from previous review on 2018-05-29

Pros: dessert was reasonably priced, dessert was tasty, the shop had style

Cons: staff has not a clue what veganism is, thought the almond milk was untasty, gets really crowded on weekends

misusyaya

Points +510

Vegan
17 Jun 2018

Almond Milk Option Available!!!

Besides soy milk (+50), almond milk is also available for extra 100 yen! Great selection of drinks.

I had the almond milk tea with boba. Honestly...their boba isn't that amazing...it would have tasted better without it.
But I'm still coming back to try their other items!!!

By the way, it's right beside Elle Cafe, which also serves vegan goodies like coconut yogurt and bon bon smoothie!!!

Pros: Instagram worthy, almond milk option, vegan friendly

Cons: small cup

sa20180201

Points +118

Vegan
09 Jun 2018

Should try strawberry cake!!

Ordered strawberry and chocolate cake , tea and green tea scone.
strawberry cake was amazing but chocolate cake was too sweet, scone was normal.
They only have two types of cakes though they said they have more options available on their HP

jojoinbrighton

Points +1283

Vegan
23 May 2018

Vegan Bubble Tea!

I visit this place a couple of times whilst I was in Tokyo because it's super cute and vegan milk bubble teas are very hard to find. I tried the matcha almond milk bubble tea and the rose milk bubble tea and they were both great. If you don't speak Japanese it may be worth Google translating "dairy allergy" to show the staff so that they make you a fresh tea rather than using anything pre-made as the word vegan isn't widely understood. That said the vegan dessert options are labelled and the strawberry shortcake style cake was delicious. None of the pita sandwiches or salads are vegan.

VeganLea3

Points +34

Vegan
08 Jan 2018

Delightful discovery

Adorable discovery with many vegan options.
So good we went back again for the strawberry shortcake.
Try the iced earl grey soy drink!

Pros: Most desserts are vegan, Good range of vegan teas, Clearly labelled

Cons: Can get busy




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