UPDATE (January 2023): This post has been updated, but if you’re visiting Japan, here are a ton more posts for you to check out:
My Day at Super Nintendo World
Snoopy Cafe Japan
Tiffany Cafe Tokyo
Pokemon Cafe Japan
Kinopio’s Cafe (aka Toadstool Cafe)
Delta One Suites Review from Los Angeles to Tokyo
If you weren’t aware already, Japan loves themed restaurants and cafes. Whether it’s animal related, robots, famous characters – whatever you can imagine, they have it. Alice in Wonderland is no exception. This particular Alice in Wonderland Restaurant in the Shibuya area of Tokyo has been around for a few years already. However, it’s been so popular that the lines would be around the block, especially on weekends or holidays. As a ‘local’, I didn’t even want to deal with that so I decided to wait until it died down.
A few years in, the Alice in Wonderland restaurant is still a popular spot for tourists. Thankfully though, the weekday crowd has subsided quite a bit and I finally had the opportunity to dine there. I can walk from my house to this restaurant but from the Shibuya station, it’s only about a 5 minute walk or less. Let’s dive into this magical dining experience!
What is it like?
The Alice in Wonderland restaurant in Tokyo does a great job capturing the real story of Alice in Wonderland, not Disney’s. As soon as you start going down the stairs, the checkered wall paper and stairs sucks you into Wonderland. You’re greeted by a card soldier prior to opening the glass doors and immediately gets you excited. When you enter the glass doors, you’re at the top of the stairs overlooking the entire restaurant. The blast of lights, art, music and colors are almost overwhelming yet at the same time, makes you eager to go down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs, the hostess in an Alice in Wonderland themed costume will guide you to your table. The entire staff is dressed up as characters from the story, super friendly and will burst into song at random times. Too fun!
A friendly tip: if you’re planning on dining there on a holiday or a weekend, I highly suggest making reservations.
How does it work?
If you’ve researched themed cafes throughout Japan, you know all of them work differently. The Alice in Wonderland cafe is a regular restaurant where you get seated and dined with 1 exception. They charge 500 yen ($5 USD) per person for a ‘seating charge’.
At first, I was annoyed by it but I started realizing why they had to do so. A lot of people were coming in and taking up a table just to order 1 dessert to share, sitting there for hours chatting. As much as people have the right to do so, from a business stand point it’s not profitable especially when there’s a huge line during busy times. But because of the charge, you don’t have an order minimum which other themed restaurants may require.
At the end of the day, you’re going to get charged for the novelty of being at an Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant (or any other theme!) in one form or another.
How is the food and is it expensive?
As much as I love the fact that the menu comes in the form of the rabbit’s clock, I have to admit the food was just ok. If you’ve visited Japan before, you know the average food quality is exceptionally high already so you quickly become a food snob. Don’t get me wrong, the food tastes fine and it’s carefully curated to fit the Alice in Wonderland theme. I didn’t mind that it wasn’t great because I was so amused by how adorable everything was. However in reality, it’s just not the best food I’ve had in Japan.
Regarding pricing, it is on the pricier side. For a small pot pie and three miniature glass cups with salad, soup and dessert cost approximately 2,000 yen ($20 USD). The drinks we had were alcoholic and cost around 1,000 yen ($10 USD) each.
In addition to the clock, I loved that the teacups of soup and heart crackers you see in the photo was complimentary. As they serve it to you, they tell you that once you drink the soup, you’ll shrink in size like Alice and be able to enjoy Wonderland. Such cute details at the Alice in Wonderland restaurant!
Information:
Address: 16-9 Zero Gate Building B1, Udagawacho, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan 150-0042
Phone: 03-3770-2750
Hours: Lunch 11:00AM-4:00PM, Dinner 5:00PM-9:30PM
Website: http://www.alice-restaurant.com/buto/
Closest Station: Shibuya (5 minute walk)
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What a fun cafe! I absolutely love Alice in Wonderland. 🙂
I do tooooo! One of my favorite things ever! Although I will never get a tattoo ever since my pain tolerance is as low as it can be, if I could, I would have "We're all mad here" tattooed somewhere 🙂 xo
So bummed we missed this! And I totally get the $5 cover charge – maybe they should just have a minimum spend? The decor is so whimsical and fun that I'd STILL pay the charge to check it out inside!
I agree about the minimum spend! Hahaha I know, I definitely don't regret going or spending that much money 😀 xo
Lol I guess I must visit Japan just for all those themed cafés – saw so many of them lately! I mean even despite the seating charge, it looks totally worth it. Alice was always my childhood idol, plus the food looks delicious! 🙂
Haha I know, after 1 Cat Cafe, everything blew up! There's so many themed cafes I had to pick and choose when I went back there. Thanks for stopping by, Christina! xo
When we went to Japan we went with friends who are chefs so we didn't go to a single themed restaurant but we ate some of the best food that I've ever had. My favorite was at the Ryokan where we stayed in Hakone. But this sure looks fun and like something our kids would love.
Wow that sounds amazing! Do you remember the names of the restaurants in Tokyo? Oh my gosh, the ryokan experience in Hakone is just the best, I love it so much! Next time you'll have to take your kids here 🙂 xo
Thank you so much for sharing because I had no idea it existed but now I am definitely adding it to my list for when I visit Japan. I looked through the post twice because I loved reading about it and seeing your cool pictures! It looks like so much fun and I feel like I could live out some childhood dreams there!
I was preparing to be outraged by the seating charge, but it totally makes sense! What a fun place to eat. I want to go there now. I went to Oxford in the UK, where Lewis Carroll went to University and loved all of the Alice-themed things there.
Woohoo! You'll definitely have to check it out when you visit. It's REALLY fun! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Katie! xo
Haha, yes! First I was like, NO THAT SUCKS…but then I kind of understood 😀 That's so awesome, I'd love to see the Alice-themed things at Oxford!!! Thanks for stopping by, Kat! xo
Love this! As we put together our list of things to see and do on our first trip to Japan, this is exactly the sort of place we hope to find. How fun! Definitely on the list – pinning it so we don't forget!