Alfred Tea Room (Tokyo) – Pink Themed Cafe In Shinjuku Serving Delicious Bubble Tea and Pastries

While walking around Shinjuku, we chanced upon Alfred Tea Room, a pink themed cafe crowded with plenty of locals. We decided to pop in to see what the hype was about.

Alfred Tea Room

Alfred Tea Room is a cozy cafe that was founded in Tokyo in 2017. It sells a variety of drinks like bubble tea, milk tea, fruit teas, matcha latte, and more. The cafe also offers some light pastries to go along with your drinks.

The cafe has a total of five branches, with two in Tokyo, one in Osaka, and two in Los Angeles. We visited the branch at the “Lumine EST” shopping mall in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Alfred Team Room is owned by Cafe Company Inc., which also operates cafes under other brands. In total, the company runs around 100 cafes, mostly in Japan, but with branches in Taiwan, USA, and Hong Kong too.

The company has a philosophy where it believes that it is “not just making a restaurant, but helping to build a community“.

Menu (click here to enlarge)

The signature drinks are Alfred Pink Drink (JPY 750), Matcha Sunrise (JPY 650), and Boba Alfred House Milk Tea (JPY 580). The “dream” series drinks are quite popular too: Strawberry Dream (JPY 750), Roasted Green Hojicha and Matcha Dream (JPY 750).

Instagram-Worthy Cafe

Alfred Tea Room is currently trending among Japanese youngsters because of its lovely visual appeal.

The pink-themed cafe has a pretty instagrammable decor and is tastefully designed with many beautiful furnishings.

We found many instagrammable spots to take photos, but had to be patient and wait our turns because there were plenty of other customers.

Boba Alfred House Milk Tea

We decided to order the Boba Alfred House Milk Tea (JPY 580). To be honest, my expectation was pretty low because I figured most of the hype was due to the pretty decor.

However, the bubble milk tea was surprisingly tasty! It had a smooth milky texture, and was sweet but not cloying. The chewy tapioca pearls had just the right amount of bite. And I could actually taste the tea, which was quite fragrant and pleasant.

The only downside was that the portion was rather small. And the cup was not even filled to the top (see picture above). For the rather expensive price of JPY 580 (around SGD 7.20), I was expecting a bigger serving.

Strawberry Croissant

We also bought the Strawberry Croissant (JPY 530) to go along with our bubble milk tea.

Again, this was quite delicious. The croissant had nice flaky layers and a savoury buttery flavour. The sweet strawberry provided a pleasant contrast. I had expected the croissant to taste more like a generic pastry created as an afterthought, but this was definitely a delicious pastry in its own right.

Conclusion

After checking out Alfred Tea Room, I can understand why it is so popular in Tokyo. Customers get to take pretty selfies and food pictures in an instagrammable cafe, AND they get to enjoy delicious food too.

Alfred Tea Room (Lumine EST Shinjuku)
What to order: Alfred Pink Drink (JPY 750), Roasted Green Hojicha and Matcha Dream (JPY 750), Boba Alfred House Milk Tea (JPY 580)
Website: http://alfredtea.jp
English Address: 160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku, 3 Chome – 38 -１1F (street level of Lumine EST Shinjuku)
Japanese Address: 〒160-0022 東京都新宿区新宿３丁目３８−１ ルミネエスト1F
Directions: 2 minute walk from JR Shinjuku Station East Exit / Central East Exit
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Phone: +81 3 6380 6721

Other Japan Branches
Aoyoma: F/2F La Porte Aoyama 5-51-8 Jingumae Shibuya-ku-Tokyo
Osaka: 9F Lucua1100 3-1-3 Umeda Kita-ku Osaka

This article is part of our super awesome Ultimate Tokyo Travel Guide For First Timers. Everything you need to know about Tokyo is just a click away!