Café Xando

In a quiet Imaizumi side street of the busy downtown area of Tenjin is a cute yellow house with an asymmetrical roof: Café Xando. The little café and restaurant offers reasonable and delicious lunch dishes, a selection of coffee and various sweets. A big menu board stands in front of the café, and next to it lies the whole menu on a stand and you can flip through the pages and see what they offer. So go in and indulge in desserts! You just had lunch or dinner? Well . . .

Maybe you are like me and have a betsubara (extra stomach)! This term is used for people who can eat sweets no matter how full they are. Had a big lunch menu and can’t eat one more bite? And then someone puts a cheesecake or some ice cream in front of you and there is no way you can not eat it? That is because of the so called extra stomach you have, the one for sweets. I definitely have it and I was really surprised that Japanese has its own word for it. So whatever you had for lunch or dinner, a crème brûlée can’t be turned down. Since Café Xando has a fabulous selection of desserts, I’d recommend that you try at least one - or go with a friend, order two and share them!

Even though the menu written in Japanese only, if you don’t read Japanese, you won’t have a problem ordering. The menu has appetizing photos of an array of cakes, ice creams, and other sweet dishes. You can just point to the dessert you want to order. There are also lunch sets for around ¥850 to ¥1000 that come with a main dish like pasta, a soup and a small salad.

The atmosphere in Café Xando is very cozy, as they have tables and chairs that give the place a vintage touch. The café is open 'till late night, so even after a shopping trip through Tenjin and maybe an all-you-can-eat dinner at a yakiniku restaurant, you can still come to Café Xando to fill up your extra stomach!