Canal Cafe

I just grabbed a few sundown beers here. It has great views with cooler water breezes and lots of big carp jumping around. But, bring mosquito spray if it's warm weather, they attack the ankles and the staff don't have it.

The service could have been warmer, but the setting was beautiful. Watching the fish and ducks was truly soothing.

It's a cafe with a really nice view. I went there for lunch, got instantly a table and the food was ready in no time. The crust of the pizza was really nice and fluffy. The salad was fresh and the appetizers were really good. There is nothing I could complain about. The food was tasty in general, the room had an AC and the view was really nice. Perfect for a hot summer day to enjoy lunch.

Definitely the best cafe in central Tokyo. Have really nice reasonable wine from France and great food. Cake and coffee matches beautifully with the view of the canal. To have relaxing time, you can ride on boat to have some exercise. You can also see beautiful cherry blossoms during the season. Definitely the GOTO in Tokyo.

Ate here for the first time in May 2024, really enjoyed their salad and margarita pizza. Service was good. Came again March 2025, service was not friendly and also ignored me the entire time after I sat down to dine on the patio for lunch. Nobody came to serve me or even acknowledge me for 25 min….they would walk by me and just ignore. I signaled to a waiter as well, they just seemed to want to ignore foreigners. Which is odd given it wasn’t packed, and there were several tourists on the takeout cafe patio who actually had food and got served. I sat there feeling stupid and very fed up thinking—this isn’t worth it, so i just walked out. Left a bad taste in my mouth compare to 2024, so cut my losses and went to a different place nearby. I recommend if you want maybe a faster more pleasant experience, order food or drinks from their outdoor cafe takeout area that’s down the dock. Doubt I will go here again after being ignored by every waiter. Other reviews mention the owner here is racist older japanese guy, so no wonder. I just hope he is nice to his own staff.

The outside seating area is spacious with a nice view but the coffee was just normal.

I am revisiting my review after another visit. The cafe is large, has a pleasant canal view with water and green. The Saturday lunch sets are delicious if you order pizza or some of the desserts (gelato was good, not sweet not heavy), but the pasta is not really good at all. The starters are also very generic and bland. The first thing we were told at the entrance was that we have to order at least a set. The place was crowded with people and it felt like there is not much interest in serving more. In both my visits the service was slow, inattentive, and not friendly - very atypical. Even the bathroom that you learn to expect to be super clean and great anywhere in Tokyo was suboptimal here. You can easily do better in terms of both service, authenticity and food in Kagurazaka. In my first visit as a single visitor the waiters never came to offer me a menu until I asked for it, cleaning the table before coffee and dessert was also not part of the plan. In the second visit as a group of three a few years later it was not any better. Unfortunately, it felt overpriced for the selection of the food and the general value.

Great canal view, nice lunch set menu.

My son who lives in Tokyo took me there for lunch. This one of his favorite restaurants. The timing of each item from course menu was perfect for a slow eater like myself. The volume of food was just right and the food presentation on plates was very enjoyable. The "in the big city" view from the deck was beautiful even with rain. Reservation is strongly recommended as this place is a popular date spot.

Atmosphere: 1 There was a huge line when we got there for lunch at 1:00pm. We waited for about 40 minutes before it was our turn. We realized when after we got our order that there were actually a lot of seats available. It was just that the ordering takes a long time. It was nice that we were able to pick our own seats. Also, if you don't choose to sit on the deck, the wait is shorter (even though tons of seats were available). It was a bonus for us to see that it there were boats on the river, and we thought we would give it a try. It was a mistake since the guy manning the boat tickets was an asshole. The sign at the cafe entrance says 30 minutes for 600 yen but he tried to charge us 1000 yen for 40 minutes. When we asked why, he said (impatiently) it's his shop and that he no longer does that price. Starting March 22nd, the price went up. My boyfriend and I started to discuss whether we wanted to do it or not, and he raised his voice and said that if we didn't like it, we should go elsewhere. I told him (in Japanese) that we are only asking why. He gestured rudely like for us to scram. He called us a gaijin (an extremely rude way to say foreigner), and then barked at a cafe worker who was pushing boats out to come talk to us since we can't speak in English. Even though we were talking to him in Japanese the whole time! I yelled at him and said he has a bad attitude and that he is racist because we are speaking to him in Japanese aren't we?? He did a double take before walking off. Everyone stared. Portion: 1 It's enough for one person to eat without feeling overstuffed in terms of the size. Ingredient portioning is poor though since there were only about 3 pieces of basil and 3 pieces of sardines. Per bite, it definitely was not the same. Flavors: 1 In a pizza pie of 8 slices, I would say 3 of the slices have the taste that it's suppose to go for. The cafe went skimpy on the sardines and basil with literally 3 pieces respectively on the pizza. Aside from the tomato base, you're basically eating soft dough. The pizza could have used a couple more minutes in the oven. The grapefruit juice tastes a bit watered down too. Maybe go for a coffee instead. If you're here for the cafe, the pizza is mediocre. Maybe the spaghetti would have been better. Be warned that you will be discriminated by the jerk who mans the row boats. Do not give him your business. You can walk another 15 minutes to the Imperial Palace and have a much nicer experience. The cherry blossoms there are much more beautiful as well!!!

I really love the atmosphere of the outdoor deck -- beautiful and calm, and right on the canal! I just missed peak cherry blossoms, but the day I went there were still petals fluttering around so it was still pretty nice. The line to order food was kind of long (maybe 30 minutes) and the food is pretty expensive and not that filling. But man, the view is nice. I would come back just to enjoy the canal, but make sure you don't mind splurging on more food if you're hungry.

Lunchtime on a sunny but chilly winter day. Had the marinara pizza. Loaded with tomatoes and garlic was quite good but frankly a bit too much olive oil. Ice tea is very expensive at 800 yen. Service is good and the location is very relaxing which explains how they get away with high prices. I will come again when it gets warmer so I can sit on the deck.

We celebrated with friends at the Canal Cafe and we will never forget it! This is a must see spot in Tokyo. Incredible views, wonderful staff, great food!

A restaurant on the river, facing the water, with boats for rental? Who wouldn't love to go to a restaurant like that? My office is really close to Canal Cafe I would come once in a while. Maybe more so in spring because it's has a spendid view of the cherry blossoms. Along the river are a row of large cherry blossom trees. Having said that, Canal Cafe is at their busiest during that time. There are long queues outside during the cherry blossom season. I've only been here for lunch but they have about 3 lunch sets. You can choose to have a sandwish, a pasta or a curry set and they all come with a great all-you-can-eat salad bar. Extremely, popular for ladies who lunch and couples and young families comes to enjoy a row on the boats. On weekends, I would sometimes see wedding parties held here too. It's also a great place for happy hour before you head off to another place for dinner. Just make sure it's not in the summer otherwise you'd get bitten by all the mosquitoes.

I agree with the prior review - It's great view, and the salad and drink bar is really nice. Open floor plan so you can see outside from most tables. I have been for lunch twice and had the pizza lunch set (includes salad and drink). Very tasty, although the price was much higher than I normally pay for lunch - 2100 yen. Just next to Iidabashi station and kagurazaka.

I went there on saturday evening. Relaxing and having fun with my bf. U can get good time if u don't mind about the river is duty.

Beautiful view on the water with koi fish swimming by and the train on your left. Wonderful, warm environment!