This Setagaya gem has a loyal following, including both local students and the trendy set on their away-day from their central haunts: So much so that it's often busy until closing time at 4am. The atmosphere seems closer to Shibuya than suburbia, however. Designed by Ichiro Katami, style guru for some of the city's busiest cafes-including the fantastically named Space Shower Brunch (Shimokitazawa), Sony's so-net cafe (Odaiba) and Lotus Cafe (Omotesando) - the interior features his trademark stainless steel, white walls, simple acrylic tables/chairs and glass. Openness dominates: Exposed pipes and cables, a fully visible kitchen and sparse decor all add to the feeling of being in one's own apartment, Katami claims. 

For starters, the excellent seri (Japanese parsley) and garlic soup (JY350) belied its casual mug presentation, and the salmon toro sashimi on a bed of celery and cucumber (JY600) was a good reminder of why that fish remains a perennial favorite. The "five kinds of mushroom rice" (JY750) didn't disappoint either. The subtle mushroom flavors were livened up with onion, nori (laver) and other flavorings. This did not apply to the "five kinds of mushroom pasta" (JY700) though, which was fine but suffered from the same lack of flavor that spaghetti all over Japan seems to. From past experience, we recommend the creamy seafood pilaf (JY900), and friends rave over most of chef Uichi Yamamoto's large menu, so the odds favor culinary joy, not disappointment. 

As with a lot of cafe-type restaurants, the desserts are a highlight. The cooked apple with caramel sauce (JY500) has provided a deliciously sweet coda to several evenings here and the apple cinnamon dessert (JY700) is also recommended. On this occasion, the dessert of the day was a tasty dark cherry tart and was the kind of dense fruity sponge known as cherry Bakewell tart to Brits. 

The rich coffee mocha (JY450) had a full inch of chocolate at the bottom of the glass. The only way to improve this would be to make that an inch of coffee at the bottom of a glass of chocolate. The beer was Kirin Braumeister (JY400), a million miles from its unpalatable regular Kirin cousin. 

Good design, a young friendly crowd and a generally excellent menu make this a recommended stop off for residents of Tokyo's largest ward, and for those whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs, nearby Komazawa park provides the perfect way to walk off the excess.