J.S. Pancake Cafe in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo

I spend a lot of time in Jiyugaoka and it has usurped Omotesando and Aoyama as my favourite "fancy" part of Tokyo. Unless I win the Euromillions lottery I'll probably never live there but Jiyugaoka is still a great place to come for some light shopping and excellent food. It's not exactly unknown, but it's still very different and set apart from places like Shibuya or Shinjuku. There are a lot of well-off foreigners living in Jiyugaoka so it has a luxury and somewhat international vibe. 

Home-made ginger ale

The first place I ever ate at in Jiyugaoka (and many times since then) was the J.S. Pancake Cafe. I'm a big fan of their other restaurants and you're basically guaranteed a good meal. The first thing I order in each shop is their "home-made" (obviously not reeeeally home-made) ginger ale. It's fizzy, it's spicy and it's oh so refreshing.

Two small skillet dishes each as part of the set menu

Salad, pancakes, butter and salad dressing

At the Pancake Cafe I always choose the half and half skillet set. I've never actually had any of the sweet pancakes because I can't resist anything that comes in a skillet. On this occasion my boyfriend was with me so we had the chance to try four of the six available dishes. The selection changes by season and shop but there's always a seasonal lasagne and it's always worth ordering.

The set comes with a drink choice and a pancake plate. With two fluffy pancakes and a heap of crispy green salad, you'll be absolutely stuffed. But at least it's the good kind of stuffed feeling that comes from a reasonably healthy meal.

Writing this has made me realise that (a) I should probably try one of their sweet pancakes someday and (b) I want to try making some personal skillet meals. Probably need a mason jar drink to go with it too. Am I trendy yet?