Nagono Tea Room: Step into old England

Area:  350m north of exit 10 or 12 of Unimall  ユニモール, underground shopping area on the east (Takashimaya) side of Nagoya station
Restaurant:  Nagono Tea Room  那古野 ティールーム
Map and website:  http://www.nagono-tearoom.com/map.html

Hours:  11am-6pm (Weekends and holidays until 7pm), closed Tues, Wed, Thurs


This is definitely a cafe where you won't see many men coming to drink a pot of tea.  The menu seems very English afternoon tea-ish, in that they serve scones and pie on a two-tiered set.  They also have a variety of sandwiches such as cheese and cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese, tuna or tuna with shrimp.  All come with a salad.

You can build your own combo of housemade soup, sandwiches, cake and scones as well as a drink.  Depending on the combination, if it fits one of the sets in the menu, there is a small discount.  

Because the pots are big and heavy, everything is brought to you on a trolley cart.  There is a teapot cover provided to keep the hot water warm.  Here, the hot water comes in the pot and you pour it over a strainer into your cup (is this the English way?).

Flowery tablecloths, antique looking lanterns and the orchestral string music playing also gives for a European and English feel.  

The salad was dressed with a creamy thousand island.  The sandwich had thin slices of cucumber and processed cheese.  The bread was lightly buttered and was fresh.  I'm not much of a tea drinker but the Ceylon tea went well with this sandwich.  The crunch of the cucumbers and chewiness of the thin bread and creaminess of the butter and cheese was all a good combination.

I came back to try the english style scones.  They were very plain, but came warm and surprisingly stayed warm for a long time.  The clotted cream went very nicely to liven them up.  This time I went for the coffee which was pretty standard, not too watery neither too strong.

On yet another occasion, I went for the soup and toast tea set (1050 yen).  I chose the Nilgiri tea which was almost like the Ceylon I had on my first visit.  The squash soup was thick, sweet and had a homemade feel with little bits of squash floating around.  It was lightly seasoned allowing for the natural sweetness too be prominent. The toast came with easily spreadable whipped butter, and more importantly with the crusts attached for a nice crunch and toasty flavor.