Checking out the best western breakfast restaurant in Tokyo – BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama

The following was featured on dennisamith.com:

If there is one thing that I’ve always questioned about visiting Japan is why are most places to get breakfast, especially in Tokyo, towards mid-to-late morning?

Granted, I’ve been spoiled in America, where early morning breakfast is common.

And when you do find a place in Tokyo that does serve breakfast, it’s usually quite small (insert frown).

But I have since found my favorite place for a western breakfast and it’s called BLU JAM CAFE and they have two locations in Tokyo, one in Azabu Juban, but the primary location is located in the stylish district of Daikanyama in Shibuya.

For those not familiar with Blu Jam Cafe, the cafe was an idea created by friends who wanted to create a casual cafe in Hollywood. Friends/partners Kamil Majer and David Frist would open this cafe called BLU JAM CAFE in Melrose Avenue in 2006.

Both men are emigrated from the U.S. from Czechoslovakia and held the belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

And the name of the restaurant was inspired by the history of the Melrose location, which was an underground Jazz club in which Jazz musicians Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and many great musicians had performed.

Since then, numerous BLU JAM CAFE have opened throughout California and now Tokyo.

I’m going to focus on the BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama location. First, it’s not far from Daikanyama Station. Head to the main street (go straight from the station, make a right after you see Flippers) and you will see the following building:

Go up the stairs and ahead on the left is an elevator, go ahead and take the elevator to BLU JAM CAFE.

Once you go inside, you have the feeling of being at a cool cafe in the U.S., good amount of space, cool music, cool ambiance and you have English speaking staff. And similar to the Hollywood location, photos of jazz musicians can be seen on the wall. Unlike a lot of places in Tokyo that are small and people have to wait in line, BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama has a good number of tables and seating. So, while reservations can be made, chances of getting a seat in the morning is good.

Although, for those planning to visit during a time of a major event, such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, then I would reserve, just in case!

The location is very clean, from the tables to the floors. So, it was good to see that and for the most part, it’s a wonderful location.

The good news is that the menu is in English and Japanese!

There are other choices as you can see from the menu, click here to see a large version of the breakfast menu.

For the salads, tacos, burgers or healthy choices, click here to see a large version of the menu.

It’s important to note that BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama is open at 8:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m. and they are open everyday with the exception of Tuesday. The BLU JAM CAFE Azabu Juban is open from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. but also has a bar which runs from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and are closed on Tuesdays.

The menu is diverse, may you be a person with a family who wants western food and have picky eaters, to those who are vegan or health conscious and want to eat or drink something that they feel comfortable with.

My first time at BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama, for breakfast I had my morning coffee, I also wanted to try their popular morning hash or their white salmon scramble (I asked what they recommended and I told them to surprise me, go for what they recommended…but I’m not entirely sure which I exactly ordered, but I do know that I also ordered their famous Crunchy French Toast.

As I waited for the food, I’m going to be truthful. Having eaten breakfast in Tokyo, it’s a bit of an underwhelming experience. I just looked at breakfast in Tokyo to get a quick bite or just using my time in the morning to eat something typically small while I looked over my itinerary.

I’m used to breakfast in Tokyo of being small. Suffice to say, to my shock, once the food was served, what I saw was a breakfast that was American proportion. Not only was I surprised but also quite happy! It was surreal because you don’t usually get this in Tokyo or Japan.

The hash was absolutely delicious. It was like a mountain of flavors and each bite, I kept thinking in my mind, “I love this place!”.

And I don’t eat much French Toast, in fact, I probably haven’t eaten it since I was a child. But because BLU JAM CAFE is famous for their French Toast, I had to try it and it was fantastic! All I kept saying to myself was, “WOW!”.

Before I left back to the US, I had to visit BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama to try something different. This time the Salmon Hash and the Maui French Toast.

The salmon hash was absolutely delicious. The flavor of the chopped fresh salmon, baby spinach, tomatoes, red bell peppers, potatoes, capers, pickled red onions, poached eggs and dill hollandaise was absolutely delicious!

And the Maui french toast, was also amazing!

As I took everything in and thought to myself, how awesome is it to find this place and know that such a restaurant exists in Tokyo. You just don’t find restaurants like Blu Jam CAFE in Tokyo. The concept of early morning breakfast is not exactly big in Japan, as many people are always on the move and have to get to work or school.

But it does help that the thousands of people who do travel to Tokyo who are looking for a restaurant that will fulfill their morning, have a menu that is diverse which many people can no doubt eat and enjoy. From the picky eater, the hungry individual and also the healthy lifestyle person or vegan.

BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama is the restaurant that many people have wished of seeing in Japan and I’m so thrilled to finally have visited and have eaten at the location (multiple times).

Overall, for those who are looking for a western style breakfast in Tokyo, good size portion, great atmosphere, clean restaurant and wonderful customer service, BLU JAM CAFE Daikanyama is hands down the best early morning breakfast restaurant I have been to in Tokyo.

Highly recommended!

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