Koume Cafe: Stylish and Cool (with dogs) in Sumiyoshi
Published: October 15, 2019
Cafe life in the Sarue area of Koto-ku has gained a massive boost with the opening of Koume Cafe, a pet-friendly bistro that manages to be simultaneously both cool and warm. On a recent balmy autumn morning, I dropped in for a chat with the dynamic and effervescent owner, Ms. Ikumi Shimogawara, and her friendly staff.
Located on a quiet backstreet equidistant from Sumiyoshi and Kikukawa stations, Koume opened in November 2018. “We were previously at a location near Nishi Ojima station,” says Gunma Prefecture native and long-time Koto-ku resident Ms. Shimogawara. “It was a pet-friendly cafe but a little too small and too “lovely” to attract many male customers. Men felt a little uncomfortable entering the place. It was all smoking too. I wanted to move to a larger place, one that could accommodate children and attract a wider clientele. I got married and my husband and I decided to move here.”
“I worked with the architect and interior designer to create the space,” she adds. “We wanted a stylish place but one that was comfortable for everyone to relax in.” The local residents certainly agree as there were customers entering the cafe minutes after it opened at 10:00am. What about the name I asked, does Koume have any special significance? “It’s my cat’s name,” Ms. Shimogawara explained!
On opening up the menu one finds a rather amazing deal for the salad bar: all-you-can-eat for 500 yen for one hour! Customers must order another item from the menu with a minimum price of 500 yen. The salad items are both fresh vegetables and deli-style salads.
Many of the salad items change with the seasons. On this particular day there was pumpkin, mixed bean salad, pasta and coloured peppers, tofu, and a variety of fresh veggies. Of particular interest is the hydroponic frillice lettuce, a chemical-free cross between iceberg lettuce and curly endive.
There’s a nice selection of dressings too. The lighter, “one coin” dishes to match the salad sound fantastic as well: marinated squid, escabeche, fish and chips, garlic shrimp, fried chicken, and potatoes and several more. Egg, ham, and cucumber, blueberry cream and strawberry cream sandwiches are available, together with hot sandwiches containing avocado and cheese, ham, and cheese, azuki bean paste or peanut butter and banana. Wow!
Koume features a daily lunch from Monday to Friday. This week it was a rather tasty looking “chukadon,” a popular dish of stir-fried seafood, meat, and vegetables on rice. Other weeks feature such dishes as pasta, omelette, and rice, deep-fried cod, curry, chicken and egg and so on. Lunch comes with salad bar and a drink for a staggering 1,000 yen. Exceptional value!
Apart from the special daily lunch there is another regular menu that features a host of favourites such as mushroom and cheese doria, nasi goreng, taco rice and hamburg steaks.
And there’s yet another set of dishes chalked up on a blackboard: gapao rice, chicken wings with rosemary, keema curry, spring rolls with chicken and cod roe, the list seems endless. It’s probably best just to ask for whatever you want; the chances are they can make it for you!
Using a phone app and the latest in automated latte art printing coffee maker technology, customers can enjoy a delicious customized latte with their favourite design. Here it’s Kotomi-chan, Koto-ku’s tourism mascot, but it could be anything!
The coffee’s really good, by the way, and the sofas are very comfortable.
This little beauty is the “double” version of the cream cheese and fruit pancake, coming in at 1130 yen. There are single and double versions of all three pancakes available at Koume: as well as the cream cheese and fruit (880 yen/1130 yen) there is a plain version with butter and syrup (580 yen/ 930 yen), and a white azuki bean paste and butter one (680 yen/1030 yen). For autumn there’s also a very tasty looking Mont Blanc chestnut cream pancake at 880 yen. All pancakes are served with a choice of drinks.
Kids are always welcome at Koume. Together with a couple of plates for junior customers featuring hamburgs, fried chicken, omelets, potatoes, sweet curry and all those other kiddy favourites, there’s a mini-pancake with cream, strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce and banana. Salad bar is available for kids too, at 300 yen an hour.
Did we mention the half price drinks during happy hour? Did we mention that happy hour is actually three hours long? That’s right, happy hour begins at 3pm and finishes at 6pm and everything on the menu is half price. Well, all except champagne and port! There are beers, wines, shochu, highballs, sours, whiskey, and loads of cocktails. A glass of wine for 200 yen, a cassis orange for 300, a Guinness for 350? That’s crazy value!
Koume may be contemporary and cool but it hasn’t forgotten its four-legged customers. Doggies are welcome, but on a lead and using a mat on the furniture, thank you. The amazing canine menu features a “wanburg” made from either horse meat or chicken breast, beef steak, banana cake, and blueberry ice. All meals for dogs are 100% seasoning and preservative free. There’s also a “birthday cake plate” featuring a “cake” made from meat and a separate banana cake. The cake can be personalized with a congratulatory message to your pooch on his or her birthday!
This cheeky chap’s enjoying the view while his owner tucks in! Aside from the main dog menu there are several kinds of snacks, such as liver jerky and dried apples, made by Ms. Shimogawara’s mother. As with the main doggy dishes, they are 100% preservative and seasoning free.
And these two certainly look as though they’re enjoying their visit. I wonder how many dog owners drop in for a quick one during happy hour?
Whatever the time of day, there’s something for everyone at Koume. Morning coffee, lunch with friends, happy (3!) hour, dinners and drinks; you can even take your pet! Dogs mainly, some cats (including the titular Koume) and the odd ferret, apparently. The staff are really bright and friendly and the atmosphere is great. If you’re in the area, you’d have to be bonkers not to visit Koume!
Story and Some photos by Stephen Spencer
