Alice in Wonderland Restaurant – Quirky dining in Tokyo

When we were planning our trip to Japan there was one place in particular I was desperate to dine at and that was the Alice in Wonderland restaurant. I am a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, and the Disney animation was always my favourite film as a child and is still one of my all-time favourites now, so I couldn’t miss this opportunity – especially as Japan is well-known for its theme restaurants.

When I was researching into it I found that there were a few Alice restaurants in Tokyo, butΒ we chose to go to the one in Ginza which was called Alice in a Labyrinth. As we flew to Japan on my birthday, we decided that the restaurant would be the perfect place to celebrate a belated birthday meal… or my very merry unbirthday if you prefer!

My Alice in a Labyrinth Rules:

1. Make a reservation. The restaurant is small. Ask your hotel concierge if they wouldn’t mind making dinner reservations for you, thus avoiding any disappointment of being turned away when you get there.

2. Allow extra time to get there. You don’t want to be late for this very important date!Β This place is difficult to find. We caught the train to Ginza and were planning on walking to it from the train station but after going round in circles, we hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take us there (we even had a printed map). I think the driver struggled a bit to find it too!

3. Look up! The restaurant is on the 5th floor of a rather generic looking building. We were all puzzled when the taxi driver pulled up until I spotted the distinctly Alice logo when I looked up.

alice-in-a-labyrinth-ginza-tokyo

alice-in-a-labyrinth-restaurant

The restaurant is decorated beautifully in a wonderland design, complete with storybook corridors leading into the main restaurant which even had a giant teacup booth for larger parties. The lighting is low and despite the colour and quirkiness, the atmosphere was quite intimate.

After being shown to our table, our waitress who was dressed up as Alice presented us with the menu. It wasn’t just any old menu though, this was presented to us in a diorama type box. She did explain it to us but sadly we didn’t understand what she was saying due to us knowing very very little Japanese, still it looked pretty cute.

Menu at Alice in Wonderland restaurant

Pop up cocktail menu at Alice in a Labyrinth, Tokyo

The menus themselves were tucked away at the back of the box and were pretty much like normal printed menus, although the cocktail menu was pop-up, so I’m not really sure what the box was all about but I liked it all the same.

Of course I had a cocktail! We also learnt that the little bell on our table was to be used for if we needed the attention of the waitress, a rather novel idea!

alice-in-wonderland-cocktail

We were brought over some bread and butter to nibble on while we waited for our main meals. I loved the little touches like the butter being in playing card suit shaped bowls and the little ‘eat me’ card that was sat on the plate.

For my main meal I ordered the Cheshire Cat pizza and my husband ordered some sort of beef dish although neither of us can remember what it was called. The food was tasty but I was a little disappointed that the dishes didn’t have much of a wonderland touch to them. They also weren’t very big – and that’s coming from someone who isn’t a big eater anyway!

Bread at Alice in a Labyrinth

Cheshire Cat Pizza

Meal at Alice in Wonderland restaurant

The desserts, on the other hand, were much more impressive – both in size and presentation. Not sure what the dishes were called but my husband’s dessert involved something chocolatey, fresh fruit, a flaming alcoholic concoction and a cute biscuit shaped like Alice’s silhouette. My dessert was ice cream (my favourite dessert is ALWAYS ice cream!) and by coincidence,Β like my dinner, this too was Cheshire Cat related – complete with a dusting of kitty footprints in cocoa powder and a cat face made from pastry, cream and fruit.

alice-in-a-labyrinth-waitress

alice-dessert

alice-in-a-labyrinth-sundae

I loved all the decor within the restaurant and how you felt like you were walking into a storybook. Even the toilet doors had a nod to the King and QueenΒ (of Hearts) on them!

Alice in a Labyrinth restaurant, Ginza

Toilets for the King and Queen

I enjoyed my evening at Alice in a Labyrinth, mainly for the whimsy of it all. If you’re a hardcore foodie then you probably won’t be satisfied, but if you love everything Alice then you won’t be disappointed!

 

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35 Comments

  1. I didn’t know such a restaurant existed but I haven’t travelled in Japan either. Very interesting and yes… quirky. The food loves delicious but disappointing when not large enough quantities and you walk away hungry. Japan is so trendy that I shouldn’t be surprised!

    1. They love their theme restaurants over there. I felt ok after dessert but think hubby could have eaten more.

    1. Thanks Suzie! Its a must for Alice fans πŸ™‚

      1. I saw the Alice in Wonderland Statue in New York which was amazing!

          1. I’ve just tweeted you a pic of it

          2. Cool thanks! I’m intrigued…

  2. Hey, that looks like so much fun. Would you recommend it for kids as well? Came over from Suzie’s blog party.

    1. Hey thanks for stopping by! Yeah I think kids would love it, maybe not so much toddlers but slightly older kids I’m sure would find it fun.

      1. Oh mine are older. One is just shy of being a teenager… I thought it would be fun to go there when we visit.

        1. If they love quirky or Alice or both then they will love it! πŸ™‚

  3. Popping over from the party! Love this post, it looks amazing! πŸ™‚

    1. Thanks very much. If you’re ever in Japan I recommend it!

  4. Hi there, also found you via Suzie’s party!

    This looks amazing – a visit to Japan is high on my To-Do list, and I’d love to check this place out. It looks so much fun!

    1. I love Japan. It’s just such a nice country, I can’t rave about it enough! I’ll be sure to pop over and check your blog out today too.

  5. I love quirky places like this, makes for great dinner party conversations down the track! “Remember when we went to that place…” Stopping by from Suzi’s blog party πŸ™‚

    1. Absolutely! Japan is full of that kind of thing. Thanks for stopping by, I’m just catching up on checking out other peoples wonderful posts, I’ll be sure to stop by your blog!

  6. Hi – I’m visiting from Suzie’s blog party and couldn’t resist your link! Am very glad I stopped by, this restaurant looks amazing πŸ™‚

    1. Thanks very much πŸ™‚ I look forward to checking out some of your blog

      1. You’re very welcome! Thanks for visiting me too xx

  7. This looks like a wonderful place to eat. Great photos.

  8. Wow, that restaurant looks incredible! I’d love to go there.

    1. If you get the opportunity you should! πŸ™‚

  9. Sounds like a wonderful place to visit!

    1. It was perfect for any Alice fan πŸ™‚

  10. […] restaurants and cafes are all over Japan. We visited an Alice in Wonderland restaurant, a cat cafe, a rabbit cafe and a maid cafe. There are also many other places you can go and […]

  11. Wow, this looks amazing, I’m so jealous!

    When I visited Japan I did manage to find the one in Shibuya, but didn’t try it out because a) it looked expensive and b) I assumed that booking ahead is usually necessary. So I went with a maid cafe instead!

    But part of me regrets that now as this looks so amazing! Will definitely have to track one down when I go back.

    1. quirkylittleplanet

      Yeah it was quite a small restaurant so we asked our hotel concierge in Tokyo to book for us in advance (before we left the UK even!). If I ever go back to Japan I would love to try out some other themed restaurants!

  12. […] quirky restaurants are your cup of tea then you might enjoy reading about the Alice in Wonderland Restaurant TokyoΒ or some of my other foodie […]

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