2019/11/17
Sfera is a homeware and decor store, Cafe DOnG is produced by Sfera located on the first floor of their building in Kyoto.
One thing that caught my eye was the fact that they serve wagashi from 嘯月 Shougetsu, a very famous Japanese confectionary shop (#1 on Tabelog!). I heard it is quite difficult to even buy wagashi directly from Shogetsu, but you can easily order them on the menu at the comfort of this cafe.... say no more, we're on our way! 😂
Decor
The interior decor of Cafe DOnG is modern and contemporary. I believe most of the furniture used here are from their shop, what better way to display your own merchandise right?
photo credits: Tabelog お店からの写真
There are many different seating choices inside the cafe, whether you want to sit at a normal square table, a Japanese styled room table, round table outdoors, soft mini stools and so on. It is also very spacious, unlike most cafes you may visit in Japan.
photo credits: Tabelog お店からの写真
Since we wore kimonos, we decided to sit here at the washitsu area. It was actually pretty comfortable!
I really love this warm and peaceful vibe the interior decor at Cafe DOnG gives.
Food
Obviously, the main reason we came is for the namagashi from Shougetsu, but we were also a bit disappointed at the lack of choices on their menu.
This is definitely a cafe just for a nice coffee/tea break. The only filling item is their chicken curry rice. :(
アペリティフ セット Aperitif Set
We ordered the aperitif set since we thought it would be nice to have something savoury to contrast the wagashi. This set comes with your choice of a glass of wine and five amuse bouche made with seasonal vegetables.
嘯月セット Shougetsu Set
The Shougetsu set is available on a first come first serve basis, so if you arrive too late, they might already be sold out! Every set comes with a drink of your choice, it was pretty warm, so we ordered an iced matcha.
Note you only get to choose one namagashi for each set... something we were disappointed about, but I guess, as the set is only 1300 yen haha. They let us choose from four different Shougetsu confection with a short explanation for each. tbh I wasn't really paying much attention so I just picked this one on a whim LOL
This one is called 春日野 Haru no no (薯蕷饅頭 Jouyo Manju). The white outer pastry is made like a soft rice cake, unlike mochi, is a bit grainy?? (like a korean steamed rice cake). On the inside is red bean paste but more on the dry side and not overly sweet. It was delicious! We really tried to savour it but didn't take long for us to devour it since it was quite small.... 😅
Verdict
I would recommend coming by Cafe DOnG if you desperately want to try wagashi from Shougetsu but don't want to commit to actually pre-ordering in advance from their store. Or if you will be visiting this area and want a nice simple tea break then this is the place to go!
If you want a light lunch, thinking of getting cafe food (cake?) then, this is not what you are looking for.
Now that I look back, we should have ordered 2 sets of the Shougetsu namagashi instead of the aperitif set. The pastry is definitely the star of the show and worth our time and stomach space! haha.
Cafe DOnG By Sfera カフェ・ドン バイ スフェラ
075-532-1070
17 Benzaitencho Higashiyama-ku Kyoto
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