Princess For A Day At The Foreign Butler Café!

If your life’s ambition is to be waited on hand and foot by a handsome foreign man in tie and tails, get thee to the Butlers Cafe on the double! Not only will you be presented with a tiara to wear for the occasion, ringing the antique bell will bring the servant of your dreams running, with a, “Yes, my princess?” and a winning smile.

The tiara

According to the website, the butlers come from all over the world: England, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Turkey, South Africa, and Thailand. And all are graduates of “Butler University”! Let’s meet one of them, shall we?

Butler Eli (who is 183 cm tall and comes from France) tells us that his hobby is playing classical guitar, what he’d most like to do on his day off is pick roses in the castle garden, that he turns to the head butler Kazu for advice on how to be the perfect man. He thinks he’d be good at teaching butler’s manners, and the nicest thing anyone can say to him is to choose him as their butler, even though he modestly claims not to be at all attractive. (And because this is Japan, I bet the other thing we know about him is that he wouldn’t have been hired if he couldn’t make charming conversation with his Japanese customers in the lingua franca, so he’s probably put in boatloads of time studying for the JLPT Level One. Good to know that it qualifies you not only for the diplomatic service, but to elegantly dish up tea and scones!)

And what treats might be on offer for La Princesse Du Jour? You can go full monty with the “Princess Course” for $45 (Welcome Drink, Appetizer & Salad, Special Pasta, Main Course, Dessert Selection, Tea, and a Special Present) in the curtained booth ($5 extra per person charge), or sit at a regular table next to all the other royals and indulge in anything from Sea Urchin Carbonara ($15) to a stack of pancakes ($12). Tea is of course served in heart-shaped cups.

I love how in Japan it’s not only men who get to indulge their fantasies of being served by a character out of their favorite comic book! I discovered the world of maid  and butler cafes while researching Nightshade , the first book in my Japanese mystery series. If you’d like to visit the Butlers Cafe the next time you’re in Tokyo, go to the website and book a reservation. A map and directions are on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

All photos from Kera’s Boku magazine.