Turkey is the birthplace of coffee culture, and now you can get the full Turkish coffee experience in Tokyo, at Café and Bar Dogal, which offers traditional Turkish coffee, chai tea and even alcohol.
The interior has beautiful Arabian lamps hung above the counter, mini persian carpets on seats and kitchenware ornamented with Ottoman patterns to make you feel like you’re in Istanbul. That authenticity is also reflected in the food and drink, as Dogal’s owner imports many ingredients directly from Turkey.
The Turkish coffee is made using very finely ground coffee beans that are boiled with sugar and served in a copper pot called cezve. Dogal’s Turkish chai tea is made with a two-tiered kettle called a chaidanlk that is designed to make the drink much less bitter than your typical chai. The drink menu also has Turkish wine and spirits that are relatively hard to find in Japan, including the anise-flavoured raki. The owner recommends trying it with shargamsuyu, a fermented black carrot juice.
Aside from beverages, Dogal serves Turkish baklava (crispy puff pastry with sweet syrup) provided by Baisade, a Turkish patisserie in Aichi. If you order the Turkish coffee, you’ll find a piece of mastic (plant resin) gum or a lokum (Turkish delight) next to your cup – they’re imported from Divan, a long-established sweet store in Istanbul.