The Vampire Cafe

Hello friends!

(The Vampire Cafe)

I'm back with another fun adventure that I had. This time in Ginza (of all places!). Due to the upcoming "Vampire Knight Musical" at the time, I found out about this cool little place as they were doing a collaboration menu. Perhaps some already know or have seen a pattern, but I tend to drift towards stories filled with the "Halloween" type monsters, particularly demons and vampires. So of course when I heard about this place and the collaboration menu and a friend offered to go with me, I quickly made a reservation and hopped over there as soon as I could! I soon went again with two more friends as it was so much fun! In this post, special thanks goes to all of my friends who donated their photos to me for this post and for joining me in these adventures too!

(These duos enjoyed scaring us all upon entering)

The Vampire Cafe in Ginza has been running since 2001. As a fan of Vampire lore and design, I personally loved the decorations in the place. The whole place was decked in black and red. It was dark, but not too dark and candles helped to light the area. The was a chandelier with a old bat theme design and literally right across the table from mine (the first time I went) was a table with a coffin underneath it. The second time I went, I sat at the coffin table and kept accidentally kicking the coffin, oh all the bad omens! ;)

(The coffin I kept accidentally kicking >>; )

All of the waitresses and waiters were dressed to match the Vampire theme as well, dark, muted colors that swept about as they moved. One thing I noticed the second time I went too, was that as the night went on, the waitresses progressively got more fake blood on their outfits, face, etc, which really added to the effect of the cafe.

(Dinner is served)

The food was very good too. While for most foreigners, it might seem like not much food for the price you're paying, it's important to note that what you're getting will fill you up. (You're not going to the Cheesecake Factory in other words). Most of the dishes had some sort of decoration that tied into the Vampire theme. For instance, our pizza came with a bat. Our chicken had a hand coming out of it, etc. I honestly giggled every time our waitress left, just happy at the presentation.

(Table Decoration)

A word about the collaboration menu too. The Vampire Cafe is listed as an Italian restaurant, so most of the food revolves around that general feel. The Collaboration Menu though included: An Appetizer, a Salad, Pizza/Quesadillas , Pasta, Chicken, and an Ice Cream Dessert.

(Left: Collaobration Menu; first called the Vampire Knight Collobartion Menu, now called the Dracula Menu

Right: Regular Menu) 

(Table display with the menus! And yes, the little black box with the cross on it is a menu!)

(Drinks I ordered, non alcoholic

Left: Blood Orange Juice; Right: Elizabeth's Drink, which had a glowing ice cube inside!)

(Bread and Olive Oil Dip)

(Salad with a rose)

(Left: Quesadillas with a rose; Right: Olive Pizza with a bat!)

(Pasta with a skull and hand)

(Chicken, top with a hand, bottom with a dark castle)

(Ice Cream Parfait Dessert)

(Ice Cream Parfait Dessert with a cross)

I also ordered an additional dessert, the "Shot of the Bloody Rose Gun", aka Zero Kiryu's dessert. (As a Zero cosplayer, I felt a need to do this). The Bloody Rose was in fact, Cheesecake, Sweet Potato Ice Cream, and Sugar. I will admit, I fangirled the entire time I ate this thing. The cheesecake had Zero's tattoo on it, the "bullet" from the gun was edible, and you could literally eat the outline of the bloody rose gun as it was red sugar. Best. Decision. Ever. Yum!

(The Bloody Rose Set)

(Bullet, Ice Cream, and Tattooed Cheesecake)

For the occasion too (to celebrate the musical), the restaurant played the music from the "Vampire Knight" anime in the background too. My poor friend Lindsey who went with me could only watch as I freaked over each song that was playing ("And this was during the dance!" "And this was when we first see the Night Class in class!") XD. In the hall they also had signed poster of the main three cast members in costume. So yes, they properly pumped me up for the Musical Production, which I will review at a later time. ;) The second time I went however after the collaboration, they played classic organ music which did set the mood.

(Even the bathroom was decked out!)

My only complaint about the restaurant was that it allowed for smoking and non-smoking guests to be seated next to each other. In Japan, most restaurants do allow for a smoking section within the restaurant, but it is generally somehow closed off from the non-smokers. This was not the case with the Vampire Cafe. Now if you happen to go and no one decides to smoke, then you're good! If not, well you might get a headache if you're not used to smokers (I sure did the second time I went).

(The lit up blood floor)

I've read a variety of reviews about this place since going, ranging anywhere from good to bad. I'd like to address what I think is why this place has gotten bad reviews. I think the primary thing is that people hear the term "Vampire Cafe" and they are expecting something BIG or super flashy. The cafe itself is on the 6th floor of the building and the building is not very large. In short, it's a small little restaurant/cafe (thus the word, cafe). To best describe the location/place, it reminded me of a small gem of a place that I would go to if I wanted to get dinner one night, just to chill. That's the kind of vibe I got from this place.

(The Cross you could see on the floor upon entering the dining area)

I also get the feeling that many tourists go thinking they will get a show, which you do, but on a small scale. When your food comes, sometimes they present it to you in a special way. But the servers are servers (granted Vampire-like servers, but still). What you're really paying for is the elegance and atmosphere of the cafe. I personally preferred this. I liked that I could eat my meal and not have to worry about a Vampire popping out from behind me trying to drink my blood and I liked that I could just enjoy being in this small, quaint place with a Gothic vibe to it. To summarize, this is a cool place to go IF you are into this kind of scenery/atmosphere and have time. I would not go expecting it to be a huge, extravagant experience filled with blood sucking and scares (it is fun, but it's not a very loud place or a horror house). It is also English-friendly in that they do have English menus (your server's knowledge on English will probably vary, but the English menus are really all you need).

(The Bill display with your change)

In conclusion, I had a great time and recommend this to those interested in elegant and/or gothic styled decorations as well as those who enjoy interesting places to eat. For those interested, you can find out more on their two websites: Gourmet Navigator and Vampire Cafe.