For those that don’t know, matcha (also known as maccha) is a fine powder green tea. Japanese tea ceremonies centre on the preparation, serving and drinking of matcha, however, in modern times, it’s used to flavour and dye foods. I actually came here not knowing what matcha was, but true to their name, most things on their menu have matcha in it.

The seating at this place reminds of the setup they have at Ginza. A combination of traditional seating and conventional tables and chairs. We decided to opt for the normal tables and found some of them to be quite wobbly. The main section of the venue is decorated with bamboo walls and it almost felt like we were sitting in a hut. The background music playing was something out of a toy music box. All in all, the atmosphere was quite pleasant and cosy.

My friend ordered one of the Matcha Teas and said it was quite soothing and refreshing. It’s also good to know that refills of your teapot are free.

For dessert, I ordered the Japanese Cheesecake. The dish came out after a 15 minute wait and was average in presentation. The cheesecake wasn’t perfectly cut because I could see some imperfections on the edges. The cheesecake was a bit firmer in texture when compared to the western variety, however, it reminded me of homemade cheesecakes made from cream cheese. It was more subtle in sweetness and I found the odd sultana at the base. The base was soft and moist, and not crumbly, and the almond flakes on top weren’t crunchy as expected.

The cheesecake came with two scoops of ice cream, one green tea and one vanilla. The green tea ice cream was well refined and there was only a slight bitter green tea after taste. The vanilla ice cream was fairly stock standard and reminded me of the cheap supermarket variety.

My friend had the Matcha Muffin Crumble. Her dessert actually tasted better than mine. The muffin crumble was soft and moist, and the cinnamon worked really well with the green tea.

The staff were friendly and the service was good. The atmosphere was relaxed and the pricing was reasonable. My dessert set me back $8.95 which is fairly average. I’d visit this place again but I wouldn’t be ordering the cheesecake. Some of the popular items seem to be their sundaes and waffles.

WHERE: 114-116 O’Connell St, North Adelaide