Just Opened: Issho Cafe Tokyo Dessert House

Issho Cafe Tokyo Dessert House is the new Japanese-style cafe from the team behind Mango Coco, and it's impossible to walk past without peering in at those gleaming cakes. The menu balances sweet and savoury - think strawberry-and-cream domes, kakigori shave ice and French toast alongside light, delicious soufflé pancakes (yes, there are savoury ones topped with chicken katsu). So, is it worth the detour?

Issho Cafe Tokyo Dessert Houseis located along George Street in the Haymarket area right near the light rail Chinatown stop. The thing that draws my eye in first are the cakes. Gleaming strawberry and cream laden dome cakes. I swear one of them is just winking at me.

There's two levels here at Issho, a darker upstairs area and the downstairs area right by the kitchen. The cafe is decked out in pink and green colours. Customers order via a QR code and while it is called a Tokyo dessert house, there is a good amount of savoury food on offer too.

The menu is big so we have to ask for recommendations. I do love souffle pancakes but I wanted to try one of their savoury souffle pancakes (there are 3 savoury ones). I really enjoy the chicken katsu topped souffle pancakes drizzled with spicy mayonnaise. The souffle pancakes are light and sweet like biting into a cross between the softest white bread and a souffle. The chicken comes freshly cooked and served sliced with a moist, crumbed chicken fillet.

Mr NQN loves the grilled wagyu steak rice bowl with fried garlic on top. The wagyu is succulent and well seasoned with a tare style sauce with soy sauce.

Being a dessert house there are myriad desserts on offer from nine types of bingsu (the matcha tiramisu is their signature), sweet French toast, kakigori ices as well as matcha and coffee drinks and of course the cakes in the window. The matcha Strawberry dome has been looking like a snack (literally) the whole time so I order one. It's layers of vanilla sponge with a matcha cream centre, whipped cream on top and halved strawberries. It's super light and fluffy and the matcha adds a light bitterness to counter its sweetness. Despite the look it's not an overly sweet cake. The cake is too large for us to finish (it could easily feed 4 people) so they box it for us to take home.

I was very excited to see Hokkaido soft serve combined with a matcha latte in a matcha latte float. They use a premium matcha powder and don't sweeten the matcha so that it has that herbaceous slight bitterness to it. This is balanced with the intensely creamy Hokkaido soft serve that reminds me of being in Japan. And while it looks nothing like the picture on the menu (menu pic is giving AI vibes) and comes in a plastic cup, it has a generous amount of Hokkaido soft serve. The paper straw provided does make it a bit hard to drink and I prefer to spoon the soft serve and remember trips to Japan.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you seek out food from places that you have travelled to? And have you ever tried souffle pancakes or Hokkaido soft serve and if so do you like them?

This meal was independently paid for

Issho Cafe - Tokyo Dessert House

Shop 3/710 George St, Haymarket NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9231 4332

Open 7 days 12pm-11pm