Address: 3-5-2 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo
Website: http://lattest.jp/
Open: 10am – 7pm
Soy Milk: Yes
I had been wanting to try LATTEST for a while since I had walked past the cafe a few times before, but it closes too early for me to go after work, so it took a while for me to get the chance to go. Finally last weekend I was able to though! When I walked in, I immediately liked the interior of the cafe. Everything looked intentionally worn and cozy, giving the cafe a very comfortable, homey feeling. It just had one big table in the centre, with smaller tables scattered around the rest of the cafe with mix-matched chairs. The floors were concrete with graffiti, and the bar itself all made of wood. I liked it already.
It took a bit of time to get a seat because it was quite busy and no one seemed to be moving very quickly, but once we had a table we went up to check out the menu. LATTEST features a lot of different latte flavours, including hazelnut, matcha, and Bailey’s. They also have a drink called the “lattest,” which is their house special – a shot glass filled with milk and espresso. It’s quite expensive for a small amount of coffee so I gave it a pass this time, but it was incredibly popular amongst the other patrons of the cafe. As a fan of Irish creme flavour, I couldn’t pass up the Bailey’s latte.
My latte definitely tasted like Bailey’s – and it was real alcohol that they put in it, not just flavouring, from the taste. Because I don’t drink alcohol personally I wasn’t very happy about that, but to someone who does, it’s a great chance to enjoy that kind fo coffee! My sister ordered a soy matcha latte, and typically soy never has latte art on it. However, at LATTEST, even her soy latte had a beautiful design! Sadly the coffee wasn’t very hot though, which was a bit strange.
We stayed at LATTEST for a little while but it was actually quite loud and hard to hear one another, so it wasn’t very relaxing in the end. The acoustics in the cafe make everyone’s voices just a bit too overpowering. Overall I liked the aesthetics of the cafe and the chance to get some different kinds of lattes, but it wasn’t a good place for reading or writing, and the coffee should have been served hotter in my personal opinion. I hope to give it a second chance sometime, but I’m not in a hurry.
Pros: Variety of latte flavours, plenty of seats, cool interior
Cons: Coffee is not hot enough, too loud during busy periods, long waiting time