If you've lived in Japan for a while, you may have come across the furniture store Noce – they sell a variety of interior pieces in different styles, drawing inspiration from places like Scandinavia and Brooklyn in their designs. The brand also operates a café in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo called Café Normale, where you can pick up panini sandwiches, French toast, and a variety of cakes and drinks.
The panini sandwiches come in a wide variety of flavor combinations, including fillings like Italian Parma ham and mozzarella cheese, four cheeses with honey, and even mentaiko (pollock roe) with mozzarella cheese for a panini with a Japanese spin. The bread is all baked in house, and is simply made with flour, olive oil and salt.
The panini sets are popular with customers, with options for either one or two sandwiches served with a drink, salad, and dessert. The prices for the sets are quite reasonable at only ¥ 900 for the one sandwich offering, or ¥ 1200 for the duo.
As for the desserts, some of the choices include carrot cake, gateaux chocolat, crème brûlée, and various scone flavors. All of the desserts served at the café are homemade, and they can be paired with a drink in a set – prices for those drink and dessert sets range from ¥ 750 - ¥ 1000 depending on what you pick.
Best of all, for those who want to combine a bit of furniture browsing during their visit to the area, the Noce Shimokitazawa store is located just 30 seconds away from the café on foot.
