LiLo Coffee in Shinsaibashi, Osaka
One of the most popular spots on our list of coffee shops in Osaka, we present this review of LiLo Coffee Roasters in Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka. Our summary: Coffee for people that like to wait in line.
LiLo is the kind of place that has to have a lot of rules and signs to control the crowd. Which means that when you’re there, you’ll be squeezed in a pack of 20 to 40 people, being hounded by the staff to keep you moving, to get you out of the way, to do what they need to do to efficiently get what is easily a 1500 per person order out of you.
While inside is a press of standing room only, there was one two-person table inside, and a few counter seats (although I think I heard one of the staff telling someone not to sit there).
The shop goes right past “hip” into obsequious cute. There are so many random things for sale (magnets, etc) that it feels like a souvenir shop – yeah, that’s right. With the thick crowds, it’s like a gift shop on a holiday at a theme park. Even on a drizzling Tuesday morning at 11 AM, it was very busy, uncomfortably so. You can imagine the same time on a nice Sunday in the Spring.
If you want good coffee, there are a dozen really good choices within a few minutes of this shop. If you really like this shop – you must be after something else.
I asked for a recommendation, and said “something common” (in Japanese). A very feminine guy behind the counter recommended the Ethiopian. I agreed.
I paid my 1000 JPY for a small coffee, and they gave me a “cute” laminated card that had a little character and the word “Grape” on it; they give every customer a card (instead of asking for your name), so they know who’s who when the coffee is ready. Grape would be one of many flavors they use, including vanilla. When I heard the announcement “Grape!,” I showed them my card, and they handed over the coffee.
The coffee came in little 6 oz cup.
They also issued “cute” sparkly cards with w/ my coffee, like baseballs cards (but much more girly); one with the name of the coffee I ordered, ans some stats on it’s relative acidity, etc.
The coffee was extraordinary, and was indeed unlike any coffee I’d had before. It was sweet and fruity and floral. I spent the next 10 minutes trying to nail down what it reminded me of.
First, maybe it was more like (herbal) tea than traditional coffee, yet still coffee-like. I settled on a floral chocolate – and that seemed about right. It had a bitter aftertaste that was a bit chemical; that made me think of medicine.
Floral, chocolate, medicine. So it shall be known.
In addition to the card with the coffee details, they also gave me a card paying tribute to my barista.
This whole store is over-the top run-away feminine energy. That, plus, heavy crowd control.
There are cookies for sale. And of some pastries, persumably made somewhere else, in thick plastic bags.
The 2000 JPY sticker is insulting. The label on the shelf saying “could you take us to your sweet home” was a kind of pathetic, cutesy, extortion. But if you can’t resist obvious manipulation, perhaps you’re just the kind of person they were thinking of when they decided a 2000 price tag was a good idea.
If you like standing in line, to pay the highest prices for coffee of anywhere in Osaka, this may be the place for you. We know you’ll get some Instagram pics out of the deal.
