A butler café is a male version of maid café, except instead of girls in maid costumes awaiting their master there are male servants expecting you home and your order. Etymologically speaking, the word “butler” is derived from the French word bouteille (or “bottle” in English), with an implication of “a staff member responsible for the king’s wine bottles”. When time unfolds, a butler becomes a worker in charge of household chores in various parts of a great house, including dining room, cellar and parlor. Great admirers of such European butler culture, Japanese have thus developed butler cafés to satisfy most people’s dreams of having the male servants and enjoying the life of a rich for at least once.
The location and interior of the butler cafe
To unveil what a butler café is like, I have recently visited Swallowtail, located at Tokyo’s Ikebukuro. The interior design to me is more like neo-Victorian style; while the floor is made of fine, bright white marble, the restaurant is surrounded by antique red-bricked walls. The décor is, overall speaking, glamorous and expensive.
Once I entered the restaurant, a butler passionately greeted me, “Welcome home, my lady!”, as though I felt like I was immediately becoming extraordinarily wealthy. The butler who served me was called Shiina, an around-thirty-year-old handsome man with short hair and black-framed glasses. His butler attire – black tuxedo and white-collar shirt with a black necktie – looked really striking. He is obviously very skillful, as he explained, in detail and in a soft, kind tone, the menu of the café after ushering me to a cozy cushioned seat.
Once I properly ensconced myself, Shiina pulled down the majestic, red curtain to ensure that our conversation would not be interrupted. He began by asking me in fluent English, “May I have the honor of knowing your name, my lady?” Slightly embarrassed, I was blushed and uttered a single word “Jane”. He recommended Catherine Rose, the famous red tea of the café, and vowed that if I was hungry, he would try to prepare an excellent afternoon tea set called Anna Maria. Hard to resist the temptation and his kindness, I followed his advice and ordered the set, as well as “Catherine Rose”. Later Shiina also told me that the pasta prepared by their chef was also delicious, although I was afraid that I would not be able to eat everything up and had to decline his suggestion.
After a small talk, despite my reluctance, Shiina told me he had to be excused for a while, but meanwhile, he also promised, “if my lady has any request, just ring the bell on the table, and Shiina will come by your side in no time”. While waiting, I was trying to size up the interior of the café, and peek at other tables through the small slit at the edge of the curtain. The dazzling chandelier on top of my head reminded me of the one inside a grand opera house in the story Phantom of the Opera. But the chandeliers here seemed even more glaring and brilliant.
Besides me, there were also other customers, mostly girls, although I also saw a couple sitting in the middle of the café, being served by another butler (Later I was told that the café also allows entrance of male customers, and some are even regular visitors!). Swallowtail is probably one of the most popular butler cafes at Tokyo, as more than three quarter of seats had been occupied, even though the day when I paid a visit was a weekday late afternoon.
It didn’t take long for the food and tea to be ready, either. I could not help but take several shots of the exquisite afternoon set. Frankly speaking, compared to the afternoon tea at London, where I have tried few times, the one here is a hundred times more delicious. Among all the desserts and sandwiches, I was particularly fond of the lemon cake, not only because of my predilection for the lemon flavor, but also because the cake is so tender that it melted in my mouth instantly with just one bite. You may think the set must be unimaginably costly, but indeed the set itself only cost 3, 500 yen. With such top-notch service provided by the café where you can feel so much like at home, I would say it was worth the price!
Catherine Rose, the red tea, tasted divine too. When I asked Shiina about the ingredient out of curiosity, he told me patiently that the tea was blended with roses, marigold and mallow flowers, with a base of Ceylon tea. Neither a botanist nor a tea specialist, I did enjoy every sip of it!
When I was about to leave the café, Shiina escorted me to the entrance and kindly said, “Take care when you ride your horse, my lady.” How sweet he was! I really wish to visit a second time!
P.S. A customer generally cannot decide a butler by herself, but I am sure all butlers at the café will provide as best the service as they can!
Address: 3-12-12 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-Ku Tokyo
Access: 5 mins from JR Ikebukuro Station, Higashi Ikebukuro Station
Reservation: Reservation is required for this restaurant, please refer to their English
page for further information: https://www.butlers-cafe.jp/swallowtail/company/reserve_en.html
Reminder: Children under the age of 5 is not allowed in the restaurant.
The cafe is opened during weekends and some weekdays, please refer to
their closing schedule page (Japanese): https://www.butlers-cafe.jp/swallowtail/close.html
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