Rue de Passy actually does a pretty great job of recapturing the vibe of a Parisian patisserie (apparently the owner learned to make pastries in France).
They have a ton of really delicious looking desserts. On the show, Kantaro ordered both a caramel and a chocolate eclair, but since I’m trying to keep things on a budget (getting a fancy dessert every day in Tokyo isn’t cheap, as you might imagine), I just got the chocolate.
It was odd. Quite tasty, but odd.
The filling isn’t light and custardy, as you might expect. It’s basically just straight-up ganache. It’s ultra-dense and fudgy (I cut into it with a fork expecting to make a mess of the filling, but it’s so incredibly thick that I was able to slice through it cleanly), with a really satisfying chocolate flavour. It was a bit of a surprise, but a delightful one.
The pastry seems like quality stuff — it has a nice, light crispiness on its exterior. But to be honest, it’s almost completely overwhelmed by the intensely rich filling.
Still, if you’re into chocolate (which I am, obviously), it’s hard to go wrong here.
Location: 3 Chome-17-6 Takaban, Meguro-ku, Tōkyō-to 152-0004
How to find it: The shop looks like it was air-dropped in from Paris. You can’t miss it.
Featured in: Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, Season 1, Episode 9