ELLE CAFÉ

Text: Jamina Ovbude

Newsflash! ELLE magazine has opened its first ever café for the fashion, tea and macaroon lover in us all. Yes, my friends, if you’ve been looking for that perfect coffee shop to sit and sip among some of Hakata City’s most chic, search no longer. Simply head to the 4th floor of the Hankyu department store and venture into the stunning new ELLE café.

Current and back issue ELLE group magazines including ELLE India and ELLE USA line the walls of this crisp eatery. Custom furnishings by Spanish designer Jamie Hayon invite you to grab a seat to peruse through magazines, which are just for looking, unless you want to take home a current issue of ELLE Japan. If you sit alongside the posterior wall of windows, you’ll get a bird’s eye view of the station’s concourse and the Saga-ken porcelain tile work in the nearby pillars. There is also a set of public use iPads in case you need to check your email or the latest fashion news at ELLE online.

Speaking of newsworthy, have you ever tried a 5-bean parfait? Or a zesty yuzu flavored macaroon? No? Well these are just the beginning of the refined blend of European and Japanese eating and drinking options on the café menu. You can also choose from 15 additional macaroon flavors, 11 tea choices, wine and coffee offerings, pasta dishes, focaccia sandwiches and more. Macaroons are ¥200 each and prices for entrée options range from ¥900 to ¥2,000. No need to worry if you’re a bit kanji illiterate—the menu is translated into English.

If you’re not done shopping, ELLE café also has a variety of items for sale including cosmetics, candles, accessories, home décor, foreign food goods and tins of the luxe tea brand, Theodor of Paris.

So go check it out! If your friends are too far away to experience the café with you, get them an ELLE café collector’s item. Maybe their jealousy will subside a little.

4F Hakata Hankyu, 1-1 Hakata Eki Chuogai

092-419-5832