I just realized that I missed the first spot that my gourmet sister took us on the fun outing day in Tokyo! Since it was such an epic spot, I had to make sure to write about them. It is called Kajitsuen Libre, also known as Kajitsuen Fruit Parlor. My sister told us about how “Fruit Sandwich” was getting so popular, and she wanted to take us to a place where they have an amazing one! There was a big board with photos of what they offer right outside, and it looked sooooo awesome! The location in Meguro is on a second floor, so we went up the stairs with excitement.
When we walked in, the first thing I saw was a great amount of fruit everything. Fruit cakes, fruit in bows, fruit in bags, beautiful shiny jewelry of fruits on display everywhere. This is no Fruit Parlor, it is a fruit heaven! I heard that the owner of Kajitsuen Libre dedicated his life to fruits for over 50 years, and he is super serious about them all. With that, the quality is top notch!
The inside was quite big, much larger than I expected. I was imagining something of a small dessert cafe. But that was before I knew how popular and famous they are. Also, they serve regular food too, not just desserts.
We went there for lunch, so we started off with some tasty food. We ordered Mushroom Gratin (きのこのグラタン) (1,210 yen), Fruit Sandwich (フルーツサンド) (1,210 yen), Omurice (オムライス) (1,370 yen) which was seasonal item, Seafood Doria (シーフードのドリア) (1,430 yen).
The side salad came with amazing fruits! How great is that even if you just come in here and order hot food without any dessert (which would be a sin), you still get to taste their delectable fruits! The fruits were at the peak of ripe, sweetness, and the salad was super fresh. The gratin came nice and hot, cheesy perfection.
My hubby can NOT resist something that has seafood, with creamy white sauce, and cheesy. So, Seafood Doria, or gratin, was a no-brainer for him. It had a saffron rice underneath, and a good amount of seafood on top. The white sauce was creamy, and with cheese, it provided the perfect flavor with just the right amount of salt. The sweetness of the rice balanced the dish, it was great!
I chose Omurice because it is just so amazingly Japanese (LOL) and I was craving one. It is basically a rice with chicken, wrapped in an omelet. The very basic, comfort food at its best. It was very tasty, you can’t go wrong with omurice!
We all went for the hot food, except for my gourmet sister, who knew exactly what she wanted, Fruit Sandwich! She also ordered this one so that we could taste it too. I know, I have the best gourmet sister. And I tell you what, the Fruit Sandwich was MAGICAL! It had soft, fluffy bread, light, creamy, and airy whipped cream, and sweet, ripe fruit pieces. One bite and you find yourself in Fruit Sandwich heaven, if such thing exists. If not, what world did I temporarily gone to, with a fluffy cloud made of cream, unicorns and butterflies made of fruits, and everything feels so dreamy… You will know what I mean once you have a bite of this sandwich too.
Then, here comes the dessert time! The gratin, omurice, and doria came with a choice of tea or coffee. We asked to have them with dessert, after the food. We went with coffee, while my sister went with tea.
Kajitsuen Libre is a fruit spot, no matter how tasty the hot dishes might be. So, we were looking forward to trying their desserts. The problem was that their menu looked too amazing, it was not easy to choose which dessert to order. At the end, we went with Pudding à la Mode (プリンアラモード) (1,430 yen), Fruit Parfait (フルーツパフェ) (1,580 yen), Amaou Zuccotto (あまおうズコット) (1,980 yen), and Three Berry Zuccotto (スリーベリーズコット) (1,880 yen).
Zuccotto is a creamy Italian cake that is made in the form of a dome, with sponge cake filled with whipped cream, fresh berries, and some other yummy ingredients. Here at Kajitsuen Libre, they make their own version of the cake, with fresh fruits of all sorts, whipped cream, and sponge cake. They were amazing, each bite was delightful. It had so many sweet berries in there, all at its peak, just begging us to eat them. Amaou Strawberries are referred to as the king of strawberry in Japan, and it is such a treat to be able to have that as well.
My sister and I went for something more exciting to look at, although the Zuccotto cakes were truly great to look at the eat as well. BUT, when our desserts came to our table, we all gasped in awe. I mean, look at these masterpieces! My sister’s Fruit Parfait was HUGE, with all sorts of fruits just overflowing from the glass container. The fruits were cut in all shapes and forms, really looking like an artwork. I hear they cut the fruits after getting an order to keep the maximum freshness, so it takes a bit for something like this to be prepared, but I tell you, it is worth all the wait!
And my Pudding à la Mode, also quite huge, loaded with all kinds of fruits as well. It had matcha and chocolate ice cream on top, with a dab of whipped cream. Usually, when you order a Pudding à la Mode in Japan, the main feature would be the pudding. Not here at Kajitsuen Libre. The center stage is taken by their glorious fruits, the spotlight shining down on them and them only.
After having so many juicy, delicious, amazing fruits, I found the pudding quietly waiting undern the ice cream scoops. It was a nice little surprise at the end, and it was plump and fluffy, caramel-y and tasty. This Puddin à la Mode had everything you could possibly want in a dessert, I was so happy with it!
This was truly amazing experience. Any fruit lover should go and have their fruits to really appreciate the highest quality fruits in the season. To anyone who doesn’t think much about fruits should also go there to fall in love with fruits. Because you will.
Kajitsuen Libre Fruit Parlor – 1 Chome−3−16, Meguro, Meguro City, Toyko
果実園リーベル – 東京都目黒区目黒1-3-16プレジデント目黒ハイツ2階