Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2008

Photos courtesy of Diamond Dining

Walking through the crowded neon streets of Kabukicho with drunk groups of salarymen and hungry-eyed hosts looking for their night’s prey, we wouldn’t have expected to find an entirely different world beneath our feet. But as the elevator door opened on restaurant Ehon no Kuni no Alice, we were stunned to find ourselves teleported to a land of fantasy and fairytale.

A tall, attractive, Alice-in-Wonderland-clad waitress appeared from a camouflaged door and led us through the hidden entrance of the restaurant. Cheerful Disney music played in the background as we were seated in a semi-private booth with a thin curtain and a glass wall protecting our privacy. The dimly lit interior had a distinct Alice-meets-gothic-Lolita vibe. The center of the room was decorated with an eye-catching gothic chandelier, and we noticed a dozen or so “Alices” and attractive hosto-like waiters dressed in formal attire. The restaurant was abuzz with excited customers taking pictures and squealing “Kawaii!!” at the waitresses. Inevitably, we joined them.

From the list of original and memorably named cocktails, we ordered Eternal Alice (¥1,020) and The Singing Caterpillar (¥880). These were served with an otoshi of dried fruit (¥500) on a golden toothpick labeled “Eat Me!”

Photos courtesy of Diamond Dining

Next up was a small, cutely named appetizer, A Mad Hatter at the Tea Party (¥240 each)—bite-sized pieces of toast with mozzarella cheese and tomato, arranged to look like a book. Next came The Caterpillar’s Rice Rolls with Avocado & Tuna (¥950), a California roll shaped like a cute worm, and Fried Camembert on a Chessboard (¥550), which was cheese and biscuits served with strawberry jam. This unlikely sounding combination tasted surprisingly good. For our main dish, we went for the “Cheshire Cat-style” risotto with bacon and porcini (¥850) and The Hearts Pizza (¥850), which was a basic cheese variety that the waitress taught us to “execute” using a pizza cutter.

Although we were feeling full, we couldn’t pass up Alice’s enticing dessert menu. The Cheshire Cat’s Mixed Berries Parfait (¥850) and Alice’s Counter-clock Black Tapioca Crème Brûlée (¥750) were so carefully presented that we almost felt guilty stuffing them in our mouths. As a finale, we ordered two more original drinks, White Rose? Red Rose? (¥920) and the nonalcoholic Gemini’s Dum & D (¥820).

In a world where dreams are met with cynicism and fantasy is often forgotten, a place like Alice is just the thing for jaded hearts and eyes. We returned to the X-rated world above, but that warm fuzzy feeling you get from going to Disneyland stayed with us all night long.