Kissa Wa Café - London

Sarita Janekarn

The tea at Kissa Wa Café is definitely the highlight! We had the matcha and hojicha lattes, and both were aromatic and perfectly brewed. The food isn’t as flavorful as typical Japanese cuisine, but it’s great for those seeking a healthy meal. Their cheesecake is also excellent—soft, moist, and not too sweet. The only thing was the slow service. We waited up to 30 minutes for our food.

Harriet Ho

This is a small, cosy and dainty cafe located in a secluded area Islington which made this a lovely spot to go to on a miserable drizzly day. We arrived at 2pm, but sadly they ran out of 4 of the items they had on their menu which I found were unique and interesting. It was a shame, but more of a reason to come back at an earlier time.

I ordered the balance bowl with teriyaki chicken and noodles. It quite filling, well flavoured - minus the chicken - and had a good portion size.
My genmatcha latte was nice. The rice had a prominent taste than the matcha which is the only slight downside
Burnt basque cheesecake was lovely and simple.

Service was welcoming and friendly.

Monica Paraz

Very cute place with an interesting menu, but the food itself was a little disappointing. Japanese food tends to be on the subtle side flavor wise (if you're not drowning your food in soya sauce like I've seen some people do ?) which is great but I think Kissa Wa went a little too subtle, into the bland side of things. We ordered a few onigiri, two lattes, a savoury loaf slice, and a curry rice. The portions are generous for a cafe, definitely enough for two hungry people. However like I said, most of the food was pretty bland, except for the savory veggie loaf which was by far the tastiest thing we ordered. The rice balls weren't seasoned much (neither the filling nor the rice) and the curry was probably least flavorful I've had to date. It was a lot of texture and bits which I was all for since it wS cooked nicely but you could barely taste the curry roux or flavor, and it was mostly just vague sauce. The lattes (one matcha and one genmaicha) were okay, good quality tea and good temperature but a little grainy.

We went on a Saturday around lunchtime on a sunny day so you know it had to be busy. We were seated pretty quickly which was great, sitting outdoors since we had dog with us (it's a dog friendly cafe!).

Katrin Schulze

We had a fabulous, tasty and healthy lunch here today… and came back for their famous chocolate & sesame cake and a specialty latte (roasted matcha I believe?). Highly recommended! Great service, friendly staff, nice corner a bit away from the hustle and bustle. Thank you.

Sakura Chan

Quiet little Japanese café with great vegetarian options, Japanese style cakes and drinks. We had the balance bowl and hot soba noodles, and then cakes after. Wished it was open more days of the week!

Annabel Smith

Really cute cafe with delicious food and great coffee! We had the japanese breakfast and the balance bowl with the teriyaki chicken. Everything was very tasty, well seasoned. The drip coffee was standout and we purchased some of the daily blend!! Will definitely come back.

Oo L

I tried a Japanese curry with chicken and a balanced bowl with rice. They were both very nice. Curry is between medium hot to hot for a Japanese curry (according to Japanese curry block level of spiciness), so it's not as that hot compared to other curries from different cuisines. I also tried Basque cheese cake and a slice of banana bread. They were also very nice. It really is like having a nice cafe you would find in Japan in London. I'm very happy I've found this place. Never knew it's been there for 6 years. I would definitely start going back for more.

Ciannait Low

A lovely cafe, in a quiet street, with healthy food and interesting drinks. I had a matcha latte on oat and a harvest (?) bowl with mackerel, both of which were yummy. The cafe is busy and apt to be noisy inside, but there was ample seating space outside and the staff accommodated us with grace and ease when we arrived. Service was quick.