@ほぉ～むカフェ

This was my first time in a maid cafe and while there was some decent effort, it looks like this place really messed up with me.

First of all, this place served me my worst meal in my 24 day trip to Japan. It looked cute but just wasn't good. I had 2 drinks and a dish and I was just super disappointed.

Now the part that's upsetting is I heard the more money you dish out, the more attention or something you get. I wanted the full experience since I knew I probably wouldn't do another miad cafe again, so I bought the most expensive premium package. I don't think I got any more or less attention as a result.

What really gets me was that the table next to me was there before me and when their hour was up, I was also asked to leave. I hadn't even been served my dessert from my package. By this point, I didn't want to argue, I just wanted to leave. So despite the not so subtle "can you please go" hint from a random maid, I gathered my things and left.

I get that there was a line outside, but I they probably thought the place was going to be fun.

At least my "assigned" maid was nice and attentive.

Maid cafes are weird and if you want to go one, go to a different one.

Everything is made using microwaveable packaged foods so with the right cutout tools, it only took a few minutes of warming and prep work and the "meal" art work was presented shortly after the order was in. The place is not really about the quality of food which is still ok considering it's premade. It's more about being a part of a fantasy make believe with magical spells to make everything taste better and performances by maids who are there to make you feel like you're in another reality. The more you buy into it, the more fun you can have.

A bit overrated for what it is but certainly a fun experience to go with friends, no woke or judging, just be in the spirit and have fun with it. Due to Maid Cafes are a novelty and uniquely Japanese experience, this original @Home Maid Cafe always has a long wait, mostly tourists, not just foreigners Japanese tourists too. Ambiance is nice enough, pretty packed so you don't get the feeling of "being a master returning home to your mansion with a servant waiting for you". The "servant" cosplay is more like extra nice and sweet greetings by cute girls dressed as maids. After showing you the rules (and yes, there's a long list of rules of don'ts) they make it fun and entertaining for the guests. There is a entrance fee per person and you have to order a drink at the minimum. Desserts and food are optional. The drinks and desserts taste pretty bad, I don't mean "not good" they're bad. What you're paying just the experience. They allow one photo in Polaroid, no digitals.

okay,, so i really wanted to go to a maid cafe while in japan,, this was a LOVELY experience ! the reviews on yelp made me nervous, but our tour guide recommended it,, so we tried it out. 100% worth it. i think that the savory food isn't the main draw to the cafe, but rather it is the sweets (similarly to most cafes). the ice cream (sweet princess) was very delicious and not too sweet,, and the drinks (caramel latte) were so adorable and i highly recommend trying them out. the maids were all adorable,, and as a girl who loves cute places,, i can definitely say that this was one of, if not THE, best experiences i've ever had at a cafe. the service was great and there were always many people ready to help :) also,, the inside was just very cute and welcoming. absolutely lovely. if you're in the area,, i highly recommend !

I went to Maid Dreamin which was a disappointment. @HomeCafe was great!
Our maid was cute and energetic. She explained everything on the menu to us in English.
The drinks and food were surprisingly good.
They put on a little show. Overall it's what you would expected from YouTube videos.

Maid cafes are super hyped up in Japan. One of my friends really wanted to go so I tagged along with them.

I honestly had no expectations coming into this and I'm glad I didn't. The experience was pretty crappy. We paid about a $7usd cover to get in and then had to order a minimum amount of drinks.

The drinks weren't that good and we were pretty confused on what was going on majority of the time. The maids were somewhat English friendly, but we had to point at pictures many times.

Beware that the more money you spend, the more attention the maids give you. They'll play weird board games or make you do weird dances. On top of that, they'll get you to buy more drinks.

TLDR: this is just a cafe with waitresses in maid outfits, serving overpriced and bland drinks. They'll call you master throughout the night, but it feels like they are your master as they're forcing you to spend. Going forward, I can tell people that I went to one of these once, but personally I wouldn't recommend it.

Maid cafe ~

Really unique experience and @Home really did give me an experience. Btw you can't take pictures of the maids.

At this location, there are 7 floors. Each have their own themes but there isn't really a guide unless you walk up all the stairs to check each one out (which is what I did). One of the floors is a gift shop and the bottom floor has an elevator that takes a long time so it may be better to walk up if you can.

Upon entering your floor, you'll wait in line. From what I heard, wait times vary on the time of day. I was there on a weekday post lunch and pre dinner period and it was also raining so my line wasn't too long.

I was on the 6th floor. Not sure what was the theme! The girls were cute. Some spoke English or tried to. Very friendly about it. When you are seated, the maids ring and welcome you. "Welcome Home Master" is what I think it translates to.

There is an entrance fee and then you'll have to order something from the menu. They make sure you understand this before entering. Since it was my first time, my maid walked my through the menu. There is a drink menu, a food menu, and a dessert menu. There are also specials so you would get a souvenir included. I did the food and drink special. It comes with a drink (non alcoholic), food, a souvenir, and a photo with a maid. I heard you can forgo the photo or souvenir to play a game with the maid (I forget).

While I was waiting for my food, you can pick the maid you want to take a photo with. Naturally I picked my maid. She said that I would wait till I'm called by her.

I got the green tea drink and the omelet. When both came out, the maid will ask for an animal to draw on the drink and food. Luckily I knew some Japanese - neko (cat) and kuma (bear). Super cute drawings! After the drawings are done, you and the maid will do this "moe moe" heart ritual. It was cute haha.

While I was eating, I wasn't really interacting with the maids so I people watched. Some people are regulars so you see the maids talking to them often. I did sit for a long time waiting to get my picture taken... but I think it's because they were preparing for a mini show. The maids passed out these lights and we got to go along while they sang and danced. I think they have time slots for it so I think I came at a good time!

When taking your picture, the maid you selected will call you up on stage and you can dress up. Someone will snap a polaroid and you'll return to your seat. You'll be presented with it with some written words later. The souvenir I got at the end was a folder with a maid picture.

They left the check on the table so I wasn't sure if you had to bring it up... the maid will come to your table and calculate the time spent there with respect to how much you paid. And you pay right there. She was awkwardly standing there waiting for me to pay since I didn't know!

Overall, I had a fun experience. I can definitely see why it's popular over in japan. I can also see how some maids have to act interested while others are really into the role. It's tough with burnout! But anyway, really great experience for $30ish.

P.S. my maid was Eva on the 6th floor and she was excellent.

Initially, I was kind of creeped out by the premise. The cute, servile maids flirting and giggling with their "masters". It didn't help that there was a table of middle aged American men talking loudly about porn at a table near the host. We almost turned around and walked out. My thought was of Hooters, with more clothing and cuteness.

But our daughters, ages 11 and 14, really wanted to go. We'd been dragging them all over to the places we wanted to go, so we acquiesced.

Our attitude was quickly turned around by the way our maids interacted with the girls. They seemed to genuinely connect with them, chatting with them passionately about anime and other things even through the language differences. The desserts and drinks, though overpriced, were pretty special. Tween M got a green tea and asked for Kirby to be drawn in it. Our maid had no problem with the request. She also got a "death by chocolate" type sundae, with brownies, cereal, ice cream and more. Teen M got a jello dessert that was truly elaborate, with mochi and other treats making up a cute character.

Then each girl got a polaroid with the maid. I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of their 14 day, 4 city Japan vacation.

Look at the number of Yelp reviews and you realize this is not a local spot. In fact, a lot of foreigners come here just to see what a maid café is like.

I went at off-peak hours, so there wasn't a wait, but there was the remnants of one right outside the door. Once they are ready for you, you will be led to your seat and greeted by the maids ("welcome home! Master/Miss!"), and they will present to you the menu. They are obviously well-trained in hospitality and will explain the menu to you - some maids are even specifically trained to speak a bit of English for their foreign guests. I mainly communicated with my subpar Japanese, and if you can speak anything in Japanese they will litter you with praises

To get the full experience, order the special drinks. If you order a latte, you get special "latte art" (syrup on milk foam) drawn right in front of you, in the style you want, whether it be cute animals or anime characters . I witnessed a maid drawing an anime character with syrup and it was quite amazing. On top of that, you get to pick your favourite maid from a roster -- and when the time comes, your maid will announce on stage, with tons of , that they are looking for their prince or princess. That's your queue to hop on stage, grab a prop, and pose for a Polaroid for your maid. Your maid will also draw and sign on the outline of the Polaroid, which will be your souvenir.

But wait, that's not all! At specific times of the day, a few maids will run onto the stage and perform a dance number for everyone in the house. Did I mention that all seating face the stage? It is similar to things you might have seen in anime or youtube, and it is actually quite impressive, a level above amateurs.

The maids will try to have small talk with the customers, not just to serve them. I overheard a regular telling her maid of her latest buy in anime goods, and my maid asked me much about where I'm from and how I learned to speak Japanese.

It was quite an experience indeed. The drinks were overpriced and quite sweet, but it was overall an enjoyable experience. Sadly, it also seemed to be a way for some people to get human contact and fake interest in their lives. But that's perhaps ok - we are all lonely sometimes.

So this was my first time in Akihabara and I debated coming here but I'm glad I did. I'm writing this so that foreigners like myself can understand better about why this is a thing and why we should wholeheartedly welcome this place with open arms.

Most foreigners I know would say that a place like this is wrong or that it's for creepy old men. The fact of the matter is we come from a different culture and unless we open ourselves to understanding theirs we will just be arrogantly wrong on what we think. The Japanese culture is very fast paced and revolves around efficiency.

Because of this there is little to no interaction with the opposite sex. People walk around with headphones in avoiding eye contact, avoiding social interactions of any sort.

It's no wonder that a place like this has emerged. The men are lonely and crave interactions with women. The maids offer what is missing for many Japanese, which is a positive friendly interaction. All of the maids were adorable and super super sweet. It's not some sleezy place it's a place of happiness and joy. You can play games with the maids, they bring you your food and drinks and draw cute things on your food at your request.

The maids even went out of their way to try their best to converse with me, even though they knew no English at all. This was honestly one of my best experiences in Japan. Especially for a solo traveler this is a must!. I saw many women attending as well. The charm, friendliness and fitness can be enjoyed by all not just older men. Take a second and look past what you think is right or wrong, be in the moment and just enjoy the cafe.

The food was better than I expected. Wasn't amazing but wasn't bad either. I couldn't help but compare this to "Hooters" an American restaurant that basically serves the same purpose. But the main attraction there is women with large breasts. The food there is much worse mostly bar food.

I really loved it hear and I found myself wanting to go back and just enjoy being in the company of the adorable and sweet maids. Do yourself a favor and come here! You won't be ashamed, and the wait is worth it, especially for 30$ this is a steal in my opinion!.