Acai Bowls at Aubrey House in Shibuya

While on our trip to Europe this year, Eriko and I really got into vintage clothes shopping and flea markets and all that crap. Even though I’m too big for most clothes in Japan, we wanted to continue doing it, so we went to the Shibuya Vintage & Artisan Market at Kitaya Park this past Saturday.

As it was Saturday and therefore cheat day, we wanted to grab lunch somewhere, but couldn’t decide because there are 40,000 restaurants in Shibuya. We searched for ramen, bakeries, health food, big piles of meat, and scoured the Google Map of the area for anything and everything, but couldn’t settle on something close to the park that we wanted.

“Nuts to this,” I said. “I’m just gonna search for ‘acai bowl Shibuya.’”

Turns out I’m a genius, because there’s an acai bowl place right by Kitaya Park that’s taking things to a whole ‘nother level.

Arrival at Aubrey House and the waiting list

Aubrey House is an acai bowl restaurant not too far from Shibuya Station that I’d never heard of so I assume it’s new. The restaurant is on the second floor, up a quick flight of stairs. The space is small, with only a few tables, and doesn’t take reservations, meaning you’ll have to wait for a spot on a busy day like Saturday. They operate off QR code, so I scanned it and put in my name. It told us we were 6th in line, with 50 minutes to wait.

We went to the market and looked at old shirts until my LINE app said we were next in line. It was so hot we were ready to leave the market anyway, because no one wants to try on a T-shirt outside in 90-degree heat. Thankfully, Aubrey House is air conditioned.

Inside, we sat at the two little chairs next to the tiny bathroom and waited to hear our name called. We had to wait quite a while. There are four two-person tables at this restaurant, with one bigger four-person table, at which sat one dude. There were three groups of two and one group of one at the other tables, bringing the total of seated customers to eight. I mention this because there were eight people working behind the counter, meaning they had the same number of diners as employees.

We saw an Uber Eats guy come in and pick up some stuff, and I have to think this is how Aubrey House is making its money. Otherwise, they’re leaving a lot on the table having so many employees and so few places to sit, considering the waitlist continued to grow while we were sitting there. I’m not sure if it’s possible to put your name on the list remotely because I don’t know how LINE works, but that’s what I’d do. Eventually, we were taken to one of the smaller tables. Eriko sat on a bench where the seat lifted up to reveal storage space. I sat across from her. This is our story.

Tables and menu at Aubrey House

The table was nice and small and clean, with just enough cutlery for the two of us (refilled before each group sits down). They also gave us fancy wet towels that smelled really good. The service was top-notch at this place, everybody nice and smiling, and the decor was modern without being cold. Ordering is done via smartphone QR code and the menu is available in English and Japanese.

They sell waffles and breakfast plates and stuff there, but I didn’t see anyone eating them. We were there for acai bowls, as was everyone else. Aubrey House is like a make-your-own-salad place but for acai bowls. You can choose the size, type of granola, and all manner of toppings. There are five main selections, and then you add additional stuff for extra $$$$$$. Eriko wanted a small one and I wanted a regular, but me not so good at phone, so I ordered us both regular size.

Coffee and juice at Aubrey House

Drink Menu Aubrey House Acai Bowl Shibuya

Aubrey House Gregg Maxwell Parker Oat Milk Latte

I was not expecting much from the coffee at Aubrey House. I figured it would just be standard lunch place coffee, but I was totally wrong. They have an espresso machine, and oat milk, and the iced oat milk latte tasted WAY better than I expected. As good as any fancy coffee shop. And the straw was made of bamboo for biodegradability. Eriko got an orange juice that wasn’t watered down, and they brought us both “detox water” that had something or other in it that was supposedly good for us. They’re leaning into the healthy new-age environmentalist angle, and I dig it.

Our acai bowls from Aubrey House

Eriko went with the Super Bowl, which is capitalized because autocorrect is ruining my life. It had acai paste, greek yogurt, blueberries, goji berries, bee pollen, and all sorts of other stuff. She said it was so delicious that she didn’t want to eat the last bite because then there wouldn’t be any more left.

I got a regular acai bowl because I didn’t want yogurt, and was happy with that choice. While Eriko stuck with the menu, I added stuff to mine. It had banana, blueberries, granola that I upgraded to cinnamon granola, coconut shavings, and I added kiwi, bee pollen, and peanut butter. The additions made it more expensive but this blog has basically made me a trillionaire so I’m throwing around cash like crazy.

Sometimes, when you get an acai bowl, the acai paste is so cold that it’s like having ice cream along with granola, not a good combination for my sensitive little teeth. Thankfully, at Aubrey House, it wasn’t too cold, meaning everything blended together perfectly into a delicious sludge where every now and then you’d get a spark of flavor you didn’t realize was within the mass on your spoon. Ooh, cinnamon granola. Ooh, blueberry. Ooh, honey that is given to you free in a big ol’ syrup container.

“This place is a new level,” said Eriko. I knew exactly what she meant. We’d had acai bowls before, and I even buy acai paste at Kaldi to make smoothies with at home, but this is the next step in our fancypants journey. These were really good. I can’t find a single fault with them. Packed with goodies and healthy too. Can’t get much better than that.

Verdict: should you visit Aubrey House in Tokyo?

I’d give Aubrey House a 157/10 based on our one meal there. That acai bowl was easily the best I’ve ever had, and the latte was great, too. The only complaint we have about this place is that there aren’t enough tables and therefore the wait is long, but I doubt that will be a problem soon, because I think they’re going to have 300 locations of this place in every city on Earth and a few on the moon by the end of the month. If I worked in Shibuya, I would Uber Eats this place every single day and not feel bad about the cost.

At the rate I’m eating acai bowls, soon I will have super powers. I recommend going to Aubrey House and getting yourself upgraded as well. It’s probably less crowded on weekdays or off-hours, but thankfully, since they alert you of your table on LINE, you can leave and go shopping and come back when it’s time to eat that sweet, sweet acai sludge. We had a great time. Aubrey House is the real deal.