Brooklyn’s Gorilla Coffee Hits Shibuya

Brooklyn-born coffee shop Gorilla Coffee has recently opened in Shibuya and is offering its “mighty strong coffee” along with some other novel menu items. The store chose its name and gorilla logo to represent the strength of its coffee. Indeed, the coffee in its latte firmly holds its ground against the milk, something many chain-store coffees don’t do.

But nothing will inspire a grunt more than Gorilla’s Red Eye (¥370), a drip coffee with an espresso shot added to it. Easy to drink, with a light citrus note, the Red Eye is not bitter and is full bodied enough to please habitual espresso drinkers. It is a popular order at Gorilla’s home store and may solve the espresso drinker’s lament of the glass emptying too soon. Combine the red eye with the power point connections at the counter and bench seats, and you’ve got enough buzz to get some serious desk work happening (wifi, however, is not available).

Another fine menu item to get you ready for a busy day is the Eggslut (¥500), which is available until 11 a.m. as part of the breakfast menu. Gorilla’s Eggslut has basil pesto below the mashed potato and the coddled egg on top, and also contains a handful of pleasing bacon chunks. It is served with crunchy brown bread toast and is a nice way to warm your belly on a cold day in a big city.

With a smooth industrial look, the atmosphere at Gorilla can seem a little cold at first, but the staff are friendly when approached and the music is modern, upbeat and unintrusive. Its spacious layout allows visitors room to chill and enjoy.

Other interesting menu items are the Pour Over Coffee (¥520–¥550), which is a single-origin drip coffee poured by hand rather than machine, and the cortado, which west-coast Americans may know as a Gibraltar, and is an espresso shot with warm milk added to it. The cortado contains less milk than a latte so helps one avoid a milk bloat and also gives better grunt. Gorilla also offers a single-origin espresso and sells blended and single-origin coffee beans and other goods.

Just around the corner from Tower Records and unmissable with its big red gorilla faces, Gorilla Coffee is a satisfying option for a fresh take on your daily grind.

The Deets

Address: 1-20-17 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Tel: 03-5784-2747

Open: Daily, 7:30 a.m.–10 p.m.