Best Mont Blanc cakes in Tokyo

What better way to introduce a list of the city’s best Mont Blancs than the place where it all began? The original Angelina patisserie in Paris famously invented the Mont Blanc at the beginning of the 20th century. The cake, alongside the shop’s thick and dreamy hot chocolate, is still a signature item served in its now worldwide cake shops. According to the shop, the recipe for its Mont Blanc has remained unchanged since its creation. You can get the meringue-based treat in different sizes as this particular version is a little heavier than the rest.

Unlike the other places on this list, Mont Blanc Style doesn’t offer any takeout options. Instead, the counter-seating dessert bar turns the classic chestnut treat into an occasion, where the cakes are crafted in front of you and served ceremoniously on a wooden serving tray.

The venue only seats six customers at a time – this means you’ll have to line up for a ticket ahead of time as Mont Blanc Style doesn’t take reservations. Tickets are distributed at 9am every morning except Wednesday and while going to grab one three hours before opening time might seem like too much of a hassle for a dessert, loyal fans are more than happy to go the extra mile here.

This chestnut speciality store in Yanaka cultivates its own chestnuts at a farm in Ibaraki. All the desserts here are made to order, with mounds of chestnut paste crowning just about every item on the menu.

Of course, the shop has its traditional Mont Blanc down to a tee, which perfectly balances the star ingredient’s natural sweetness and nuanced flavours. The chestnut soft-serve ice cream as well as the Japanese sweets made with chestnut cream are hard to ignore, too. To accompany your dessert, there’s hand-picked sencha tea or houjicha (roasted green tea) sourced from Okukuji, Komuroen and Ibaraki.

Mont St Clair’s classic Mont Blanc can be distinguished by its unique cone shape that stands a little taller than usual. Instead of a whipped cream centre, this Mont Blanc is filled with chestnut cream lightly flavoured with liqueur. Aside from the standard Mont Blanc, Mont St Clair also offers a variation using rihei chestnuts, sometimes referred to as the ‘king of chestnuts’. Sitting on an almond meringue foundation, it has three layers consisting of snowy whipped cream and chestnut cream wrapped around a whole Japanese chestnut.