Cafe Ville de Paris: French Toast and Basque Cheesecake at a Stylish Imabari Cafe (Open until 9pm)
For travelers: Cafe Ville de Paris is a cafe in Umagoshi, on the southern side of Imabari city in Ehime — the Shikoku end of the Shimanami Kaido cycling route.
It stands next door to a ramen shop, about 1.6 km from JR Imabari Station: a 20 to 25 minute walk, or roughly 8 minutes by bicycle.
It is a short walk from Hotel Route-Inn Imabari, which makes it an easy breakfast or evening stop if you are staying on that side of town.
The one thing to check before you set out is the opening time, because it is different on weekdays and at weekends.
Before you go: it opens at 11 on weekdays
On weekdays the cafe opens at 11:00.
At weekends and on public holidays it opens at 9:00.
Both days it stays open until 21:00, so it also works as an evening stop.
It is closed on Wednesdays.
If you are walking out from the station in the morning, this matters: arrive at 10 on a Tuesday and the door will still be shut.
Why come here
The cafe is the second shop from the people behind La Chande Ciel, a crepe and gelato shop that Imabari locals know well.
The room is done up smartly, with the kind of interior you photograph before you sit down.
What makes it worth the walk, though, is that it does not ask you to behave smartly in return.
You can sit for an hour with a coffee and a book without feeling watched, which is not true of every stylish cafe.
The staff have a warm, unhurried way about them, and the owner greets people properly.
That is not just our impression — reviews left by Japanese visitors say the same, including one written after an early morning visit.
What we ate
We came on a weekday evening, when the room was quiet and there was no wait for a table.
We ordered the French toast and the Basque Earl Grey.
The French toast is soft the whole way through, generous with milk, and it carries a real flavour rather than tasting only of sugar.
The Basque Earl Grey is a Basque burnt cheesecake made in the Earl Grey flavour, so the tea comes through in the cake itself.
To drink we had an americano and a hojicha latte, hojicha being roasted green tea, milder and less grassy than matcha.
The americano has a proper bitterness to it, which is welcome after something sweet.
It is also a lunch place
This is not only a cafe for cake and coffee.
The kitchen serves a daily lunch as well as hamburg steak, omurice, curry and hamburgers.
Reviews written by Japanese diners point the same way: most of them came at lunchtime, and several praised the hamburg steak in demi-glace sauce.
The parfaits and cakes are elaborate enough that people travel for them, and more than one reviewer noted that an elaborate parfait takes a while to arrive.
If you are on a schedule, order and then relax rather than watching the clock.
Mornings
The cafe does serve a morning set.
What it consists of, and the hours it runs, have changed over the past year, so we are not going to print a time here that might be wrong when you arrive.
Telephone the cafe, or ask at your hotel, before you plan a morning around it.
What is certain is that the doors open at 9:00 at weekends and on public holidays.
Getting there
On foot: about 1.6 km from JR Imabari Station, which is a 20 to 25 minute walk.
By bicycle: roughly 8 minutes.
By car: the cafe shares a large car park with the ramen shop next door, so there is plenty of room even when the cafe is busy.
Landmarks: it sits beside the ramen shop Ryouka, close to the Soyora shopping centre, which local people still call the Umagoshi Aeon.
Note that the cafe is on the south side of the city, away from the road out to the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, so treat it as a stop in town rather than a stop on the ride.
Fitting it into your day
If you are staying near the station and want a cafe with a view instead, Verdure Cafe faces the stone walls of Imabari Castle and has a long list of black teas.
For coffee taken seriously, Barrel Coffee & Roasters is run by an award-winning barista.
A hot spring by the station, useful at the end of a riding day, is Shimanami Onsen Kisuke no Yu.
If you are hiring a bike, see our guide to renting a bicycle in Imabari.
Everything else about the city is gathered in the Imabari guide for Shimanami Kaido cyclists.
Cafe Ville de Paris: the basics
Address: 3-261-71 Umagoshi-cho, Imabari, Ehime
Telephone: 0898-27-1778
Open: 11:00 to 21:00 on weekdays, 9:00 to 21:00 at weekends and on public holidays
Closed: Wednesdays
Parking: a large car park, shared with the ramen shop next door
FAQ
What time does it open? 11:00 on weekdays and 9:00 at weekends and public holidays. It closes at 21:00 on both.
Which day is it closed? Wednesday.
Can I have a proper meal, not just cake? Yes. There is a daily lunch, plus hamburg steak, omurice, curry and hamburgers.
Is there a morning set? Yes, but the hours and the contents have changed recently, so telephone the cafe to check.
Is there parking? Yes, a large car park shared with the neighbouring ramen shop.
How far is it from the station? About 1.6 km, so 20 to 25 minutes on foot or around 8 minutes by bicycle.
Do I need a reservation? No. It can be busy at peak times, so a weekday later in the day is the quietest bet.
Japanese version of this article: カフェヴィルドパリ｜今治市馬越町のオシャレなカフェでフレンチトーストとバスクチーズケーキ
