Japonaise Bakery & Cafe

Sad to see this place closed! Although it was an outpost, and supplies were limited, it was sometimes easier to get here than the Beacon Street location.
Getting the raisin pan here was a rarity, so when I did see it on the once-​in-​a-​blue-​moon occasion, I would (figuratively) pounce on it. The bread is always fresh and full of raisins. Of course, the azuki cream is another popular stable.
Hopefully the main location hangs on. I think the proliferation of bakeries around is causing added pressure and competition to this bakery.

Very delicious azuki cream puffs. I always try to stop by and pick one up when I visit Cambridge and Boston.
Nice mochi ice cream flavors as well.

I called ahead to place an order for azuki cream. The lady at the Porter Sq location totally messed up the order. Very disappointed in the poor service at the Porter Sq location.

My favorite desserts are the Ichigo cream (croissant cut in half and filled with yummy custard and 3 slices of fresh strawberries), Azuki cream (flakey puff pastry with red bean paste on the bottom and whipped cream on top), and custard cream (round sweetened bread/​dough ball filled with custard). Also, the tuna salad/​egg salad sandwich combo are the best! They cut the crust off, which is great, and for $ 5 you can’t beat it. There is a nice assortment of sandwiches/​quick grab lunch and breads/​pastries (non-​refrigerated and refrigerated).
The red bean paste in their desserts is addictive and will have you coming back for more. Everything is baked fresh daily and sells out between 3pm & 5pm (now that I think of it, I’m embarrassed to know that little detail lol)
They also sell ice cream and mochi. I’m not into mochi but have heard people in line rave about it. Do yourself a favor and pop in.

My experience here hadn’t been the best. Decided to walk here from alewife for some pastries. I have read reviews saying how going later in the day limited your selection. On the contrary, going early had its woes too. We went 15 min after they open, but the woman told me their deliveries hadn’t arrived yet. There was going to be another 15 – 30 min wait. So we went elsewhere for brunch instead.
Thereafter we returned but the selections still looked really limited. This store is tucked away in a little corner making it hard to find. If I ever go back, I will probably opt for one of the many little Japanese eateries around instead, I have seen they do sell decent ramen and Japanese rice dishes.

Food: the selections were not great and there was little variety, however I will concede that my friends and I came to this bakery later in the evening. I found the baked goods to be mediocre and being Japanese myself, I was puzzled at the lack of presentation as that is a key feature of Japanese sweets.
Service: the girl behind the counter was neither welcoming nor helpful. She seemed irritated when we inquired about the flavours and even more so when she handed our purchases off to us.
This store is extremely small, untidy, and poorly maintained. I would not recommend getting the ice cream or their mochi simply because you can get the same exact kind at any grocery store near you. I would be willing to visit the main location if it is any better but this particular spot in Porter Square is not worth the money or time.

My rating is actually 3.5 stars but I decided to round up instead of down.
I’ve been going to Japonaise for so many years I can’t remember how long it’s been. They’re the only Japanese bakery in Boston which means they have no direct competition. I think some competition might be nice because I feel like they’ve gone downhill over the years.
Since this isn’t the main location they’re not as well-​stocked. Sometimes food is delivered a little late and they may be sold out of certain items well before the end of the day. If you want something specific, it’s best to go early or go to the bakery in Brookline.
The reason I feel like they’ve gone downhill is not because I think their food quality has changed, but because they’ve decreased their offerings. Up until last year I frequently got their cake donuts, which reminded me of Okinawan andagi my grandmother used to make, but at some point they disappeared. When I inquired, I was told that their deep fryer had broken but they had gotten a new one and would be installing it soon. Weeks went by and the deep-​fried goods didn’t reappear. I found myself near the main bakery in Brookline so I inquired there and was told that they hadn’t been able to fit the deep fryer from their closed Comm Ave. location into the space at the Brookline location so there would be no more cake/​curry donuts. :(I hope someday they’ll bring back the cake donut. The curry donut was delicious too but too rich for me to eat by myself so I rarely got it.
There are also a few other pastries and sandwiches they used to offer that are no longer sold in Porter (and I haven’t seen them in Brookline either, although I’m not there often). Perhaps they weren’t selling, but I miss them.
That said, I still go there for their melt-​in-​your-​mouth custard cream (I like the custard really cold so I often throw it in my fridge overnight), shoku pan, and the occasional an pan.
Parking can be a bit of a challenge. If you live in Somerville or Cambridge you can try for resident parking on nearby streets. Otherwise you can either pay $ 1.50 to park in the Lesley lot (which may not be worth it if all you want is a loaf of bread) or you can drive in circles and try to find metered parking on Mass Ave.

I tried — the bread pudding, azuki bun, custard bun and strawberry custard croissant.
Azuki bun — I was skeptical of the red bean with the whipped cream but they complement each other very well. The slight grittiness of the red bean and the light airiness of the whipped cream is like a flavor explosion in your mouth. To top it off, the crusty pastry surrounding it is buttery goodness.
Custard bun — delicious steamed bun filled with awesome vanilla custard. It isn’t as amazing as the traditional egg custard buns in chinatown, but its close.
Bread pudding — not good, bland and flavorless.
Strawberry custard croissant — Good, crunchy croissant filled with that yummy custard.
Prices are decent and I will definitely be back!

Japonaise Bakery is a small bakery situated in the back corner of Lesley Mall. This is one of the places I visit after eating at Porter Square.
I came here for dessert and I love the green tea ice cream here! They also have mochi ice cream, which I must try next time!
My friend also told me to try the rice ball (onigiri) that they sell. They have a variety of flavors. I tried the spicy tuna rice ball and it was amazing! The rice texture was sticky and chewy, even though it was refrigerated. The spicy tuna was also seasoned well. I can eat like 5 of these in one sitting!
I wish the staff could be a little bit more enthusiastic though. A smile could help! But I don’t blame them, they must be bored sitting their all day by themselves.
Remember to bring cash because it is cash only!

First time visiting this place, Azuki cream… cream puff with redbean, best cream puff ever, crunchy shell, flaky and perfect combination of cream and azuki bean paste, just sweet enough… thanks for the recommendation!

I love their bread, it’s pretty much the only bread I buy if I can help it!
Other than that, there’re the cakes, which are great. Sandwiches, good. Scones, etc, all great. Basically, best bakery in this area. Only drawback being the limited options.

Love the Azuki cream buns. Croissants filled with cream and sweet red bean paste.
The custard buns and green tea cake were pretty good but dod not wow me. The green tea cake is very pretty but not all that sweet.

Five stars for their ice cream mochi!!! I’ve been eating these since I was a kid, & they’ve never tasted this good! The outside glutinous rice «shell» is thin, soft, delicate, melt-​in-​your-​mouth delish. Perfect amount to encase the bit of ice cream. This is what a ball of happiness looks like. $ 1.50 each – I guess happiness can be bought cheaply.
Vanilla & strawberry tasted intensely of those flavors. And pistachio, omg, heaven.
The salesgirl said their Azuki Cream is super popular, as it was featured on the Food Network’s «best thing I ever ate.» Big fat pass. I don’t like croissants, and I especially don’t like red bean paste. (I’m an Asian anomaly… in more ways than one.)
$ 8 minimum for credit cards. No worries for me, I can spend all that on one sitting of mochi ice cream. Did you see the pic? Pastel gems of loveliness!

Japonaise Bakery is pretty well hidden, but if you can find it (at the very end of that little hallway of eateries inside the Porter Shops, on the right), you’re in for a treat. Or in my case… multiple treats, because I couldn’t buy just one thing.
Based on the recommendations of more or less every review I read, I got the ichigo cream and azuki cream, and of the two, I’d have to say the azuki takes the cake. It’s a little pastry with some sort of heavy cream and red bean filling on the inside that was ohhhh so good. I gobbled mine down so fast that I wish I had bought two of them.
I think I would have liked the ichigo cream a bit more if the pastry itself wasn’t burnt on the bottom. The top was flaky and delicious, though, along with the custard filling and slices of strawberry.
I stopped by here twice, because on my first trip most of the bakery shelves were empty, much to my dismay. I really wanted a full selection to choose from, so I decided to try again another time. Same was the case on my second trip, but this time they at least had the aforementioned pastries fresh and ready to go. I will have to come back to try the mochi ice cream and the an doughnut, both of which seem to be crowd favorites as well.
All I have left to say is this — I’m going to have to exercise a whole lot of self-​control when I start attending Lesley in the fall (right up the stairs). Otherwise, I might be popping by this place every day.

Thank you to my fellow Unilocalers for letting me know what’s good here. If it weren’t for you, I would probably still be standing in front of the case of pastries at Japonaise agonizing over what to get (and drooling all the while).
Of the red bean mochi ice cream, an doughnut, and azuki and ichigo cream pastries, the doughnut was probably my favorite. If you’re a red bean fan like I am, this earthy treat will delight you in a way that few other pastries can. Despite the heavy sprinkling of crystallized sugar on the outside of the perfectly fried dough, the an pan isn’t too sweet, which is perfect (or dangerous, depending on how you look at it), because you’ll be able to eat several.
Ranking the other goodies I ordered, I’d probably have to put the ichigo cream pastry second, although it was very similar texturally and flavor-​wise to the azuki. The mochi was sadly meh (I should have probably let it thaw a bit). For my money, I’ll stick with the Trader Joe’s brand, a box of which you can buy for the price of two pieces here.
Given Japonaise’s doughnut expertise, I’m eager to try their savory curry version. Luckily there’s a shop right down the street from my apartment in Brookline. It’s been hiding in plain sight all this time…

Tiny little storefront inside the Porter Exchange. Their mochi ice cream is flown in from Hawaii! Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, green tea and strawberry chocolate.
I didn’t get to try any of their pastries, but I can attest to the fact that their mochi ice cream is delicious. I ordered the green tea ice cream, while my friend ordered the strawberry chocolate. When they handed me the mochi ice cream, it was rock hard, but they are actually ready to eat. The strawberry chocolate wasn’t really what we thought it’d be. It’s mostly chocolate ice cream with a hint of strawberry, but still very tasty!
There’s nowhere to sit around the store, but there are some benches in the building, which is owned by Lesley University.

Their donuts are unsophisticated, loaded with eggs, and not quite as sweet as they should be. Also, they smell faintly of custard and french fry grease. Which also would have described my grandmother about 50 years ago. I wouldn’t have voluntarily eaten her either.
PS: They’re also the most expensive donuts in Western Massachusetts, which doesn’t help matters.

For what may sparked hate mails and comments from the bakery’s die hard fans, I am giving this bakery a 1-​star rating on its An-​Pan and an-​pan alone. Being Asian and having spent a good year living in Japan, Japonaise’s An-​Pan fell really short from an average an-​pan.
I bought two on Sunday while making a quick stop at Porter Sq. I used to live in this neighborhood and am no first time an-​pan newbie to the bakery’s goods. They used to be good. The latest update on their an-​pan: Bad. Bad in the sense that the bread is so dry, I had a really hard time swallowing the first bite despite the good adzuki filling in the center of the bun. Ended up tearing the bun into two and cleaned out the adzuki filling, the bun’s only saving grace.
And it has gotten really expensive too. $ 1.75 for one An-​pan (more like for the adzuki filling for me since I can’t eat the dry as cardboard bread surrounding the filling), I think I’ll pass.

Wow, these prices…
The azuki cream was pretty good, though i ate it hours after i bought it so it wasn’t crispy or anything. I’m HOPING it should be crispy. $ 2.95 seems to be pretty pricy for something this small… but i’ll eat it again, and again just cause i love the red bean filling
Custard cream– it’s alright. really soft and the cream isn’t too sweet, but it’s not really for me. Just meh about it. $ 1.80
melon pan– tasted like a pineapple bun from chinatown says my bf

3.5 stars for this Food Network featured bakery for the azuki cream!!! (the «best thing i ever ate» episode that features french food)
they’ve got a couple locations, but this one is hidden inside this indoor japanese themed plaza! (so its not a café but just a kiosk)
we went on a SUGAR HIGH
—-azuki cream: the pastry wasn’t as flaky as I expected but i liked the perfectly sweet red bean &cream filling!
—-strawberry croissant: MUCH FLAKIER PASTRY yumMMm but i’ve had better strawberry & custard filling in the west coast at «cream pan»!
—-green tea smoothie: REAL GREEN TEA ICE CREAM. not just powder. it’s more like a milkshake!
i was a little disappointed in the azuki cream pastry but perhaps they just weren’t as fresh as could be since these weren’t baked at this location!