Article by: yana

Everything you need to know about maid cafes

Cosplay cafes—cafés where wait staff dress up in costumes and serve diners in character—have exploded in popularity in Japan over the last few years.

The maid cafe is the most common kind of cosplay cafe, where waitresses dressed as maids address diners with formal honorifics, strike a range of adorable poses, and have diners bless their food with adorable spells.

If you want to see what it's like to visit a maid cafe? While they are not all the same, the majority of them adopt the same general structure.

The maid cafe setting is a lighthearted environment in which everyone, including the workers, can feel relaxed and at ease. Many maid cafes have a provision that no photographs of the workers are allowed, but taking photos of the food is usually allowed.

There are two reasons for this. First, pictures of maids are normally an add-on menu item with a fee. Often, since some maids haven't told their own family what they do for a living, it's thought that they want to keep it a secret, so this law protects them from intrusive photographs.

At a maid cafe, the food you order is an integral part of the experience, but the appearance is normally more important than the taste. Omurice, a thin omelette filled with fried rice, and Japanese curry are two common menu items. You may imagine ketchup or sauce to be used to create custom patterns or handwritten notes on these dishes.

The dessert menu is where a maid cafe's kawaii-ness, or cuteness, always shines. Desserts such as sundaes, brownies, and waffles, all with intricate patterns and prepared in the form of sweet animals such as bunnies, cats, or puppies, can be found on most maid cafe dessert menus.

Extra theatrics were needed for certain orders. While a maid shaking the drink sang/recited something cutesy, the whole audience/restaurant was asked to clap in unison. Both those being served had to go up and pose with the maids for some plates. Usually, special dishes are purchased as part of a kit that includes the food, the performance, and a commemorative shot.

If you have a lot of discretionary money, a maid cafe is not something you can do on a regular basis. Food rates, as well as additional fees such as the maid pictures, tend to make the event feel like a special day.

In many instances, you'll be paying before you can look at the menu, as many maid cafes charge a table fee, or seating fee, which can vary from 500 to 1,000 yen for a 30- to 90-minute dining session. This could include your first cocktail if you pay a higher table fee.

Depending on the cafe you want to use, you will be able to drink as much alcohol as you want for the length of your stay.

Hope you enjoy your experience!