Atelier De Florentina: Smitten by Florentines

What I like about shops in Tokyo sometimes is that they tend to focus on one dish or type of cuisine and do it very well. One good example is Atelier De Florentina, a shop that specializes in making Florentines, These thin caramelized disc of fruits and nuts on crunchy biscuit base are often sold as side products at most patisseries and never take the prime seat. However, the lady baker has transformed these traditional Italian treats into her successful business by producing petite bite-size squares in different flavours.

Grab a tray and start picking

(From right) Sakura, espresso, plain, soba & black sesame, cocoa & hazelnut 

There are 7 regular flavours and one seasonal flavour. My visit coincides with the Sakura season and thus I was lucky to get the seasonal Sakura Florentines, which has a tinge of saltiness. But the regular flavours were excellent too. I love the bitter notes from espresso and the nutty fragrance of Soba and Black Sesame. Each packet costs 220yen 

The design of the shop is highly minimalistic, which parallels its concept of selling just one type of product. If you are visiting Yanesen Ginza Shopping Street, do lookout for the shop since most people would only visit this place as a tourist sight once in their lifetime (er...unless you really like this old street alot).  

I found this shop by chance while strolling along this street but I am glad I had not miss it.  

Atelier De Florentina

Taito ku, Yanesen 3-12-2

11am-6pm

Closed on Mondays

http://www.atelierdeflorentina.com/