Maid cafés have always been a popular staple in the Japanese pop culture scene. Having begun in 2001 with Cure Maid Café, and the rise in popularity throughout the years, more establishments came about with different themes and features, to cater to every patron's interest.
In 2004, @Home Café was established and in 2022, its largest location opened up in Akihabara with 7 floors total - each having its own unique theme. As of April 2023, there are a total of 5 locations in Japan, two of which have 3–7 floors (Nipponbashi and Akihabara), one with two sides (Akiba Culture Zone), one stand-alone (Chiyoda-ku), and an official goods shop for purchasing merchandise (Akiba Culture Zone).
Moe Moe Kyun!
@Home Café's main building is located in the heart of Akihabara. With 7 floors, and each having a unique aesthetic to it, you're always in for a surprise. Upon arrival, a butler/steward (usually male) will escort you in, and one of the maids will announce your "return" and ring a bell while everyone welcomes you. After you're seated, your maid will introduce herself and "deliver" a letter that includes all the rules of the establishment, namely the 1-hour rule that every maid café has. Because you're so busy, you only have time to relax "at home" for 1 hour before going on about your day (assuming the place isn't busy). If you're a newcomer, you get a complimentary "Princess" or "Master License", which you can use to get points and special rewards when you download the app. From there, you are then given a course menu and a food menu. The course menu has options for different combos, all including a Polaroid picture with a maid of your choosing! There are six combos in total: Drink (soft drink), Dessert (soft drink and dessert), Food (soft drink and food), Souvenir (soft drink and take home curry or popcorn), Full (soft drink, food, and dessert), and finally Premium (all included). Fun fact: the water that's given to you is also a "youth potion". Specifically, an opportunity to become 17 again, just like in the movies!
In traditional maid café fashion, every time your order is brought by, you chant a "magic spell" to make everything taste better - and to change the dish completely (ex: making the pink curry "pink", before pouring it over the rice). Some items on the menu will have a performance included with it. Such as with shaken drinks, a maid will come by and have you chant two "magic spells". Speaking of the drink menu, some special cold beverages such as the magic shaker has a soda or milk mix option.
Food That's Too Cute To Eat
While the drink menu has plenty of options, the food menu is rather limited in choices. Omurice and hamburger steak or pink curry rice are the only current available dishes. As for the dessert menu, you have three different parfaits to choose from: Princess-theme, Prince-theme, and chocolate-flavored Valentine's Day themed. Once the last portion of your meal is delivered, you are then called up for a Polaroid photo, which is taken by a digital camera and then developed as a Polaroid, with a separate piece of paper that has a QR code, for the digital version.
"Welcome home, Princess! (or...Big Sister?)"
Occasionally, specific floors will have a designated "cosplay event" in where the maids play a different persona for the day. This time, on the 5th floor, they were the younger siblings you never wanted. When brought in, your "little sister" would have you seated at the table and introduce herself. As it's her first day working, you, the older sibling, are there to cheer her on. Your other "siblings" of various ages take turns delivering different foods and will make food art depending on what your order was. Leave it to the young ones, to run the family business!
One fun thing about @Home Café (or maid cafés in general) is the fact that the maids have creative freedom to accessories however they want. This includes different color ribbons on their bodices, dolled up nails, and decorative name tags!
With all the fun to be had and the energy that goes into creating a positive environment, it kind of makes you want to be a maid too, doesn't it?