My biggest complaint about museums is the crappy to mediocre cafes. You just had a hopefully profound art experience, and you want to either a) talk about it with your friend over some good coffee, b) write about it in your journal over some good coffee, or c) space out and process what you just saw over some good coffee. Whatever option you choose, good coffee must be involved. Or even better, there should be some other drink that makes you abandon the coffee. But that’s not all.
You also want that cafe to continue the art experience, with cool or warm, whimsical or elegant decor. A thoughtful menu helps. Relaxing natural lighting shouldn’t be optional. Nothing should be served in a plastic or paper cup. The drinks shouldn’t be made from instant powder. The food shouldn’t have been frozen 5 minutes ago and unfrozen 2 minutes ago in a microwave.
Am I asking too much?
I finally found a great museum cafe. Cafe Hai is the cafe of the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (I’ve got a dozen museums and exhibits I’ve been wanting to write about but I keep writing about this one!) The restaurant serves Vietnamese food in plates, bowls and cups that are used in food stalls in Vietnam. There’s a wall menu with items priced in dong, the Vietnamese currency. All in the simple aesthetic of the slow food movement. In short, a lot of thought went into this space.
The drink menu was so intriguing that we ordered the delicious frothy concoctions. Like a good art exhibit, the cafe offered something new and irresistible. They were served on bamboo root shaped coasters.
It was so good we went back after perusing the permanent collection and had their coffee (served Vietnamese style with tin filters) and the Moroccan pancakes (there were several Moroccan dishes and drinks too).
Even the staff had a cinematic quality to them. Instead of some soulless vendor who wants to squeeze as much money as they can out of their 2 year lease, the women at Cafe Hai seemed like they cared about providing an experience that vibed with being surrounded by art.
Suggested reading: Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn.
Recommended company: Your favorite zazen buddy.
Film to watch when you get home: Vertical Ray of the Sun.
The Quilting Sword 