Does The Famous Japanese Bakery LeTAO Live Up To The Hype?

LeTAO is a Japanese dessert company that was founded in Otaru, Hokkaido in 1998. The first shop was opened in a tower right in the center of Otaru, which the founder, Kawagoe, taking inspiration from his travels in France, named La Tour Amitie Otaru – LeTAO – or The Amiable Tower of Otaru.  In a creative twist to the name, the name is also comprised of a combination of the syllables of the city it was founded in.

The bread of butter of LeTAO is its cheesecake, most notably the Double Fromage. Each year LaTAO bakers churn out a whopping 25 million Double Fromage cheesecakes. Not only is that a staggering number, but it shows how popular the brand and its cheesecake is worldwide.

The Original LeTAO in Otaru

The orginal LeTAO shop may have been small enough to fit within a tower but it has now expanded to include a massive store filled with baked goods attached to that original tower. When I went, it was extremely busy. I’m guessing that’s the norm here since LeTAO is now a worldwide brand and clearly extremely popular. Upstairs is where the restaurant is located. I went in the late afternoon, around 4pm, and it was packed. They have a number system so I grabbed a ticket and periodically would come back and check to see where I was in line. It was about a 45 minute wait.

The orginal tower is still there and you can continue going up the stairs from the restaurant floor to get to the top of it. You can enjoy the views it provides of Otaru while you wait for your table. It’s right across from the Otaru Music Box Museum.

The Cheesecake

With LaTAO being known for their cheesecake, I obviously HAD to try it. There are many many cheesecake and pastry options and different combos to choose from, all of which came with a cup of tea as well. Some of the combos were already sold out for the day, but there were some yummy looking options still on the table to choose from.

I ended up with a slice of the original cheesecake (I believe) and a slice of lemon cheesecake (1500 yen, $9.60 USD).

It’s a very simple, clean presentation. Slices are quite tiny, just big enough to get a nice sample taste. With this being cheesecake it’s probably a good thing the slices are on the smaller side!

I started with the original slice. It was very light with a subtle taste to it. It has the clear cheesecake taste to it but the flavor is not overbearing or super rich at all. Crust is incredibly light as well. Definitely quite tasty.

Next up was the lemon cheesecake. It had two layers on it, with the top layer being whip cream than the bottom layer being the lemon flavored cheesecake. Again, the flavors here are very subtle. With this having a couple layers I expected this to be a lot more rich in flavor. It wasn’t. It’s still very, very, light with a subtle taste to it. I really enjoyed this as well, even more so than the other slice!

Is It Worth A Visit?

If you’re a fan of pastries and cheesecake LaTAO is certainly worth visiting and stopping by to sample some slices of cake. With so many excellent sounding options, it can be slightly daunting to choose just one or two to sample, but that’s a fun (and hopefully delicious) decision to make.

I was very satisfied with the combo that I bought. Getting two slices of cheesecaske with a cup of tea for sub-$10 USD is an excellent price for such a well-known bakery like LaTAO.

The cheesecake itself is certainly unique. These were by far the lightest slices of cheesecake I’ve ever had, which is a good thing. Even though the flavors were subtle, they were still very flavorful. I actually prefer this subtle falvor where the cheesecake is not overly rich and sweet. I didn’t feel all heavy after eating a couple slices and honestly probably could have sampled another slice or two (don’t judge, lol).