I finally got a chance to try out Harajuku Crepe in Beverly Hills this weekend and I already want to go back.
Harajuku crepes is a popular dessert in Japan. The crepes, which are not the traditional French crepes, are wrapped up into a cone shape and stuffed with various toppings such as ice cream, fresh fruit, whipped cream. There are savory ones as well.
I’d heard really good things about the shop in Beverly Hills but I don’t usually spend much time in Beverly Hills, especially since there is a lot of traffic getting there. But I was already in LA and determined and off we went. I was particularly intrigued by their use of mochi flour in the crepe batter and by the drool worthy post by Gastronomer.
The small simple storefront seems out of place in the expensive Beverly Hills shopping area and I was quite surprised by the very reasonable prices. DH wondered how they can afford to stay in business with the prices given how extraordinary rent must be there.
We previously had tried the harajuku-style crepes offered by Angels & Hearts in San Diego, but had been very disappointed. The crepe batter was too soft and gummy, the toppings quite minimal.
You start with your basic crepe (priced at $3), which you have five flavors to choose from: original, chocolate, green tea, earl grey, and buckwheat. Your main topping is $1.00 extra and any additional toppings and sauces are an additional $.50 each. Each of our crepes ended up being about $5.
Original crepe with Nutella, strawberries and vanilla ice cream
DH chose an original crepe which we filled with strawberries, Nutella and ice cream. The outside of the crepe was still nice and crisp and there was a good amount of toppings filling the inside. The crepe was thin, light, with a little bit of a chew from the use of mochi flour. The crepe texture is a little different from French crepes, but we both really liked this Japanese spin on crepes.
Green tea crepe with fresh mochi and black sesame ice cream
Yes my crepe doesn’t look as nice as the first one, but I loved the green tea flavored crepe. When I ordered mochi as my main topping, I had assumed it would be large mochi balls. Instead, there were very thin sheets of mochi which didn’t take up much room and so the only real “filling” in mine was the ice cream which melted quite fast since it was covered in the warm crepe. Had I known what the mochi looked like, I would have added some fruit or other topping to make my crepe fuller.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed mine. The green tea added an earthiness to the crepe without being too bitter. I love green tea flavor in general and it worked well as a crepe flavor. The mochi was good, but I wish there was more of it.
We left very happy with the crepes we ate. Crepes are usually not high on my list of favorites, but I loved the ones we had here. I only wish this wasn’t so far away. I hope to be back soon.
Harajuku Crepe
9405 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Yay you went! haha…and I’m glad you enjoyed your visit. I also really enjoy the slight chewiness of the crepe. I too am wondering how they stay in business especially with the moderate prices (and pretty inexpensive for BH standards). I guess they can survive in the area because it tastes pretty good, and also because the shop is relatively small.
Yes I went! Love it and want to go back!
The color of the green tea crepe is so lovely. Cool that you tried this place out. i liked how they layered the strawberries rather than just putting it in the middl eof the ‘cone’. and yes, that IS a good question how they can afford to pay the rent with such low prices for their crepes!
I like the green color of the crepe too. I really do wonder how they afford to stay there. It’s such an expensive area and they mainly only sell crepes. It seems like it’s quite popular though with all the reviews on yelp. I hope they survive and I hope they come to SD too! haha
have you been to sophie’s crepe in berkeley? how does it compare?
I have not. I don’t get a chance to make it up to Berkeley very much, unfortunately.