November 2013 is when eggcellent opened in Roppongi.
A popular breakfast destination and also a popular destination for egg lovers, eggcellent’s Chief Operating Officer, Jinguji Nozomi was an airline flight attendant who traveled abroad and throughout Japan.
Because she flew on international flights, she would go eat breakfast in the country that she was visiting and eat eggs benedict or eggs on an English muffin and thinking how it would be good if there was a breakfast culture in Japan.
Seeing various cultures and how important breakfast was, especially egg dishes, she realize that there are are very few restaurants that open early in the morning in Japan.
With many people who are busy commuting to work in the early morning, she wanted a restaurant where people can come and eat in the morning and possibly meet people.
So, the restaurant took its name from the egg and excellent, which stems from foreigners describing food as delicious and excellent. And she found the combination of the words to be charming and it would become the name of the restaurant.
Jinguji met with the President of Revamp, through an acquaintance, who put in 95% of an investment to the restaurant, while Jinguji put in the other 5% and became the COO and Eggcelent Co., Ltd. was born.
She would visit farmers in Japan and chose eggs that would meet her expectations. She felt that eggs is a breakfast icon, it’s a source for energy and exists as different types of food all over the world.
The company opened its second store “eggcellent BITES” at Haneda Airport in July 2015 and then two more additional stores in Omotesando and Shirokane and if anything, I was inspired by various articles of female entrepreneurs in Japan. And she had a idea, took the chance and now has one of the well-known restaurants in Tokyo.
I was inspired by Jinguji Nozomi’s story that I went to Roppongi Hills to try eggcellent for myself.
It’s important to note that eggcellent moved to another location in Roppongi Hills on February 22nd.
I was at eggcellent during the Christmas holidays and visiting the restaurant, the first thing I thought was its location. It’s in a very nice location and immediately, I knew that to have a restaurant here, you’re prices need to reflect that.
The location is clean, beautiful setting. Great place to bring friends or family for breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. but if anything, the overall setting was nice to see.
That’s possibly one of the biggest differences as egg dishes in America, we could find the basic sunnyside up or breakfast offerings for under $5, under $10 for something more elaborate. But we can find egg dishes anywhere from the diner, restaurant to even fast food restaurants.
But looking at the menu, I see that eggcellent offers Eggs Benedict and a menu that was no doubt influenced by European cuisine.
I liked the healthy offerings but I came for the Eggs Benedict and knew that at Y1750, it was a lot for an egg dish but I looked at location and atmosphere. The rent for this location, I’m assuming it’s quite high, so the prices reflect that.
I also like the fact that the place opens up at 7:00 a.m. and remains open until 9:00 p.m. at night.
I received good customer service but I went in the early evening as opposed to much busier times (I would imagine it is much busier in the morning). But I want to emphasize that the restaurant was clean, and the staff was accommodating. And there was no long wait for my food.
I found the meal delicious, but I admit that for its size, it was more expensive that I would like to pay for an Eggs Benedict dish but that is in part of being spoiled by American breakfast being inexpensive. As I mentioned earlier, to have a restaurant or establishment in Roppongi Hills alone is quite expensive, so your paying for the environment. And the fact that Roppongi Hills is a top destination for a lot of travelers from other countries, it makes perfectly sense to have this restaurant located in Roppongi, but Roppongi Hills, makes it even better.
I also looked at it that for the price I paid, it almost works out, because what we would be paying for a tip in the US on top of the food, there is no tip in Japan. But I know, for egg dishes, if you are spoiled of paying a few bucks in the U.S., it is a bit pricey.
I would definitely visit this restaurant again, to try other dishes but since I often visit Roppongi Hills, it’s nice to know there is a place that opens early for breakfast and serves eggs!
If you are craving eggs for breakfast (or an egg dish in general), I definitely recommend eggcellent!
