Carl’s Jr. Japan also has a breakfast menu, so of course we had to try it too【Taste Test】

Always hungry for more, we head back to the newly opened Carl’s Jr. in Tokyo to try the fast-food outlet’s morning menu.

Having dutifully waited in line for the grand opening of the latest American burger chain to come to Japan, we knew at some point we’d return to Carl’s Jr. to sample their breakfast menu. Never ones to shy away from enormous piles of food, we headed back to the otaku mecca of Akihabara for a chance to break our fast with Staaaah-kun, the perpetually happy Carl’s Jr. mascot.

Interestingly, the entire regular menu is also available during the early hours, so if you want to avoid some large crowds, you might want to consider heading to Akihabara between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. when they’re also serving the morning menu.

Featuring six items, the breakfast menu is still a little bit on the expensive side. Getting your breakfast as a meal set, which includes hash rounds (hash brown nuggets) and coffee, will cost you an extra 350 yen (US$3.10).

Our intrepid, iron-stomached Japanese writer sampled four of the items on the menu and offered these opinions on his Carl’s Jr. breakfast.

Bacon Egg & Cheese Muffin – 330 yen ($3)

Thanks at least in part to McDonald’s, if you’re headed to a fast food restaurant for breakfast you can usually expect some sort of morning sandwich on an English muffin. With the Carl’s Jr. version, the egg comes as a lightly fried omelet, but doesn’t deliver much in terms of taste. Given the choice of Carl’s Jr. versus that of the aforementioned Golden Arches, the troubling clown’s restaurant would win this round.

Sausage Egg & Cheese Danish – 390 yen

A Danish pastry isn’t something you’ll see very often in a Japanese fast food restaurant, so our writer had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, the texture of the Danish felt a little off, and with the same kind of egg as the Bacon Egg & Cheese Muffin, it wasn’t all that appetizing. It pains us to go two-for-two, but if you’re heading to Carl’s Jr., our reporter recommends giving this one a miss too…

Pancakes & Bacon – 450 yen

Two pancakes with a side of bacon for 450 yen isn’t a bad deal, and when the pancakes turn out to be pretty decent, it’s always a pleasant surprise. You probably know what you’re getting here, but still, our Japanese taste-tester was much happier with this option than either of the first two he tried.

Breakfast Burger – 540 yen

Finally, a breakfast item worthy of the Carl’s Jr. name! Along with that signature beef patty, the Breakfast Burger features bacon, cheese, egg, and a layer of hash rounds. The potato may seem like carb overkill at first, but they are in fact key as they give the burger a satisfying crunch when you bite into it. The burger is quite large, too, more than warranting the asking price of 540 yen in our man’s opinion.

▼ Don’t pass up the chance for extra hash rounds!

Comparing the Carl’s Jr. breakfast menu to other fast food outlets’ menus will undoubtedly leave you wondering if the extra cost is worth it, but hopefully we’ve given you enough photographic and anecdotal evidence to make that decision on your own. Whether you head to Carl’s Jr. or another breakfast joint, just remember, pretty much nothing else is open in Akihabara at that time in the morning.

We’ll leave you with a few final pics from our fast food outing. Enjoy!

▼ No lines! Mornings are much quieter.

▼ The muffin sandwich. A sausage version is also available.

▼ The Danish sandwich. Of course, there is also a bacon version.

▼ Pancakes with a side of depressing bacon.

▼ Can you eat a burger in the morning? We definitely can!

Restaurant information
Carl’s Jr.
4-4-3 Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo
東京都千代田区外神田4-4-3
Open 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Breakfast served 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

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