Both sides of the Pacific are getting new themed cafes with attached merch shops from the video game developer of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

In October of 2016, video game developer Square Enix, makers of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises, opened the Square Enix Cafe in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. A space for themed food and merch celebrating both new and classic games, the Square Enix Cafe moved to a different location within the neighborhood in 2020, but sadly closed in the spring of 2025.

Now, though, Square Enix has announced that a brand-new Square Enix Cafe will be opening this spring in Tokyo, and also that America will be getting its very first permanent Square Enix Cafe, in Los Angeles.

The Officially Licensed Square Enix Cafe & Shop Shinjuku, to use the new Tokyo branch’s full name, won’t be in Akihabara, but will instead move into a space on the opposite side of downtown, in Shinjuku. Specifically, it’s going to be an expanded/permanent version of the Square Enix Pop Up Cafe that’s currently across the street from Shinjuku Station (and adjacent to the snack stand selling freshly-baked sweet bean Slime and custard Chocobo treats).

The Officially Licensed Square Enix Cafe & Shop Los Angeles, meanwhile, will be setting up on 1st Street in L.A.’s Little Tokyo neighborhood, on the same block as the Japanese Village Plaza (though not in the center’s central plaza itself). This doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a stripped-down version of the Tokyo branch, either, with Square Enix’s press release describing it as “the first time an official Square Enix cafe offering a full, authentic menu will open in the U.S.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the food will be a 1:1 match between the Tokyo and Los Angeles branches, though. The operator of the Tokyo Square Enix Cafe will be Tokyo-based Newton Corporation, which also operates the Pasela group of karaoke parlors, restaurants, and hotels. Pasela has been Square Enix’s go-to partner for restaurant ventures in Japan for some time, and has a pretty solid reputation for tasty, high-quality food. The operator of the Los Angeles Square Enix Cafe, however, is listed as J-Pop Culture Cafe Inc., and it’s currently unclear whether Newton/Pasela will be working with them to coordinate recipes and cooking procedures.

▼ The Akihabara Square Enix Cafe had some extremely tasty hamburgers on its opening-day menu.

As indicated by the shopping bag in the cafe’s logo, both the Tokyo and L.A. branches will have attached Square Enix shops stocked with video game merchandise. At the Akihabara cafes, even non-diners could access the shops to browse and make purchases, and hopefully the new branches will have similarly flexible policies.

Oddly, Square Enix’s English press release says that both the Tokyo and L.A. Square Enix Cafes will open in spring of 2026, while the Japanese press release says they’ll be open in early summer, but thankfully it’s not a very long wait either way. And if you absolutely need some video game-themed refreshments right away, there’s a real-world version of Tifa’s Final Fantasy VII bar coming to Tokyo this week.

Source: Square Enix (1, 2) via Anime News Network/Adriana Hazra
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