The family restaurant chain Saizeriya serves a morning-only breakfast called "Asa Saize" (朝サイゼ): a single focaccia runs just ¥150 (about a dollar), and a set with a bottomless drink bar starts at ¥300 (about US$2).
We tried it ourselves: a warm focaccia and bottomless coffee, with change back from a single ¥500 coin.
There is one catch, though: Asa Saize is served at only a small number of Saizeriya locations.
Asa Saize is not served at every Saizeriya. It is available only at selected locations, mostly around Tokyo and eastern Japan, and service ends at 10 a.m. Check the official list for a participating branch before you go.
What Is "Asa Saize"?
"Asa Saize" (roughly, "Morning Saize") is the breakfast menu Saizeriya serves only in the morning. In Japan a breakfast set like this is often called a "morning" (モーニング), but Saizeriya brands its version "Asa Saize."
The star is freshly baked bread, paired with a drink bar or fries. The cheapest combination with a drink bar is ¥300, tax included. That price gets you bottomless soft drinks, coffee, and tea from the self-serve drink bar, remarkably cheap for breakfast.
Depending on the bread, you can order it à la carte (単品, tanpin), as a combo with a drink bar (コンビ, konbi), or as a set with a drink bar and fries (セット, setto). The same bread costs more as you add to it, and not every kind comes in all three forms.
The Catch: Only Some Stores, Mostly Around Tokyo
This is the most important point. Asa Saize is available at only a small fraction of Saizeriya's locations.
The stores are concentrated in the greater Tokyo area (Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa), with a few more scattered across eastern Japan, such as Sendai in Miyagi and Nagaoka in Niigata. In western Japan, including Kansai, the Nagoya area, and Kyushu, we could not confirm any participating stores.
The list can change, so check the official site for the latest.
Unfortunately, Saizeriya's official store finder does not let you filter by "serves Asa Saize." Its filters cover things like electronic payment and parking, but not the morning menu.
The participating stores and their hours are listed on the official Asa Saize page, under its list of stores and hours (in Japanese only). If you plan to stop by while traveling, check it the night before to see whether a participating branch is near where you are staying.
And if no participating branch is nearby, a convenience store is another reliably cheap place to grab breakfast.
How Late? Served Until 10 a.m.
Asa Saize is served until 10 a.m. at every participating store. At 10 the menu switches to the regular all-day menu, so if you want the breakfast menu, be seated before then.
Start times vary by store, roughly between 7 and 8 a.m. You can look up your store's start time on the same official list.
One thing the official pages don't spell out is whether every participating store serves Asa Saize seven days a week. If you are planning to go on a specific day, check with the store in advance.
The Menu and Prices
Asa Saize centers on three kinds of bread. All prices include tax and vary by option, and each set comes with three fries.
Bread | On its own | With drink bar | Set (drink bar + fries) |
|---|---|---|---|
Baked Cinnamon Focaccia | ¥200 | ¥300 | ¥350 |
Pancetta and Cheese Panini | ¥300 | ¥400 | ¥450 |
Focaccia | ¥150 | — | ¥300 |
Baked Cinnamon Focaccia (¥200–350)
A sweet focaccia baked with cinnamon sugar. It pairs well with coffee or tea from the drink bar.
Pancetta and Cheese Panini (¥300–450)
A panini filled with salty pancetta (cured pork belly) and cheese. Choose this if you want a savory breakfast rather than a sweet one.
Focaccia (¥150–300)
A simple focaccia, sliced in half and toasted. At ¥150 it is the cheapest item on the menu, and even a set with a drink bar and fries is only ¥300, ideal when you want to keep the morning as cheap as possible.
How to Order (the Tabletop QR Code)
At Saizeriya you order by scanning the QR code on your table with your own smartphone and choosing from the screen that opens. There is no need to flag down a server; the whole order is done from your phone.
If scanning is difficult, you can order in person instead: press the bell on your table to call a server over.
One note for visitors: the Asa Saize items do not have official English names, so the dish names above are our own descriptions. Saizeriya's regular menu does have an official English version.
Our Visit
We ordered the ¥350 set: the baked cinnamon focaccia with a drink bar and fries.
The focaccia arrived warm, with the sweet smell of cinnamon. The butter had melted into it, and on the first bite the chewy bread, the butter, and the sweet cinnamon came together into something really good.
The set came with three small hash-brown potato bites. We also added Saizeriya's classic corn soup, and tearing off a piece of the plain focaccia to dip in it was a nice touch.
Between the warm bread, the free refills from the drink bar, and the soup, it made for an unhurried start to the day. For around ¥500 (about $3), it was a satisfying breakfast.
When a participating store is near where you're staying, Asa Saize is an easy, inexpensive breakfast before a day out.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.