Maruume, Futakotamagawa

Apparently a 7th-floor-of-Takashimaya branch of a bar down at street level elsewhere in Nikotama. Small and quiet, dim lighting with a red tint, nice selection of frosted and cut glasses behind the bar, reasonable prices and charges. A good place to get lost for a while, albeit incongruously facing a courtyard with a big water […]

B-Bar, Roppongi

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you a burst of vitriol… I knew how much the drinks cost before I went here. I knew what the charge was. But as I watched the bartender pour flat champagne into my glass and add blue food coloring, all I could think was “I’m being screwed.” Yes, […]

Agave, Roppongi

Ohhh, it’s hard to remember what to write about Agave. That’s partly because it was almost a week ago, and partly because, well…it’s a tequila bar. What does one write in a review of a tequila bar except “Oh, my head?” No, I know that these days tequila is all about ‘sipping’, and in fact […]

Houblon, Ginza

Boyz, this is it. You think you’ve been to a Belgian beer bar in Tokyo? If it wasn’t Houblon, you haven’t. They have the atmosphere, they have the food, and they have a menu big enough to break the camel’s back, with 300 types of beer (some of which are even in stock!). There’s a […]

Bar Fal, Ginza

Once in a while people ask if I know a good bar. I always say yes, and describe Fal to them. They never go. Maybe I smell bad? I don’t know what you like in a bar, but here’s what does it for me: Dark, woody, quiet. Jazz, probably. A wide selection of drinks in different […]