Drinking in The City that Never (Really) Stops Drinking
Tokyo - a vibrant, incredibly lively city that quite literally never sleeps (sorry New York). The city also never (really) stops drinking. Coming from a tiny town where last, last call at cocktail bars is at 1AM if you’re lucky, sipping a proper Absinthe Highball at the bar at 3AM was quite an experience. Tokyo truly has raised the bar when it comes to imbibing, no pun intended.
Here’s almost a play-by-play of almost all the bars we visited in Tokyo, the ones that I remember, that is.
SG Club, Shibuya
After not sleeping, and constantly tasting every form and colour of alcoholic beverage on a 13 hour flight from New York, the rational thing to do once one lands is to go to bed, hydrate and rest - I clearly had other plans and better things to do.
By 9PM local time, our friends are already waiting us in this iconic, three-level Tokyo establishment: The SG club - appropriately named as Sip and Guzzle come together in one space, brought to you by bartending legend Shingo Gokan. Guzzle on the main floor, is your casual, neighbourhood cocktail bar, serving up fun and playful cocktails, with a mix of bar seats and standing room. Things are a little different when you go downstairs to Sip, a chic, semi-speakeasy style with a menu so inventive you almost had to take a second look. Think of a Soba noodle cocktail, a Martini-turns-Manhattan in one cocktail, and a luscious Wagyu cocktail that if it’s done somewhere outside of Japan, I probably wouldn’t even dare to try. The third bar, is a private, members only club that I sadly didn’t get to experience.
Bar Benfiddich and Bar B&F, Shinjuku
From one iconic bar, to another. Bar Benfiddich, ranked #5 in Best Bar in Asia according to World 50 Best in 2024, is an intimate, cocktail haven on the 9th floor of a very unassuming building in Shinjuku. Dark, a little bit mysterious, with less than a dozen seating space. While I didn’t get the chance to sip Hiroyasu Kayama’s cocktail at his bar this trip, the memory I had from my last visit in 2019 sticks with me. The craftsmanship that goes into a single Old Fashioned (I was still a very novice drinker back then) is something that I’ve never seen before, ever, really. If you ever got the chance to see this man at work, you wouldn’t forget that either.
Luckily, we managed to snag a seat before last call at Bar B&F downstairs, a bespoke (no menu whatsoever) cocktail bar, with just as impeccable craftsmanship. That evening quite a few people ordered a Matcha Whisky Sour, which sounded very tasty, but I opted for my classic Sazerac, a very boozy, ice cold Sazerac - just how I like it. They also make killer Japanese martinis, if that tickles your fancy.
The rest of the evening we were drinking highballs by the litre out of plastic cups and wandered around the district until sunrise - another night of not sleeping.
Mixology Salon, Ginza Six
On the 13th floor of the ultra luxurious shopping mall, the Ginza Six, tucked away in one of the corners, is the Mixology Salon, a chic, minimalist, reservation-only 8 seater cocktail salon where the menu, is all about tea. Both their tasting and a la carte cocktail menu focuses on highlighting the high quality Japanese teas, to be infused oh so delicately with local ingredients and spirits. The way they play with flavours, texture, temperature, is so fabulous. The green tea martini is crisp yet luscious, the warm matcha cocktail is hearty but boozy at the same time. The green tea espresso martini, hits the spot. The best part, it opens from 11 AM.
Codename Mixology, Akasaka
As you can tell by the name, Codename Mixology is one of Mixology Salon’s sister bars (there’s 5 of them in total). The mood is a little darker, the booze collection is a little bigger, and the menu offers more than just tea cocktails, altho they keep the signature Green Tea martini and some others. The cocktail list is as impressive as ever: whimsical, highly creative, some are even barrel-aged in house. The talented bartenders can also create custom cocktails based on your flavour profile preferences. Their smoked, Old Fashioned riff (the smoke comes from the glass skull, btw) takes the cake for the favourite of the night.
Star Bar, Ginza
Not that you ever end up with cloudy ice at cocktail bars in Tokyo, but Star Bar Ginza is where the love and obsession for clear ice begins, for me at least. They take pride in their hand-carved, crystal clear ice so much, it’s now part of their core product. The bar is a Tokyo institution, tucked underneath another building, the charming watering hole attracts everyone both locals and visitors. The negroni, served with crystal-clear hand carved ice is infamous.
Bar Trench & Bar Tram, Ebisu
Yet another Tokyo icons that you simply can’t miss. Brough to you by Rogerio Igarashi Vaz and Takuya Itoh, who both visited Vancouver for Vancouver Cocktail Week the year prior to our visit, Bar Tram thrives in showcasing one of (if not the) largest absinthe collections in Tokyo in every form -- the traditional absinthe tower is worth experiencing at least once, a line up of San Francisco-inspired Absinthe-forward cocktail is absolutely delightful even for a non-believer of Absinthe: delicate, perfectly well balanced, goes from bright and spritz-y to boozy and well, it’s Absinthe cocktail, you figure how this night ended after my second third one, ha! Bar Trech, down the block is a product of a last minute change of heart that turned the charming little building from a supposedly office to another incredible bar (so glad they made this decision). The seating space inside is limited but standing outside with an Absinthe highball in one hand and a Japanese cigarette (oops, sorry mom) on the other is just another form of adult socializing that you have to do at least once in your visit to Tokyo. The Absinthe highball, is obviously memorable, and it got me hooked for a while (for three-or-so months after this trip, I’m that person who’s asking for Absinthe highball everywhere I go, and really tried to make it a thing) it’s just as memorable as the hospitality from the team -- the kind bartender walked us from Bar Trench to Bar Tram and made sure we were taken care of greatly. We just met that night, by the way. The only time anyone walked me out of the bar anywhere was when I had one (or two) too many martinis and they’re just showing me the exit -- so that’s memorable, for sure.
Fuglen, Shibuya
The coffeeshop by day and cocktail bar by night concept is really nothing new, we’ve seen it all, everywhere. Some people in Vancouver even attempted to do it (no shade, but somehow this concept never really thrived here, lol). However, Japanese people just know how to do it better (like most things that they do), Fuglen just proves that theory once more. This neighbourhood bar has a cult following -- as they should. They seem to excel the formula to become the epicenter of the hype kids of Tokyo: A coffee program that is as impeccable as the cocktail program, rustic interior, and great playlist. Nothing is overly too complicated, it’s simple things done so incredibly well, consistently.
The Bellwood, Shibuya
A seven (perfect amount of time to walk off the caffeine and alcohol) minute walk from Fuglen, is the award-winning neigbourhood bar The Bellwood. It’s rustic (I know I’ve used this word one too many time, but it is what it is), unassuming and well, not at all pretentious -- truly a great indicator of what a neighbourhood bar should be. The cocktail program, however, is just mind-bendingly good. Think of a brown-rice banana Sazerac (it’s as insane as it sounds, in the best way possible) that’s toasty on the nose, with a whisper of banana on the palate but still boozy as a sazerac should be. If you have the time (we didn’t this time), they’re famously known for a cocktail kaiseki experience, a traditional Japanese tasting menu, with cocktail pairings that, if anything like the bar menu, is spectacular.
Virtu at the Four Seasons, Otemachi
For the last leg of our Tokyo trip, we decided to stay at the Four Seasons at Otemachi, which I can’t recommend enough: the hospitality, the design, the quiet luxury, and of course, the incredible food and beverage outlets: from one-Michelin star restaurant Est, baf (bougie-as-f*ck) seasonal afternoon tea, the restaurant and rooftop terrace Pignetto with the most beautiful view of Tokyo (as well as bottomless cocktails and champagne happy hour), to the chic, award-winning cocktail bar Virtu (#11 on the Asia 50 Best Bar list). Not sure how and why, but we didn’t end up going to Virtu til the last night, and that’s one thing that I wish we had done earlier and more often. The Paris-meets-Tokyo concept oozes through every inch of the property from the decor, the way the booze are laid out and the cocktail menu, it’s a form of storytelling like no other. It’s a proper hotel bar to say the least -- it’s grand and majestic in a true Four Seasons fashion with one of the finest views of Tokyo city line but the team makes us feel right at home the minute we sat at the bar, with a coupe of champagne already waiting.
A10, Ebisu
It wouldn’t be a trip to Tokyo without making a stop at a listening bar or two. No, listening bar scene did not start in New York (again, sorry New York), it’s been a thing here for decades now and A10 is one of the newest (at least when we were there last year), and more trendy one that allows phone and pictures in their bar -- most old school listening bars will get you in trouble if you dare to take out your phone, let alone do a story for your instagram. This hype Ebisu joint is hidden behind the locker room (find locker A10) next to a convenient store, downstair (now people of Vancouver, THIS is a hidden gem). The vibe is vibing, the sound is sounding and the cocktails are cocktail-ing. It’s A10 out of 10 for me-- get it?! It just so happened that Hiroyasu Kayama from Bar Benfiddich, which we didn’t end up getting in after 3 attempts, was doing a guestshift there - which we took as a sign. The ‘we need to be home by midnight’ turned into a ‘let’s have a shot of Japanese gin’ kind of night but c’est la vie, right?
Well, there you have it, a year and a half later, a mini guide on where to drink in Tokyo.
Until next time!
Tokyo | Cocktail Bar | Travel Guide
