The small, bistro-style ground-floor dining room serves a Y4,800 prix fixe dinner until 10pm (last order). There's also a second-floor wine bar with an a la carte snack menu available till 2am. Saturday lunch starts at Y1800.
Ginza 2-5-6. Open 5:30pm-2am (noon-midnight Sat.). Closed Sundays.
This picturesque little Italian-style cafe-bar is worth noting for their late-night hours (till 2am Monday-Saturday); stop by for coffee, a glass of wine or a light Italian snack.
Ginza 2-4-6, Ginza Velvia-kan 1F. Open 11am-11pm (LO) daily.
Located downstairs from Kihachi's flagship restaurant, this more casual cafe is open all day, and offers pastas and simple meals as well as desserts and coffee. There's also a separate bar area. English menus are available.
The 100-odd different beers in their serve-yourself refrigerator include several previously hard-to-find varieties. Mussels and other Belgian treats are on the food menu, and they're even open on Sundays.
Although it looks like an ordinary after-work salaryman hangout, Bulldog offers a nice selection of ten beers on tap, including three "guest taps" for local microbrews. US microbrews are also available (by the bottle). There's a wide assortment of bar snacks to go with your beer.
Ginza 3-1, Ginza INZ #1, 2F. Open 11:30am-2, 5-11:15pm daily.
This charming little cafe is located in an old office building that's now filled with art galleries. Relax on comfortable sofas and listen to mellow lounge music on the stereo while you admire the cat-themed artwork on the walls. Browse through their collection of magazines and cat picture books while you sip on a cappucino (Y750) or cocktail. This charming little cafe is located in an old office building that's now filled with art galleries. Relax on comfortable sofas and listen to mellow lounge music on the stereo while you admire the cat-themed artwork on the walls. Browse through their collection of magazines and cat picture books while you sip on a cappucino (Y750) or cocktail.
If you're hungry there's a simple food menu - Caesar salads (Y1000), mixed sausages (Y800). The unpretentious decor is all cinderblocks and exposed pipes, with a silver and white color theme set off by lots of green plants. [Show more] [Show less]
Ginza 3-3-12, Ginza Bldg 4F. Open 11:30am-10pm (LO). Closed Mondays.
Houblon (Ginza - Belgian rest/beer bar). 3564-1671
The multi-level complex comprises a Belgian restaurant on the top floor, a shot bar in the basement, and a Belgian beer specialist on the ground floor. They stock more than 300 beers by the bottle, plus five taps devoted to a rotating selection of guest beers.
Ginza 3-2-11. Open 3pm-3am (Sat, Sun noon-3am). Open every day.
A friendly, relaxed bar with late-night hours, Bizarres draws a neighborhood crowd - both local residents and people who work at nearby ad agencies and other offices. The front room has a spacious (although sometimes smoky) bar area, while in back there's a lounge space furnished with sofas, comfortable chairs and a good sound system. The playlist seems to cover everything from hiphop and bossa nova to vocal jazz and bebop.
Ginza 3-14-5. Open 7pm-4am (Sat -11pm). Closed Sundays.
This popular Tokyo French cafe-bakery serves light snacks all day (quiche, omelettes, salade nicoise), plus more substantial prix-fixe lunches until 3pm (Y1260).
Ginza 6-3-2, Gallery Center Bldg 1F. Open 9am-11pm daily.
Sliding open the door of Kuri feels like unearthing a secret treasure. Hidden on the second floor of a drab building in Ginza, this cozy bar seats a scant twelve, yet boasts a menu featuring over 100 varieties of sake. The modern Japanese decor deftly employs noren curtains, dark wood, and soft lights to create an intimate and inviting space. Sake bottles are attractively displayed behind the bar on a tall shelf set into the wall. There's room for six at the bar, with a handful of small tables on the other side of a slatted-wood partition. [See FULL REVIEW.]
Ginza 6-4-15, Tony Bldg 2F. Open 5pm-2:30am (LO; 3am Fri, midnight Sat). Closed Sundays, 3rd Sat.
Roy G. Biv (Ginza - Belgian rest/beer bar). 3569-2380
A late-night hideaway bar in Ginza, with just twenty seats and a selection of around 25 Belgian beers. There's also a small snack menu. (They close at midnight on Saturdays.)
Ginza 5-6-14, Ginza Bldg 3F. Open 5pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
The Sherry Club in Ginza has an ochre coziness that envelops you the minute you sit down. It is quite possibly the best place in Tokyo to familiarize yourself with the many styles and flavors of this somewhat archaic tipple which originated centuries ago, crafted to ship well and store even better. The Sherry Club in Ginza has an ochre coziness that envelops you the minute you sit down. It is quite possibly the best place in Tokyo to familiarize yourself with the many styles and flavors of this somewhat archaic tipple which originated centuries ago, crafted to ship well and store even better.
A sharpened pencil and a list of sherries graces every place setting. Since this may be overwhelming for those not familiar with sherry, they have kindly provided several Y2300 tasting sets, which include three small glasses of sherry ranging from dry to sweet or pale to dark, along with a small platter of serrano ham, manchego cheese, pickles and olives and a caperberry.
Equally striking is the extensive variety of Spanish food, highlighted by several types of jamon (traditionally cured ham, similar to prosciutto). The well-aged chorizo is a spiced hard sausage with an exquisitely nutty and smoky flavor, with the chili gently kicking in as you chew it. The salchicha is a pungent salami, with a dry texture and rich, fermented flavor. My favorite was the lomo - a heavenly, cured pork loin with a touch of white mold on the outer surface that gives it a hint of blue cheese character.
Apart from these, there is a full menu of warm tapas. Recommended are the chorizo and garbanzo beans in tomato sauce (Y700), and the gazpacho (Y500). Also available are salads, pizza, and an array of rice dishes including a rich and very satisfying Valencia-style seafood paella (Y1800) that's enough for two.
One surprise was the selection of five brands of Spanish beer, all Y800. The astonishing variety of food and drink at Sherry Club makes it difficult to get an overview in one or two visits. But since Sherry Club has been open since 1986, there's every reason to believe it will be around for years to come. [Show more] [Show less]
Ginza 6-3-17, Yugen Bldg. 2/3F. Open 5:30-10pm (LO). Closed Sundays.
Artisanal cocktails made from fresh seasonal fruits are a specialty at this ambitious bar, and their pina coladas and Singapore slings are quite impressive, although perhaps a bit pricier than average. Owner-bartender Hidetsugu Ueno will also improvise cocktails based on your mood and choice of spirits.
Ginza 7-2-14, 26 Polestar Bldg 4F. Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
Antwerp Six (Ginza - Belgian rest/beer bar). 5568-0091
You'll find good Belgian food (including mussels and great frites), a nice selection of beers, and convenient late-night hours from this branch of the Belgian Beer Cafe chain (they also run Antwerp Central in Marunouchi). [Go to branch review]
This traditional American steakhouse has a small bar up front serving Oregon wines by the glass. [See FULL REVIEW.]
Higashi-Shimbashi 1-5-2, Shiodome City Center 42F. Open 11am-10pm (LO) daily.
Beer Garage (Shiodome - Belgian rest/beer bar). 3572-4681
Capturing two popular Tokyo bar trends at once, Beer Garage offers a wide range of tapas and Belgian beers. Beers on draft include Maredsous, De Koninck, Vedett and Poperings Hommel. Tapas items are priced at Y300, Y500 and Y650, and there are a handful of Belgian dishes as well.
Located in the lobby of the Conrad Hotel, TwentyEight is an oasis of muted monochromes with discrete edges. Dusk is arguably the best time to visit; calm settles over the space as the sunlight fades and votive candles flicker to life. The scene gets busier in the evenings, when the after-work crowd rolls in and the live band strikes up, but beware the Y1800 seating charge after 8pm.Located in the lobby of the Conrad Hotel, TwentyEight is an oasis of muted monochromes with discrete edges. The bar's sleek design displays a tight graphic crispness, while linen shades and leather upholstery in brown and cream tones impart a contrasting softness. When planning the interior for the Conrad, G.A. Design envisioned a garden of urban tranquility, and TwentyEight, with its soaring ceilings, angled skylights, and excellent views of Tokyo Bay, proves to be a relaxing spot in Shiodome.
Teatime is popular here, and the afternoon tea set (Y3500) arrives arranged on a frosted glass platter like an assortment of sweet and savory petit fours. A miniature scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam is light but satisfying, as is the grilled chicken canape with avocado cream.
Those in search of something stronger than tea can find signature cocktails from Y1700 like the Tei-en, an unusual combination of vodka mixed with cucumber, shiso, kiwi, and cardamom seed, and the French 28, a pleasant champagne-based number spiked with Tanqueray and lime leaf, in addition to Bombay Sapphire martinis (Y2000). Tapas like zuwaigani crab cakes and marinated beef shins with cucumber are available after 5:30 (Y2000 for a set of three).
Dusk is arguably the best time to visit TwentyEight; calm settles over the space as the sunlight fades and votive candles flicker to life. The scene gets busier in the evenings, when the after-work crowd rolls in and the live band strikes up, but beware the Y1800 seating charge after 8pm. [Show more] [Show less]
Higashi-Shimbashi 1-9-1, Conrad Tokyo Hotel 28F. Open 9am-midnight daily.
This combination cafe and design showroom serves a casual Italian menu on weekday evenings, and a more limited lunchtime menu until 2:30pm. Open to 5pm weekends.
Higashi-Shimbashi 2-14-1, Comodio Shiodome. Open 11am-11pm daily.