The Best Places in Tokyo

Pronounced "teh-zeh," this Tokyo backstreet cocktail bar keeps nearly 3,000 books on every available surface, and regulars treat the shelves like a lending library while the bartenders riff on classics or invent something on the spot. Dark wood panelling, retro leather couches, and dim lighting make it feel like a very well-read living room. Curry dishes appear on the menu too, which somehow feels right. Been around since the late nineties, and the neighbourhood clearly never found a reason to leave.

1. The 50 The 50 Discovery

Bar Orchard is a Ginza cocktail bar where the menu is a heap of fresh fruit and you point at one, like a very expensive farmers market. The bartender builds something tiki-ish around your pick, then serves it in a ceramic shark, a turkey leg, or a tiny bathtub with suds on top. A flock of rubber ducks in outfits watches from the bar. Seats vanish fast, so arrive when the doors open at 6.

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Tokyo
2. The 50 The 50 Discovery

A sake bar up a flight of stairs in Nishiazabu, where the sign reads "strawberry meeting," a translation of ichigo ichie that sounds like a very polite jam session. The list runs past 200 bottles, from sparkling to cloudy doburoku, plus a few made with local breweries that you won't find elsewhere. The egg in black squid ink mayonnaise looks like a river rock until you crack it, which is the whole bit.

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Tokyo
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Eight seats, one bartender, and a flower chosen to match each drink: Gen Yamamoto runs cocktails the way Kyoto runs kaiseki. You choose a flight of four, six, or seven courses, each one built around whatever ingredient the season hands over, each served in its own piece of glassware. It is a cocktail bar in the way a tea ceremony is a cup of tea. Yamamoto-san holds a spot on The 50 Discovery list.

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Tokyo
2. The 50 The 50 Discovery

1. The Infatuation Where To Eat When You’re Visiting Tokyo
2. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. The Infatuation The Best Izakayas In Tokyo

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide