Kaiserhof does a number of German classics, such as eisbein (pickled ham hock), spatzle (pasta-like dumplings) and a whole lot of wurst (sausages). The latter are served on hot cast-iron pans with sauerkraut, flavored -- appropriately -- with caraway seeds. There's apfelstrudel (apple strudel) ...
The menu at Zum Bierhof isn't as extensive or as fancy as at Kaiserhof, but you can get currywurst (and it's cheaper, at ¥1,029). Both Kaiserhof and Zum Bierhof serve beer from Hofbrauhaus, Munich's famous 400-year-old beer hall (though at a hefty mark-up).
Customers are first greeted by the owner's dog, an adorable Shiba Inu that goes by the name Hana-chan and enjoys a pat on the head while you sip on the bar's original cocktails.
Cast your eye down the menu and you will find it infused with a similar interplay of influences. Chef Kimio Ichikawa is well-grounded in the basics of French cuisine, but he brings a homegrown Japanese sensibility to his art. A quiet man who prefers ...
The tapas are simple, solid and masculine. Start with a mixed plate of chorizo and Saitama-made jamon serrano and a saucer of green olives; then try his octopus in wine vinegar. The hot tapas are less successful, but Naito does an excellent cheese platter, ...
Unlike most other hotel bars, where you're lucky to find any sustenance other than mixed nuts, jerky or the inevitable microwaved pizza, Bellovisto has a surprisingly broad food menu. In volume, they're little more than glorified bar snacks, pretty but not hugely substantial. But ...
Our latest favorite watering hole in the city is Pivoya, a small pub that specializes exclusively in beer from the Czech Republic. It's in a quiet, out-of-the-way locale but definitely worth tracking down.
A specialist sake bar
The staff and menu are fully bilingual, the atmosphere is lively, and it stays open till the wee hours. Yokohama needs more places like this.
Bon Marche Q looks too hip to bother with food, but this sleek little standing-only boite offers rather more than the basic bar snacks.
The drinks list is split between wine (20 by the glass from ¥500; far more by the bottle, from ¥2,500), sake and shochu, and the food spans a similar divide, encompassing carpaccio, sashimi, stews, kushiyaki grills and three or four kinds of pasta.
Such is the enlightened policy of Fuglen, the newly opened Tokyo offshoot of one of Oslo's coolest coffee shops. It's in the back streets of Tomigaya, Shibuya Ward, on the site of the short-lived but equally stylish Koz Cafe. Not that you'd recognize it ...
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