Very authentic Thai cooking served in a modest little shop. They also run a small Thai grocery store across the street.

Ikebukuro 2-62-6. Open 4pm-3am (LO) daily.

Spicy chicken wings, yakitori and Nagoya miso specialties.

Minami-Ikebukuro 1-20-1, Yokota Bldg. Open 5-11pm (LO; 5am weekends) daily.

If you find yourself in Ikebukuro with a hankering for umeshu, look no further than Butazo, where giant pig lanterns hover luminously above the main dining space to add a dash of the bizarre to your dinner. Discover eighty kinds of umeshu and almost as many kinds of shochu as you nibble on tasty kushiyaki, miniature nabes and shabu-shabu, in addition to well-prepared izakaya standards. A couple of drinks and some substantial snacks will set you back about Y4000. No English.

Minami-Ikebukuro 2-16-8, Fujihisa Bldg East #3, B1F. (proceed down the spiral staircase of the "Fantasy World" entrance, and Butazo is the middle restaurant) Open 5pm-4am daily.

Late-night cocktails and snacks, with jazz in the background. Terrace seating is available on the first and second-floor cafe areas.

Takadanobaba 1-17-14. Open 6pm-5am daily.

Inexpensive jizake (regional sake) and good grilled fish. Seating can get a little cramped during peak hours, so check out the much larger Suehiro-dori branch just around the corner. No English spoken.

Shinjuku 3-9-10. Open to about 6am daily.

Superlative izakaya-style fare in a lively, noisy setting. They have an impressive and ever-changing selection of jizake (regional sake), plus good sashimi and grilled fish. Intriguing original creations include maguro kimuchii yukke, made with raw tuna and raw egg and flavored with kimchee and sesame oil. No English spoken.

Shinjuku 3-6-12, 2F. Open 4pm-5am daily.

Choose from about fifteen wines by the glass or bottle, or pick a Latour or Mouton from the back and put it on your expense account. France is amply represented, with biodynamic wines comprising nearly half of the choices on the frequently changing list. While Marugo's laid-back modern interior recalls Manhattan, the tuxedo-clad staff is pure Tokyo. But don't let appearances fool you: the service is mannerly and attentive but never stuffy at this popular Shinjuku 3-chome spot. Choose from about fifteen wines by the glass or bottle, or pick a Latour or Mouton from the back and put it on your expense account. France is amply represented, with biodynamic wines comprising nearly half of the choices on the frequently changing list.

Small plates of olives, anchovy-avocado canapes, and cheeses start at 500 yen; earthy tripe stew and creamy pork and duck liver pate go for about Y700. You can order something more substantial - grilled lamb chops, pasta, or pizza - if you're feeling really peckish. On the fifth of every month the bar features a special selection of premium wines hailing from its namesake, Margaux. Menu in Japanese only, but a little English spoken. [Show more] [Show less]

Shinjuku 3-7-5. Open 5pm-2am daily.

The smart drink list offers eleven choices of popular umeshu like Saika and Kakutama, plus a few liqueurs based on anzu (apricot), yuzu and even decopon (the orange-tangerine hybrid). Lots of shochu, a short but sweet selection of nihon-shu, and oodles of cocktails give you more reasons to sit and linger, while dainty servings of chazuke - twelve kinds, as a matter of fact - and other small dishes provide delicious distractions from the hectic world outside. Budget around Y3000 for drinks and a light meal. No English spoken.

Kabukicho 1-21-2, Itoh Bldg 3/4F. Open 6pm-3am (LO) daily.

Hazelburn offers an impressive line-up of Scottish whiskies, along with English draft ales and well-prepared Scottish and English pub food. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Kabukicho 1-6-6, Hashimoto Bldg B1F. Open 6pm-3am (5am Fri, Sat) daily.

Alps isn't exactly destination dining, but sometimes it's good to know a place where you can just show up with a group of twenty people and no reservation. Plus they're open until 9am every night but Sunday! The Y1500 party menu supplies ample, decent-quality food, and drinks are surprisingly cheap. (Y500 table charge.)

Kabukicho 2-35-2. Open 5pm-9am daily.

Serving relatively expensive German beers and decent pub grub in a cavelike basement, this branch of the Franziskaner group is worth knowing about for their late-night hours.

Nishi-Shinjuku 1-4-6, Ida Bldg B1F. Open 5pm-5am daily.

This bistrot branch of the highly regarded L'Artemis restaurant in Jingumae offers a more casual experience and convenient late-night hours. The extensive wine list starts at around Y3000; budget Y4500-7500 for dinner. This bistrot branch of the highly regarded L'Artemis restaurant in Jingumae offers a more casual experience and convenient late-night hours. The kitchen covers the standards very well - excellent grilled lamb and pork confit - but they also turn out dishes we don't often see at the typical bistrot - blood sausage served with chunks of baked apple, avocado-shrimp salad, and an eye-opening red pimento creme brulee.

The extensive wine list starts at around Y3000; budget Y4500-7500 for dinner. Tables are a bit snug, but there's no smoking, except in the tiny garden area out front. The restaurant is very popular with a young local crowd, so advance reservations are recommended. [Show more] [Show less]

Sendagaya 4-5-11, Victoria Plaza 1F. Open 5pm-1am (LO). Closed Tuesdays.

This long-established izakaya mini-chain serves excellent Kyushu cuisine and a good assortment of sake and shochu from the southern island. Especially recommended are the Kagoshima-style tonkotsu (pork and daikon stewed in shochu) and a well-balanced Nagasaki-style sara-udon with vegetables and meat served over crisp fried noodles. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Udagawacho 17-2. Open 5pm-2:30am (LO; -11pm Sat, Sun) daily.

One of Tokyo's first Australian-only wine bars, with one of the largest selections of rare and expensive wines from that country. The food is mainly Italian, and consistently good. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Shoto 1-26-22. Open 6pm-2am daily.

"Hemel Belgian Beer and Food" lives up to their name - this comfortable wood-paneled bar offers an attractive selection of Belgian and European food to go with their extensive list of over 100 beers.

Dogenzaka 2-16-8, Sakamoto Bldg B1F. Open 5pm-3am daily.

This is the original gourmet stand bar that started the trend - they serve premium sake in attractive one-cup containers along with a huge menu of well-prepared food, all at reasonable prices. There's a sit-down restaurant down in the basement if you start to get wobbly. [Go to branch review]

Shinsen 9-7. Open 5pm-3am daily.

Modern, hip chanko nabe from one of Japan's more famous retired sumo wrestlers. Budget around Y6000 at dinnertime. [Go to branch review]

Dogenzaka 1-11-3, B1F. Open 5pm-4am daily.

If you're thirsty for a cachaca cocktail in the wee hours of the night, follow the circle-stamped road past Mark City to Blen Blen Blen. This bone fide Brazilian bar, tucked into a faded white seventies-style building in Dogenzaka 1-chome, seats a maximum of thirty and stays open til 4am. If you're thirsty for a cachaca cocktail in the wee hours of the night, follow the circle-stamped road past Mark City to Blen Blen Blen. This bone fide Brazilian bar, tucked into a faded white seventies-style building in Dogenzaka 1-chome, seats a maximum of thirty and stays open til 4am.

Despite its difficult-to-find location and somewhat forbidding exterior, the space is cute and relaxed, decorated with colorful posters and knick-knacks of all sorts. The Brazilian flag hangs proudly on one wall, while shelves stacked with vinyl records stand beside the bar.

Take a seat and have a chat with Blen Blen Blen's gregarious master, Jukukuchi-san, while you snack on cocinias (Brazilian style chicken croquettes) or grilled chicken and corazon (hearts) and sip on your drink.

The Caipirinhas here are refreshingly tart, and the musical mix of Brazilian, soul, hip-hop, and R&B is fun and funky. The bar hosts DJ and movie events on weekends. [Show more] [Show less]

Dogenzaka 1-17-12, Nono Bldg 2F. Open 8pm-4am. Closed Mondays, some Sunday.

A very unpretentious, comfortably scruffy bar that looks like it's been frozen in time from the late seventies. They have a smattering of interesting beers from England, Belgium, Germany and Czech, plus lots of mixed drinks and bar foods.

Sakuragaokacho 2-9. (underneath JTB) Open 5pm-5am (1am Sundays). Open every day.

The Buri group run a couple of popular standup sake bars (Buchi in Shibuya, Buri in Ebisu), and now they've opened a standup French bistrot, with similarly inexpensive food and 100 different wines. If you get tired of standing there's also a sit-down restaurant in back; snacks up front average around Y700, with main courses in the restaurant averaging Y1500. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Shibuya 1-10-12, Miyagi Bldg 2F. Open 5pm-3am daily.

A place worth cultivating in late-night Ebisu - the staff is friendly, the hours are accommodating, the music and decor are hip, and the food can be entertaining, although it's more of a drinking spot than a full-fledged restaurant. Food includes Korean items, a big miso section, and various izakaya permutations. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Hiroo 1-33, SPC Japan Bldg. 1F. Open 6pm-3am daily.

The decor here captures the feeling of the French countryside, with mirrors everywhere, wood panels, and ducks and a deer head mounted on the walls. The restaurant is connected with Hazel Grouse Manor in eastern Hokkaido, which supplies them with fresh vegetables, seafood and wild game. The decor here captures the feeling of the French countryside, with mirrors everywhere, wood panels, and ducks and a deer head mounted on the walls. The restaurant is connected with Hazel Grouse Manor in eastern Hokkaido, which supplies them with fresh vegetables, seafood and wild game.

You'll find grouse, wild duck and other game from October through January, and Ezo venison year-round. The venison steak with mushrooms and red wine sauce is a standout, and the wild duck was a revelation - pleasantly gamey in flavor and far less fatty than expected. Recommended starters include the four-meat terrine and the foie gras pate with fig.

Wines are from Bordeaux, Burgundy, California and Chile - more than sixty wines in total, at all price ranges. Around Y8,000-10,000 for dinner with drinks. [Show more] [Show less]

Hiroo 1-10-6. Open 5pm-2am. Closed Mondays.

It's easy to appreciate the beauty of Bar Guapos, where Y1500 is enough for a glass of tinto or blanco and one or two tasty tapas. There are about fifteen Spanish wines on the drink list, plus a number of Sherries. It's easy to appreciate the beauty of Bar Guapos, where Y1500 is enough for a glass of tinto or blanco and one or two tasty tapas. A complimentary dish of grana cheese, scooped directly out of the gigantic wheel on the counter, will give you something to nibble on as your contemplate your next order. There are about fifteen Spanish wines on the drink list, plus a number of Sherries.

Check out the daily specials written on a blackboard at the back of the bar, or stick with the favorites on the regular food menu. Stuffed mushrooms arrive sizzling in their ceramic dish; adorable ham croquettes come topped with a dab of tomato sauce. Burnt-orange walls and flamenco music add to the Iberian flavor, but you don't have to habla Espanol to get a drink: the affable bartender speaks very fluent English. There are a few seats, but it's mostly standing. [Show more] [Show less]

Ebisu-Nishi 1-3-8. Open 5pm-3:30am (LO; 5-11:30pm Sun, Mon). Open every day.

This stylish little late-night stand-up bar serves a nice variety of hot and cold Spanish tapas and pinchos (small snacks on bread), along with Spanish wines. Most food items are Y250-500, with wines from Y400/glass.

Ebisu-Nishi 1-13-5. (near Ebisu Jinja) Open 5pm-5am (midnight Sundays). Open every day.

This stand-up bar specializes in one-cup sake from around the country; the selection perhaps isn't as exciting as a regular sake bar, but the food menu is good.

Ebisu-Nishi 1-14-1. Open 5pm-3am daily.

If you're in the mood for fantastic fresh fish and seafood, Ebisu Kaigan is the next best thing to an early-morning trip to Tsukiji Fish Market. Occupying a renovated old Japanese house, this cozy little restaurant (whose name means "Ebisu Beach") exudes a relaxed and homespun atmosphere. You can take your dinner at the counter downstairs while you chat with the chefs, but the second-floor tatami-mat area is even more fun - it almost feels like you're visiting friends or relatives at their beach house as you enjoy the best of the day's catch. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Ebisu-Minami 3-4-1. Open 5pm-1am (LO; -11pm weekends). Open every day.

The wide menu here covers a lot of ground, but particularly notable are the top-quality meat dishes featuring Hokkaido lamb, game birds and gourmet pork. The cozy dining room has mostly counter seating, with two small hori-kotatsu tables. Budget around Y4000.

Ebisu-Minami 1-2-8. Open 6pm-3am (LO; 10pm Sun) daily.

The impressive sake list includes a number of small-kura limited-edition seasonal sakes; there's also plenty of shochu. The food is also top-notch, with unusual specalties like satsuma-age (Kyushu-style fish cakes, here available in eight different variations). [See FULL REVIEW.]

Ebisu-Minami 2-3-14, Conze Ebisu 2F. Open 4:30pm-5am (to 10:30pm Sundays). Open every day.

A small wine bar with a limited food menu and late-night hours.

Nakano 5-36-3, Takaden Nakano Bldg B1F. Open 7pm-4am (LO) daily.

Despite the close quarters, Navel is a relaxing place to enjoy a couple of drinks and a bite to eat. Around ten wines are available by the glass (Y300-), and selections change daily. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Nakano 2-30-8, Tachikawa Bldg B1F. Open 5pm-4am daily.

A very casual local (non-standing) bar with reasonably priced wines. Most food items are priced at Y400 and come in tiny, bite-size portions.

Nakano 3-35-6. Open 5pm-3am daily.

A large, lively izakaya that occasionally hosts performances of Okinawan musicians. There's a long counter and big tatami mat area - both usually packed. The staff wear Okinawan costumes, there's non-stop Okinawan music in the air, and the counter is decorated with cans of Spam, taco sauce, and other Okinawan delicacies. The food is wonderful and fairly cheap - highlights include their goya champuru, goat soup, and the papaya pickled in miso. The drinks menu includes original awamori cocktails and Okinawan microbrew beer.

Koenji-Kita 3-2-13. (located along the shopping street on the north side of the station) Open 5pm-5am daily.

A bohemian-style cafe with music and food from Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. The menu at lunchtime is mostly Vietnamese, but there's a wider selection in the evening, including pastas.

Nishi-Ogi-Kita 3-31-5, 1F. Open 11:30am-2am (4am Fri,Sat) daily.

Spicy chicken wings and yakitori; one of four Toriyoshi branches in the neighborhood.

Kichijoji Honcho 1-14-8. Open 5pm-midnight (LO) daily.

Spicy chicken wings are the specialty, but they have every other kind of chicken dish as well, from yakitori to chicken sashimi.

Kichijoji Minamicho 1-1-10, MA Bldg. 1F. Open 5pm-2am daily.

An unpretentious basement bar stocking an excellent selection of craft beers from Japan (particularly Baird and Hitachino Nest) and around the world.

Kichijoji Minamicho 1-1-8, Keyaki Bldg B1F. Open 7pm-5am; Sat/Sun 6pm-5am daily.

A cozy, warm bar with a nice selection of Belgian beers and also several wines by the glass (surprising for a beer bar).

Matsubara 3-42-1. (30 sec. from Shimo-Takaido station) Open 6:30pm-1am (LO) daily.

A three-story Okinawan restaurant - the first floor has a noodle-shop atmosphere, with inexpensive Okinawan soba. The second floor is more of a nomiya, with some 50 different types of awamori; while the third floor is more of a Western-style bar. The same food menu is available throughout, with nicely prepared Okinawan standards.

Daizawa 5-32-7. Open 6pm-1am. Closed Mondays.

They've pulled out all the stops to recreate the feel of an open-air Italian caffe-bar here - barrel tables, chalkboard menus, old advertising posters, grafitti on the walls, hams hanging from the ceiling, with Italian radio providing the soundtrack. They've pulled out all the stops to recreate the feel of an open-air Italian caffe-bar here - barrel tables, chalkboard menus, old advertising posters, grafitti on the walls, hams hanging from the ceiling, with Italian radio providing the soundtrack.

The eight wines by the glass go well with the carpaccio of the day (served with tangy fresh rocket leaves) or the Y1000 cold-cut platter (generous portions of prosciutto, salami and speck). Other choices include grilled meats, antipasti and salads, with huge pints of Belgian Hoegaarden white beer a refreshing alternative to wine. [Lunch from 11:30am on weekends.] [Show more] [Show less]

Kitazawa 2-14-14. Open 3pm-2am (LO) daily.

This tiny, ramshackle hole-in-the-wall is a late-night Shimo-Kitazawa legend, going strong since 1974. The space behind the bar is filled with mountains of CDs and shelves of vinyl (many of them 70s UK glam rock and local Japanese bands), and the seating area is so small that you have to step outside to let other customers in and out. When you order a drink the bartender telephones the similarly dilapidated sister bar just upstairs (Trouble Peach) and they deliver. (Y400 cover charge.)

Kitazawa 2-9-18. Open 8pm-8am daily.

The Cajun dishes here (gumbo, catfish po-boys) are better than your typical late-night bar fare; the chicken stewed in beer is our favorite. Nearly everything on the menu is Y500, including cocktails.

Kitazawa 3-21-5. Open 6pm-2am (Fri, Sat -4am). Closed Wednesdays.

A friendly neighborhood hang-out with a selection of sake and a few Japanese microbrew beers, along with appetizing izakaya-style dishes.

Ikejiri 3-3-3. Open 5pm-5am daily.

A casual bar/ cafe/ restaurant with a very varied but always appealing izakaya-style menu, with dishes like beef cheeks stewed in beer, Vietnamese spring rolls, and a lavishly constructed Salad Nicoise. The drinks list is similarly eclectic, with very reasonably priced wines.

Tamagawa 3-23-24, B1F. Open 6:30pm-3am daily.

A casual bar-restaurant from the folks who brought us the original gourmet stand-bar, Buchi, and its French cousin, Bongout Noh. Drinks include wine by the glass and plenty of premium sake brands, and the food menu covers seafood, charcoal-grilled meats, tofu and vegetables, with dishes like foie gras and daikon miso dengaku (Y1400).

Aobadai 1-27-12. Open 5pm-1am daily.

Excellent charcoal-grilled meats and vegetables are served here with Korean-style sauces and side dishes. The quality of the meats is first-rate, and there are lots of grilled and stewed organ meats. Drinks include flavored Korean makkoli (sweet, cloudy sake) plus sake and shochu. The spacious counter is warm and comfortable. [Go to branch review]

Higashiyama 1-6-16. Open 6pm-2am (LO; Sundays 10pm) daily.

This stylish, modern izakaya offers an array of European and Japanese dishes - liver pate, fried oysters, braised beef cheeks - as well as the Napolitan-style pizza that has spread like wildfire across Naka-Meguro. The copper steins used to serve beer are a nice touch. Budget around Y5000 per person.

Kami-Meguro 1-14-9, ST Sakurabashi A 1F. Open 5pm-5am. Closed Mondays.

This busy shochu specialist, with room for only 25 (including the outdoor seating that spills out onto the sidewalk), features over 100 varieties, along with Kagoshima style cooking. Nibble on izakaya standards like grilled chicken and buta no kakuni, or more unusual items like chicken sashimi. Budget around Y4000.

Kami-Meguro 1-4-3. Open 6pm-1am (LO) daily.

A friendly, casual little spot with some of the better Mexican fare available in town. [See FULL REVIEW.]

Kami-Meguro 4-10-4. Open 6pm-2am. Closed Wednesdays.