German wine bar Riesling offers very affordable wines and good, solid German food. The wine list features eighteen wines by the bottle, most of them in the Y4,500-6,000 range, and seven or eight by the glass. Erdinger weissbier is their draft beer.

Among the wine-friendly snacks here, the zwiebelkuchen - a tart made with caramelized onions, bacon, cheese, eggs and cream - is highly recommended. The home-made herb sausages were also a pleasant surprise, a cut or two above the usual German sausages we've encountered in Tokyo. The tasty beer-simmered pork is a hefty portion of shoulder and belly meat, stewed with beer and assorted vegetables until very tender. We made sure to soak up every bit of the dish's gravy with the bread provided.

Other side dishes include seasonal vegetable ratatouille, Berlin-style potato salad with anchovies, and currywurst. Cheese platters are geared to either red or white wine, or you can order cheese and dried fruit individually. If you're planning a group get-together, there are a couple of special pork dishes that can be ordered in advance - Schweinshaxe (roast ham hock for 2-3 people), and Eisbein (salt-cured pig's knuckle, for 4-5 people).

The setting is very casual, and the shop has the feel of a neighborhood drinking spot, despite its location mere minutes from Shinjuku Station. Budget around Y5,000 per person for food and drink.