Hibiya Bar
The Yurakucho branch of this elusive chain is all class, all the time

Photos by Christine Engelberg

There are very few bar chains in Tokyo with over two dozen locations. There are even fewer that we’d never even heard of. (We think.)

Hibiya Bar was started as a pet project by Suntory in 1989. As its name suggests, the majority of the locations are concentrated in the business-heavy districts southeast of the Imperial Palace. But there’s also a smattering of Hibiya Bars around Yamanote line stops Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Meguro—and, from November 8, its biggest branch yet, in Tamachi. Clearly, the formula is working.

So when we learned of the existence of this under-the-radar chain through one of its bartenders, we went to see what all the under-the-radar fuss was about.

The Yurakucho branch is located in a dingy building across the street from that sparkling new fixture on the Marunouchi skyline, the towering Peninsula Hotel. But looking out from the pub’s seventh-floor location onto the street below, with the Imperial moat just visible in the distance, the exterior of the building matters little. The space is divided into a few private rooms, a long counter with barstools, and some tables and chairs by the window, which is where we sat (after a 15-minute wait on a Wednesday night).

As is customary at busy after-work bars, we were each served a small, seating charge-justifying otoshi, which in this case was a pumpkin and raisin tart (good, but hardly worth ¥840 times four). Getting down to business, we ordered a margarita (¥945), which came shaken and strong, and a delicious off-the-menu fruit drink courtesy of resident mixologist Kouhei Kinoshita (¥840), consisting of Grand Marnier, mango juice, tonic and a squeeze of lemon.

We also took a chance with an Around the World (¥945), made with gin, lime and a French crème de menthe called Get 27. The comments it prompted, after making its way Around the Table, ranged from “nice, smooth texture” to “tastes like Listerine,” which seem to contradict one another… unless you really like mouthwash.

From the food selection, the two pizzas we ordered (a basil-mozzarella for ¥989 and a mushroom-anchovy for ¥1,155) were too small and bordered on flavorless, lending more weight to our theory that pizza in Japan should be the domain of brick-oven establishments only—no exceptions.

The cheese plate (¥1,370), however, which featured deliciously creamy Camembert and blue cheese with saltine crackers, was a perfect complement to the pints of Bass Pale Ale (¥840) we were by that point working on.

With solid drinks, classy décor and attentive waitstaff, it’s obvious why Hibiya Bar’s growing army of branches have been so successful. What we still can’t seem to figure out is how they managed to avoid our detection for so long.

7F Dai-ni Hibiya Bldg, 1-6-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-3595-0170. Open daily 5pm-12:30am (LO 11pm). Nearest stn: Hibiya, exit A5. www.hibiya-bar.com

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