Briongloid
Down some hooch at this Kagurazaka shot bar

Photos Courtesy of Briongloid

If Batman and the Joker co-owned a bar, it might look something like Briongloid. And we mean that as a compliment. Located in a quaint section of Shinjuku off Kagurazaka Dori, this so-called “shot bar” announces its presence with a cobalt front bedecked with beer signs, the Bacardi bat, and a large glass window into which is etched the bar’s mascot, a wavy-haired girl sophisticatedly pecking her cocktail.

Peering around her, you can see the place is not large. On a Friday night we were lucky to snag the last two seats in the house, which were at the bar. There are only six tables, three of which are two-seaters, but what the staff have done with the limited space is distinctive. Instead of trying to combat the area’s boundaries with tacky mirror tricks, the bar embraces its tiny size by covering the walls and ceilings with a thick, textured plaster that makes you feel as though you’ve gone underground, rather than just off the street. The space is cave-like, in a good way. It wraps itself around you a bit. It’s cozy, but certainly has its quirks.

Above each table there are hooks made of plastic fingers and, sporadically, other objects emerge from the plaster: half a miniature woman here, golden tree limbs there. The biggest seating area, a hollow for eight, has a bejeweled wall, and, in a strange twist of trompe l’oeil, the fire-engine red bathroom door swings open normally but is painted on a diagonal. When visiting, rest assured it’s not
the beers that have you seeing slant on your way to the commode.

Speaking of beer, Briongloid serves up Premium Malts for ¥500 and pints of Guinness, also on tap,
are ¥990. The pub also serves Corona (¥770) and hemp brew Cannabia (¥1,100) by the bottle, but its extensive liquor and cocktail menus far outstrip the selection of fermented hops. If in a whiskey mood, a long list of Scottish whiskies and malts are on offer, in addition to several Canadian, Japanese, Irish and American blends. Even Fighting Cock (¥770) is not excluded from the American list.

The cocktail selection matches the whiskey page for page. Later in the menu there’s a section labeled “Astrology Flower,” promising an opportunity to taste your sign. After the mix of other cocktails and beer, we shied away from the whiskey-based liquid embodiment of the Scorpio, but in retrospect wish we had tried it. What better way to know oneself?

Eventually, the need for food moved into our sign, but we chose to move on as, sadly, there’s not much to be said for the grub at this tiny shot bar. But if you’re looking to avoid the typical izakaya or the anthill atmosphere of the city’s club hubs, then Briongloid might be just what the astrologist ordered.

4-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku. Tel: 03-5227-1739. Open Mon-Fri 7pm-5am, Sat & hols 7pm-midnight, closed Sun. Nearest stn: Iidabashi. www.geocities.jp/shotbar_briongloid

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