WW
Escape the ordinary at this happening wine bar overlooking Tokyo station

Photos Courtesy of PJ Group

With an office in the heart of Minami-Aoyama, we tend to get a little too comfortable exploring the hip hangouts nearby. But when we do venture outside our comfort zone, it’s wonderful to see how teeming our metropolis is with fantastic nightspots. A visit to wine bar WW in the Shin-Marunouchi Building was a nice reminder of all there is to discover in Tokyo.

With the recent development of Marunouchi, the area’s dining scene has been seriously rejuvenated, and a whole host of upscale and trendy restaurants and bars await the visitor. WW (for “World Wine”) sits on the sixth floor of the stunning Shin-Maru Biru, overlooking the century-old, red brick Tokyo station. We observed, after a few glasses, that the view aptly symbolizes the intersection of new technologies and old traditions that lies at the heart of the neighborhood.

A modern and chic interior make this petite bar swanky yet still very comfortable. When we paid a visit on a weeknight, WW was packed with foreign and Japanese professionals dressed in stylish suits and enjoying the electronica BGM. For a minute or two, the scene reminded us of a certain establishment at the foot of Roppongi Hills. But without the gold diggers pursuing easy targets, WW is much more relaxing than its downscale, cross-town cousin.

As the name suggests, WW offers more than 1,000 bottles of reds, whites and bubblies from across the globe. The wine list is impressive considering the size of the bar, and includes quite the range—for instance, we might get goose bumps if given the chance to open a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echézeaux Grand Cru (¥295,000).

But since that wasn’t happening, we opted for the World Wine Flight set (¥2,200), which let us choose three selections from a limited menu.

We started with a flute of Mumm Cordon Rouge champagne, and quickly proceeded to the refreshing Polz Gruner Veltliner, which complemented the vegetable tasting plate (¥2,500). This dish, from the kitchen of restaurant Salt next door, included beautifully presented items like mushroom risotto and fig caramel pie. Though we enjoyed the savory delicacies, we thought the homemade grilled beef sandwich with French fries (¥1,800) at the neighboring table looked like it would be more satisfying. After a light snack, we moved onto more full-bodied Chateau Potensac Médoc Bordeaux and called it a night.

WW makes an inviting after-work/pre-party spot for those who appreciate the finer things in life. The only drawback is the fact that it’s not in Omotesando. But we’ll be sure to visit again when we get too cozy in our hood and want to hustle out to Marunouchi.

6F Shin-Marunouchi Building, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5288-7829. Open Mon-Sat 11am-midnight, Sun & hols 11am-11pm. Nearest stn: Tokyo, Otemachi or Nijubashimae. www.pjgroup.jp

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