Restaurant Review: Star Bar Ginza in Tokyo

December 20, 2009

By PAT RYAN

Service at the calm and cozy hideaway Star Bar Ginza, which opened in 2000, is friendly, but don’t be deceived: there are few bars that take their craft more seriously. You might call Hisashi Kishi, the owner (below), the Einstein of bartenders; he is the director of technical research for the Nippon Bartenders Association (he writes recipes for their official cocktail book), a former International Bar Association world champion and the youngest-ever winner of the national Scotch cocktail competition. (A former Star Bar bartender, Hidetsugu Ueno, is the international director of the bartenders association and has opened Bar High Five nearby, at 4F No. 26 Polestar Building, 7-2-14 Ginza.)

Take Mr. Kishi’s signature cocktail, the Sidecar. His method is simple yet scientific: he froths the Cognac and triple sec together to blend and soften the ingredients and elicit the aromas. Next, as Mr. Ueno described it, comes “Kishi’s own style of hard shake,” a series of short, vigorous figure-eight movements. And if you ask for ice in your cocktail, expect one large, perfectly hand-carved ice cube, crystal-clear and glossy; it chills the drink without melting too fast. (At the end of the bar, near a dry-cured leg of ham, is a magazine, published by Junpyo, the Japanese Icemakers Union, which features a photo of Mr. Kishi.)

But Mr. Kishi doesn’t just refine the classics. He will happily concoct an extempore cocktail that fits your mood — a sweet-tart drink built on fresh passion fruit perhaps? Something with a honey pomelo or a mango peach? (When translation is needed, the assistant bartender, Ito Daisuke, is quick to interpret.)

The same divine attention to detail is at the core of the edibles at Star Bar. Snacks vary nightly, but they might include swirled florets of cheese, salmon mousse on featherweight crackers or tiny salted soy nuts. A favored sliced cheese is the cow’s milk brand from Yoshida Farm in Okayama Prefecture.

Star Bar, Sankosha Building B1F, 1-5-13 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; 81-3-3535-8005; starbar.jp. Open Monday to Friday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m. to midnight. Cocktails are around 1,500 yen, or $17 at 88 yen to the dollar; food prices range from around 500 to 2,200 yen; and the cover charge is 1,000 yen a person. No reservations, and the place is seating-only.

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company