SHINJUKU GOLDEN GAI: Brian Bar G. with the outlawed Absinthe

After a few drinks at Terry's favorite watering hole San-Tsubo we headed into neighboring Brian Bar for some...

... yup ...

Outlawed in the USA... Absinthe~.  Was my very first time to try this... a very smooth liquorice flavored drink.  Was expecting something a bit deadly but even a sweet gal would enjoy this.

Counter seating for about 8 people... and 2nd floor has one small room that can fit about 5. 

If you have an iPhone they'll let you hook up your tunes to the system.

My pickled veggies (automatically comes out) and the Absinthe.

Looking down at the counter seating from 2F.

Definitely one of the friendlier bars and everyone inside seemed to be a regular... If you are lost in the maze that is Golden-Gai why not stop by Brian Bar?  The kicker is as with nearly all the bars in this area there is an entrance fee...1,000yen for Brian Bar but this can range from 500 - 2000yen depending on the shop.

Shop: Brian Bar - Shinjuku Golden Gai

Shop Website: http://www.apits.net/brianen.html

Hotpepper (COUPON): http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000723519/

Address J: 東京都新宿区歌舞伎町1-1-8 新宿ゴールデン街 花園一番街

Address E: Tokyo, Shinkuku-ku, Kabukicho 1-1-8
MAP:

大きな地図で見る

ROPPONGI: HAVANA Cafe. Possibly Tokyo's cheapest Happy Hour!?! 100yen Gin Tonic~?

I'm a frequent Roppongi TGIFridays for their 50% off happy hour but Havana Cafe has always been a spot I wanted to check out for Happy Hour...

And there it is!  Drinks start at only 100yen!  Wow... 

http://www.havanacafe.jp/happyhour.html

200yen Heartland draft beer... small mug but ice cold.

100yen Gin Tonic... wow... yasui~

Very long counter bar seating and lots of small tables lining the back wall.

Corona's only 300yen... thats only 50yen more than at the supermarket~.

Seems Havana serves Mexican/Cuban dishes... something I'll have to try someday.  But if you need a spot other than TGIF for a few quick cheap drinks give Havana a try... located in the shadows of Midtown Tokyo/Ritz Carton...

Happy Hour Drinks revised 2.2014!!

Shop: Havana Cafe (Roppongi)

Shop Website: http://www.havanacafe.jp/

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13007089/

Facebook: Havana Cafe FB Page

Address J: 東京都港区六本木4-12-2

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Roppongi 4-12-2
MAP:

View Larger Map

SHIBUYA: CUJORL Italian Lunch... comfy interior and excellent service.

A Lunch 1,000yen (Pasta), B Lunch 1,800 and C Lunch 2,400yen~...  great price points for lunch.

Layout of this restaurant was great... spacious counter seating and comfy table seats.  If you wander in alone the friendly staff will chat with you and make you feel at home.

We both went for the A-Lunch course that included bread, huge salad, pasta and an after lunch drink.

Don't let the pic fool ya but this salad was massive... couldn't finish it before the pasta arrived so was workin on it throughout lunch~... fresh fresh.

My friend ordered the Crab Tomato Pasta... very delicate and tasty.

I had the chicken and white radish in cream sauce... the radish was very soft and juicy.  Enjoyed this dish.

Close with Hot Tea...

and my Ice Tea...

Overall a great little spot in the back alleys of the quieter Shibuya district.  Definitely a very relaxing spot with a very attentive friendly staff.   My friend mentioned that today's menu was just regular so I assume some of the rotating lunch specials can be even better than what we had~... Looking forward to my next visit!

Shop: CUJORL or クヨール

Shop Website:  http://cujorl.jp/

Foodie Website:  http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13059677/

Facebook Fan Page: http://ja-jp.facebook.com/pages/cujorl/175743459147441

Address J: 東京都渋谷区桜丘町22-8 縣ビル １Ｆ

Address E:  Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Sakuragaokacho 22-8
MAP:

View Larger Map

SHIBUYA: URA-Cona... 500yen Pizza's and Drinks... hideaway too good to share!

After Duc and Nao's wedding reception we had to decide where to go for drinks... and right next door was "URA-CONA" !!

Me and the Skymark boys are regulars at one of the older incredibly cramped CONA's near the station but I had no idea there were more in the back streets of Shibuya...

This place was soooo nice...

Sooo many pizzas and each only 500yen...

Traditional margherita cheese pizza~...

Very tender prosciutto

Great thing about this Cona is that there is counter seating, barrels for those who want to stand and 2 private rooms in the very back that can fit 4 or 7... we were easily 10 here but very cozy.

Spicy Mexican pizza with Jalapenos and Pepperoni's!  My favorite I think.

Prosciutto with a half boiled Egg placed neatly in the center.  The tenderness of the Prosciutto was way more delicate than the usual watering hole.

All wine bottles are 2,500yen... 

Counter seating facing the Pizza chef...

Standing barrels to the left.

Unusually there were no foreigners here... guess its still too new and hidden away~.  If you need a very nice inexpensive spot to hang out with friends over an amazing selection of 500yen hand made pizza's than there is no better place than URA-Cona... give it a try, you WON"T be disappointed!

Shop: URA-Cona (Back streets of Shibuya).

Gnavi Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/ga4c900/

Tabelog Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13110653/

Address J: 東京都渋谷区円山町7-7 川路ビル 1F

Address E: Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Maruyama-cho 7-7
MAP:

View Larger Map

TAKANAWA-DAI: GyuKizoku-Takanawa-Dojo... great lunch value!

Strolling from Gotanda to Azabu-Juban and noticed a couple wander upstairs into this Korean restaurant... decided to randomly follow them in.  It was a full house on a Sunday afternoon... good sign.

Lots of choices but went for the 880yen Samgetan 1/2 Chicken Soup~... great deal!  Plus the kakuteki (spicy radish chunks) were all you can eat~.

There it is... 

Each order comes with a salad, seaweed soup, small tofu and kakuteki.

Had to get my free refill... bright red but it was fairly sweet.  Good stuff!

Towards the end I was the last customer... by now it was around 2:30pm.  Oh, that large plastic drink container is Korean barley tea... very tasty and refills for free.

Service was excellent and the waitress even see's you out the door... then waves goodbye as you walk down the stairs.  I've never been to such a polite Korean restaurant before~...

Shop: Gyu-Kizoku Takanawa-Dojo

Nearest Station: Takanawa-Dai 

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1316/A131603/13123348/

Gnavi Website:  http://r.gnavi.co.jp/gae5200/

Address J:  東京都港区高輪3-11-5 高輪ビューハイツ

Address E:  Tokyo, Minato-ku, Takanawa 3-11-5

MAP:

View Larger Map

AKASAKA: Yande-Gamu. Unusually overpriced Korean but very interesting late night crowd

Akasaka is a great spot for Korean food and of course my favorite 500yen Samugetan Lunch.  Unusually craving Korean sundubo over the normal hunt for ramen or udon~... so where to wander into in Akasaka?

At 1am we made it to a very full Yande-Gamu Korean Restaurant... 

Looking at the menu the Chige-Stew was an unusually expensive 1,300yen - 1,500yen...

Yakiniku dishes were also at a premium... hmm... I'm not so sure why.

But a look around in the restaurant we noticed the clientele was mostly Korean... and really it was very young pretty Korean girls with older Korean gentlemen eating and ordering away.  Akasaka is home to many Korean hostess bars... so it all made sense.  Most customers were expensing their dinners.

Everyone gets a few little dishes...

Spicey Tofu Chige... very tasty.

My miso Chige... also very good.  

Overall the CP (Cost Performance) of this shop is very low... I just cant justify paying more than 1,000yen for a Chige-Stew order.  An interesting evening into a world of Korean expats and their late night outings with hostesses. 

Shop: Yande-Gamu

Gnavi Website:  http://r.gnavi.co.jp/gafx200/

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130801/13102705/

Address J: 東京都港区赤坂2-13-8 ロイヤルプラザ １Ｆ

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Akasaka 2-13-8

MAP:

View Larger Map