ROPPONGI: Rigoletto Bar and Grill... Watering hole that I've never blogged about~.

I've have to say Rigoletto is somewhat like CHEERS... you will always run into friends and the bartenders always remember the regulars...  Food and Drinks start at an easy 500yen.

Lots of table seating but I suggest the booths that line the kitchen.  They are set up higher so you can get a view of everything.

And meet Gen Japan's only fully bilingual cat/dogVeterinarian showing us the standing bar area.

http://www.root-vc.com/english/compliment.html

This was a Tuesday night so a bit quiet but there were a few cool people around.

Lots of great items but we normally settle for a few pizza's at the long bar counter.

Bartender Rachael... always friendly.  Staff at the bar is great.

Meet Bob... always friendly friendly.

Meet Yuki the Bar Manager... normally has a stern face but you'll occasionally see him smile.

I assume he's just waaaaay to busy with filling bar and restaurant drink/food orders.

And once in a while you'll spot alot of pretty girls.

Overall this is just a nice place to hang out with friends over 500yen bottle beers.  The is a big expat crowd but there is also a nice mix of local's who when the restaurant area is full wait here and drink until their table is open.  So you'll actually meet some very nice people who don't really have exposure to foreigners and why not try out a little Japanese on them :).  

Restaurant: Rigoletto Bar and Grill

Rigo Website:  http://www.rigoletto.jp/

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13049114/

Address J: 東京都港区六本木6-10-1 六本木ヒルズ ウエストウォーク 5F

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-10-1, Roppongi Hills West Walk 5F
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KOENJI: Captain Bacchus... 980yen All-You-Can-Drink WINE! Plus rare Spare Ribs spotting!

A friend of mine asked if I was interested in joining him for Spare Ribs and Wine... what? Spare ribs in Tokyo?  Oh yeah... i'm game!

The foodie website describes this place as an Italian Dining Bar but as soon as we entered I felt like I was back in LA... the music is full on Mexican with a hint of Country.  Just too cool.

Shop specials

I've never seen this at a non-Japanese restauranant... all you can drink Red and White wine for 980yen!  Glass wines start at 380yen and Ebisu beer for 490yen. 

First thing to greet us was 2 types of bread... and you can eat as much as you want!  Perfect for dipping :)

How great is this... water comes in a chilled glass.  Thats my Half and Half Ebisu Dark/Light beer.

Ooooohhh a must!  

Chicken gizzards in garlic olive oil

The main reason for visiting... Spare Ribs.  Juicy and tender.

All you can drink wine barrels.  Self service!

Prosciutto was a miss... a bit dry and only a few slices.

The fries here rock... chewy crispy texture.

My friend Yas who is an author focusing on Hawaii's power spots gave us some history into the Shaka or Hang Loose greeting... (In Japanese). His Blog -->  http://ameblo.jp/powerspot88/

Refill please... lots of dipping going on.

In the back there are tables for 2-6 people...

Counter seating lines the main hall of the restaurant.

And a huge sitting area... this night it was full of wifes and little children.

Overall this place was just great... Average spend according to Gnavi is 2,500yen per person. I'll definitely be back to drink more than my share of wine next time!  Service was speedy and prompt too... little hotel desk bells on the tables to call the waiters.

Shop: Captain Bacchus

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1319/A131904/13128701/

Gnavi: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/b808542/

Shop Homepage: http://www.32lime.com/shops/bacchus_koenji.html

Address J: 東京都杉並区高円寺北3-2-15 八字ビル 1F

Address E: Tokyo, Suginami-ku, Koenji-Kita 3-2-15
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SHIBUYA: (REVISITED) UraCona Pizzeria your female staff has gone downhill... how can this be?

Since my very first visit to Ura-Cona I have always raved about it to my friends and even taken a few dates there... I mean the service and quality of pizza WAS dead on the best of all the Cona's in Tokyo.  So on this day my buddy Yas (Japanese guy) had some special guests from Hawaii and he wanted to hit the place up. 

We entered about 6:45pm and picked out a bottle of wine... If you enter before 7pm you can get the 1,000yen special (drink, appetizer, pizza and no entrance charge). Yas and I went with this deal and the...

Pâté arrived within minutes of our order... 

... and so 20 30 40 minutes pass and the pizza we ordered failed to arrive.  At the time there were only 2 couples in the shop and it normally takes about 2-3 minutes to make one of these thin crust pizza's.

So asked one of the waitresses if she could check on the pizza for us... no smile, no confirmation with the chef, just full of attitude responding that we had to wait our turn... hold up... then another 10 minutes pass and we ask again... more attitude.  This type of girl is someone you rarely find in any Japanese restaurant... just extremely negative.  Her hands were badly dry with cracks covered in band-aids.  I can only assume things have not gone well for her in general.  OK! Thats my honest rant!

Yas ordered the Tuna salad... avoid this... who wants to eat canned tuna on a bed of salad?

Overall the female staff this night was just not good... the Pizza's lacked any kind of volume on their topping and the appearance/quality vs my other visits was mediocre at best.

http://tokyobelly.blogspot.jp/2011/11/shibuya-ura-cona-500yen-pizzas-and.html

I can no longer say that this is my Favorite branch of the Cona Pizzeria franchise... the new champ goes to Ikebukuro Cona with amazing service and top notch pizza's that once resided at UraCona.  Ooohhh... as I write this I am so sad... the current female staff just gets me down...  Anyways!  Perhaps in few months time the part-timer's will rotate out and this review will change.  Aloha!

Shop: Ura Cona Shibuya

Foodie Website: http://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-lu, Maruyama-Cho 7-7
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