Three of Tokyo's Can't-Miss Cocktail Bars

Bar Benfiddich (2023 World’s 50 Best Bars - No. 37)

You’ll never stumble upon Benfiddich unless you’re looking for it. Tucked up on the ninth floor off of a busy Shinjuku street is one of the best bars in the world. Even coming off the elevator, you still might not realize where this place is. Take a left and go through the tiny door. Once you’re in, it's like you’ve been transported to the secret belly of an old pirate ship captained by a man who is every bit as quirky and inventive as the drinks he’s crafting. A farmer by day and cocktail wizard by night, Hiroyasu Kayama designs your drinks to your specific preferences from ingredients that he sources from his own farm. He even distills his own absinthe from the wormwood, anise and fennel that he cultivates himself. The guy’s story is incredible, and so are the drinks he makes. How to get in? We were lucky in that a table was opening as soon as we got upstairs. There are only 18 or so seats in the bar, so you might find yourself waiting. Do your best to show up at off-peak times for the best chance to snag a seat. Once you’re in, it’s then your job to articulate to the cocktail masters the type of drink you’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to challenge them. The best drink I had there, and possibly one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had, was made from my suggestion for banana and spice. What came out was completely unexpected. He hand-mashed a banana and combined a series of exotic alcohols and chai and masala spices to make a cocktail that, to this day, I’ve been unable to properly describe.

SG Club (2023 World’s 50 Best Bars – No. 36)

Coming in one spot above Benfiddich on 2023’s 50 Best Bars List is SG Club in Shibuya. SG stands for sip and guzzle. Sip, the low-lit basement bar, and Guzzle, the more spacious saloon upstairs. I was lucky enough to snag a table at Sip as a walk-in, not even knowing at the time it was considered one of the world’s best. I was blown away by my cold soba noodle negroni, which blended the savoriness of the buckwheat noodles with the bittersweetness of your favorite negroni, all topped with a dried, crunchy nest of soba as a garnish. You don’t have to make a reservation here, but you might need to wait a while depending on how crowded it is. If you don’t have time to wait, don’t worry, you’ve got options. Bar Tram and its sister Bar Trench are within a nine-minute taxi ride from SG Club to Ebisu. These are two that ranked high on our list to try, but we couldn’t find the time.

Memento Mori

Cacao lovers? This one is for you. Memento Mori surprised us most of all. Hidden in plain sight in a fancy corporate office building up the escalator and to the right is a modern 15-seat bar specializing in artisan creations featuring Amazonian cacao. I can’t properly explain the euphoria that I experienced after trying the espresso cacao martini for the first time. Of course, basic AF Steven orders the Cacao version of an espresso martini — sue me, it was fantastic. Follow that with their signature cacao pulp fizz and cap off your experience with the cacao & pistachio negroni for the ultimate trifecta of buzz and fizz. The friends we traveled with ordered other bomb-looking drinks from here too, but I was too focused on mine to remember what they were. Pro tip? Try to get there right when they open — 2 pm on Sundays and 4 pm every other day — to guarantee yourself a spot.