Bistro Shirube in Roppongi

When visiting Roppongi, a relatively upscale and expensive area, it is often assumed that it will be difficult to find an affordable pub. However, you can find some fun, delicious restaurants that won't cause cystitis here. One of those few is Bistro Shirube.

Shirube is a bit hard to find. It is located in a side street and there is no English signage. You'll want to take Exit 7 from Roppongi Station. Cross the street and keep going straight, when you see a parking lot on the corner with an NPC sign (as shown above), turn left. It will be on your left when you go 1 further.

It's best to arrive early or book in advance - it's a pretty popular spot. Whether you're at a counter, a personal table, or a longer canteen-like table, the seating here is horigotatsu style, where you sit at a low table with legroom deep beneath the table. There's jazz music playing and the staff is incredibly friendly and welcoming, by service standards in Japan.

The only drawback here is that like most izakayas in Japan, smoking is allowed in the house. However, because the restaurant is spacious and well ventilated - and there are very few smokers in the house, you probably won't notice the smell of tobacco.

Like most izakaya (Japanese style pubs) they have a fairly extensive menu. The offerings range from classics like mixed sashimi, potato salad and edamame to more dishes like cheese tofu, salted squid gut (shiokara) and fish kimchi. They also have a good wine selection, most averaging around ¥500 to ¥600 a drink. Shirube's English menu is properly translated. You can of course order what you like but I recommend ordering the chef's choice and letting them surprise you.

Here, even if you just want to come for a drink and not eat, Shirube will serve you an obligatory appetizer called otoshi. Think of it as a seat fee that you can't ignore. Otoshi usually have a strong flavor so they make a great snack with beer. Otoshi change daily, and if you're here with a friend sitting at the counter, they can serve you different appetizers so you can share them.

Many Shirube patrons often start with Shirube's special potato salad. An izakaya salad, potato salad comes in all shapes and sizes - chewy, smooth, boiled, maybe even drizzled with mayonnaise. Here, the mashed potato mixture is piled into a rustic potato tower, topped with pickled radishes. Another classic Japanese dish - chicken nanban, or "Southern Barbarian-style chicken", is pictured at the top of this post. It was fried chicken topped with tartar sauce, but it was replaced in Shirube. A piece of chicken with skin about half the size of a baseball; and delicious homemade tartar sauce filled with chopped hard-boiled eggs and paired with lots of mayonnaise.

Aburi shime saba, known as "spiced mackerel" on the English menu, is a dish that is also ordered by many people not only because of its delicious taste but also because of the way the fish is served. A waitress brings a plate of marinated fish in front of you, then she grills the silvery skin of the fish with a spatula, then tells you to squeeze the lime over the mackerel when it's ready. When you squeeze lemon juice on fish, she will call the whole restaurant in Japanese, “This customer here skillfully squeezed lemonade.” And then all the staff will cheer for you. Great atmosphere for a drink.

One of Shirube's specialties is oden soup. I recommend just ordering the 6 oden of the chef's choice and letting them decide what you're going to eat today. It's the perfect dish for cold weather. The oden broth was hot, clear, sweet and full of flavor from all the good things simmered in it, not greasy or greasy. Make sure you try the daikon oden here - a huge mass of radishes served with a tangle of mekabu seaweed

Open door

18:00 - 23:30 (Monday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday)

18:00 - 02:00 (Friday)

Phone  +81-50-5592-6457