Jason E.
Yelp
I spent an evening in Tokyo, before the pandemic hit, utterly and completely enchanted by the SG Club. Everything was perfect.
On entering, I was immediately greeted by a gentleman, whose name I regrettably cannot recall now more than a year later, who invited me to have a seat at the bar. Once seated, I was asked if I had visited before, and if I'd like to learn more about the property. Absolutely. .
The first, on entry, imagines American drinking culture as transported to Japan in its opening up in the 1860s, which is quite a story in itself. This is the bar for solo sipping, I think. I sat at the bar with a few small plates while sipping Hibiki and Yamazaki, letting the jazz music in the background whisk me away into another time and place. In a wonderful touch, the bartenders kindly serve your whisky selection alongside the bottle, to allow one to learn more, if desired. I've been to nice whisk(e)y bars before and have never had this done for me. What a nice touch.
Satisfied from a few small plates and single malts, I was guided downstairs to the second bar, a craft cocktail bar. The decor, to include the giant iron gate, can only be described by me a high-class pirate chic. I'm certain the cocktail menu changes, but on my visit I had a wonderful gimlet, and an old fashioned topped with a slice of wagyu beef. All works of art.
After finishing at the downstairs bar, I was offered the opportunity to experience the third bar. The third bar, accessed from an outside staircase, is actually a private cigar club which requires membership. I must have impressed my new friend, or it was a slow Tuesday evening in February, in any case, off we went. You enter to find a moderately sized, inviting dark room, and a kind older gentlemen at the bar, backed by a large-scale recreation of the iconic Japanese woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." As you sit at the bar, you're handed a menu of cigars and whiskies, as a record player spins original vinyl records of Cuban music. The bar is, as I recall, inspired by and in tribute to Masataka Taketsuru, the father of Japanese whiskey. I'd say this bar is an appropriate tribute. Cuban cigars accompanied by some of the finest Japanese and Scotch whisk(e)y around. Here was able to try whiskies that aren't on every liquor store shelf, the best of which was the heavily-peated Nikka Yoichi. This bar was an education in whisky, music, and relaxation.
In one evening, in one building, three unique and outstanding experiences. Beyond having good booze, there are two key reasons for the success of the SG Club -- its concept and its staff. Three bars in one building, each perfectly crafted, channeling a different vibe, offering a complete night out for one or a group. The staff, who all buy-in to the concept are not only willing, but eager to share it with you, make it complete.
It feels a little strange to dote on a business this way, but it's more than a business, it's a concept and an experience, and a perfect one at that. Go out of your way to come here. It cannot be missed.
