Wine and pâté bliss at Bar & Kitchen Saburo
To paraphrase Joey from "Friends;" Wine? Good. Pâté? Good. So why wouldn't you have the two together? The repeat customers at Bar & Kitchen Saburo have worked it out, and they keep coming back. Mainly for one very specific reason: the white duck liver pâté. Baked on the premises, the pâté is a bitter-free, nearly-sweet delicacy that spreads like rich butter onto the accompanying French bread.
Makoto Shindo, the owner of Bar & Kitchen Saburo, is the man behind the dish, and with his Beckham-esque haircut (he plays soccer on Tuesdays) and a no-nonsense white T-shirt, as well as a love for R&B music (Lauryn Hill or Warren G can often be heard softly backing the customer chatter), the atmosphere is thick with a mid-1990s vibe.
Although Saburo's clientele appreciates the cultural flashback to their youth, they are there primarily for the excellent food and beverage. The drink menu consists of an extensive selection of wine, sake and shochu. Ask Shindo for a recommendation as he will use your food order as a reference point.
Saburo also offers some somewhat unusual drinks. For those who like the sweetness of umeshu but crave the alcoholic kick of imo-shochu, we recommend trying some of the ume-shochu. For a tart, citrus experience Shikuwasa sake and Yuzu sake are options to explore.
From the simple white duck liver pâté to the creative salmon, mentai and yamaimo dip, Bar & Kitchen Saburo's food menu focuses on savory ingredients perfect for a night of slow drinking.
Since last year, Shindo has offered a five-dish appetizer platter option for ¥1,500 that allows customers to choose five selections from any of the appetizers that appear on the menu. A sample appetizer platter includes pickled vegetables, tomato-miso dip, white duck liver pâté, black olive dip and potato salad. His regulars no doubt get through the long workdays with the faith that they will later be nibbling on these delicacies in one of Tokyo's finest F&B venues.
Bar & Kitchen Saburo: Hatagaya 2-49-2, Shibuya-ku, tel. intentionally unpublicized, 8pm-3am, closed Tues, cash only
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