BAR - Big in Japan — Restaurant in Montreal

Summary: manager, Jonathan Hopmeyer, was rude and condescending, kicked us out for complaining of badly made cocktail, then gave us a fake name when we threatened to complain.

I've never written a negative review, but I also have never been treated disgracefully by any member of the service industry. We were in the neighborhood and I wanted to take my friends in from NY to Big in Japan Bar. I ordered a perfect manhattan. It's my favourite cocktail. My manhattan was flavoured water. It was very weak, lacked taste (and alcohol). It had either been watered down with water, or the bartender may have left it too long while mixing it with ice (which is a no no).

I told the waitress that my drink was very weak, and if it had been done the "perfect" way. She said yes. I asked her if I could trade it in for a different drink. She said "let me check with the manager". I vaguely recognized him from a course at university, and likewise. I explained again what I had told the waitress, and he asked again what was wrong with the drink. I repeated it had no flavour. He started becoming defensive "well our bartenders are the best around, so I'm sure it's a good drink." I asked him if I could have a different drink instead, and he said yes, but he would have to charge me. I told him no, fine, I would drink it (In fact my friends also commented that their drinks were watered down). I told the manager that I have ordered many manhattans across town, and I've never been so disappointed. One of my friends interjected and said "You know we're going to write a Yelp review about this". He said "go ahead", instead of checking with the bartender or remaking the drink then he ROLLED his eyes, and left as we were mid-sentence. We sat finishing our drinks. We asked the waitress to please bring us our bills and asked the manager's name. She quickly left without answering. She came back with the bills, and we asked her again for the name, she said "Stanley". We paid, and the waitress returned and said "you're going to have to leave". I was flabbergasted. The manager returned and said, "you have to get out now". At that point one of my friends insisted he write his full name on a card. He resisted. He was asked again. He did. "Stan Benfiel" he wrote. As we were leaving, we spoke with the door person, very nice, and asked if the owner was there saying we had had a negative experience. He said that yes, the owner was inside. We asked to see him, at which point the manager YELLED from the other end of the corridor "GET THEM OUT!" I was so shocked. We asked the doorman if he could ask the owner to come out. I guess after seeing the manager's reaction, he appeared to backtrack saying "well, I don't know if he's there. I saw him there three hours ago..." The manager then again and YELLED again! "GET THEM OUT NOW". Like wow. Just wow. We waited outside in the hopes that the doorperson would oblige, but left when it appeared that it wouldn't happen.

I found out the manager's real name is Jonathan Hopmeyer. He had given us a fake name. Not only was he rude and condescending to customers, but he didn't have the spine to give us his real name. This has been by far the worst experience I have had at any establishment in Montreal, or anywhere else for...

Honestly, it's a bar. Just a bar.

I've been drinking in Japan, and I've been to Japan-themed establishments in other countries, and I was looking forward to this bar. But unfortunately I was sorely disappointed.

From the moment I entered, the host was quite unfriendly. He gave me an air of not wanting me there.

From the photos, the place looks like a bar, meaning very few tables and good for socializing, which was what I was looking for. It had "mood lighting", meaning dimly, but sufficiently, lit. Unfortunately the host sat me at a table in the back of the bar with literally no lighting, so I couldn't even read the menu. I turned on my phone flashlight to try to order something and was told I couldn't use that, and was instead handed a dim light to try to read the menu with. I asked for a seat at the bar, and was told I would get one when one became available, but my request was swiftly forgotten; I did not get a seat at the bar the entire visit.

The bar has a large number of Japanese whiskey bottles hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately, their selection is basic at best. They have Toki, Nikki From the Barrel, and unmarked (no year) versions of Yamazaki and Hibiki, along with a few other usual things that can be found at any Japanese themed bar or Izakaya, nothing special. The menu says to ask for the sake selection; when I did, I was told they had a Ginjo house sake, Mio, and Sayuri, the most basic of selections available at any liquor store and not worth going out for. The markup was also fairly high on these.

The cocktail menu did not read Japanese at all, it was all Negronis and Palomas and Old Fashioneds and so on. I was expecting at least a Nama Lemon Sour, maybe something Matcha-infused, something with Yuzu, I don't know. But the cocktail menu read like it could have been any British pub or street bar, nothing uniquely Japanese at all.

Aside from the 7 or 8 selections of Japanese whiskey and the "please ask" selection of extremely basic sake offerings, the entire menu was not Japanese at all. They have a whiskey selection, mostly American or Scotch, and a wine selection, mostly French; not what I was expecting from a Japanese-themed establishment.

Honestly, this place was a miss on every level. The only reason I'm giving them a 2 and not a 1 is because the decor was nice, and our waitress, despite being new and not knowledgeable, was friendly and gave decent service (between being repeatedly hounded by the host for various tasks). But if I was going for a night out with high class drinks and a good atmosphere, this would not be a place I...

A fantastic, cozy atmosphere with a pleasant soundtrack playing in the background (which was just at the right volume). The full length of the bar table (which spans throughout the entire bar) is decorated with candles, which really adds an extra dimension to the already palpable, vintage, speakeasy ambiance.

I showed up just as the bar opened up and was the first customer in. The waitress/hostess was very friendly and helpful, and recommended some of the more popular cocktails on the menu.

In regards to the entrance to the bar, please note that it has two different black doors, and one of them is permanently shut. So if you keep knocking, and no one is answering (and it won't budge if you're trying to open it), it's the wrong door. I heard some people knocking on the locked door and went out to help them find their way in.

The entrance might be hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for, but that's the purpose of the speakeasy.

Overall the service was quick and efficient. Ordering of the drinks and paying my tab was very fast, and I haven't encountered the slowness in service that the other reviewers have mentioned.

I've had the following cocktails: • Carrot me away: Amaretto, whiskey, pistachio, carrot juice. • Fleur de surreau: St-Germain, gin, sparkling wine, orange, raspberry, lemon. • Easy James: Jameson, St-Germain, lemon, apricot, chamomile.

'Easy James' was decent, 'Fleur de surreau' was great and 'Carrot me away' was exceptional. Will definitely come back to try the rest of their cocktail menu.

On the minor annoyance side, the bar uses thin, paper napkins instead of coasters, which stick to the bottom of your glass every time you want to take a sip, and that takes away from the smoothness of the experience.

Another thing that I found unfortunate, is that in this day and age, a business doesn't offer tap payments to the customers. I haven't had to use a physical card at a bar or a restaurant in the last two years (I decided to grab a physical card with me last minute before leaving home, just in case). So, make sure you bring a physical credit card or cash before you head down this mystery lane. For payments, you have an option to either open a tab or to pay for each drink separately right away.

A great place thanks to the atmosphere, service and the cocktails, but, just a few small points away from...