Gen Yamamoto — Restaurant in Tokyo

Going to be quite frank. I have curated/ran a few bar programs in my tenure as a bartender and Gen’s margins are straight up fraudulent. I love Tokyo and I appreciate the local hyper-attention to detail even at a place like Suntory Eagle Lounge, which is a bit behind the times but at least they serve actual cocktails at a realistic point of value. However, my experience at Bar Gen Yamamoto put a sour taste in my mouth literally and figuratively. I don’t think anybody is going there to get drunk... but watching this dude inefficiently muddle fruit for an hour and half will inspire anyone to catch a quick black-out in Golden Gai shortly thereafter. Trust me there is a way to serve low ABV cocktails in a 6 pour tasting without causing a ruckus but these aren’t even cocktails and the so-local-it-hurts ingredient list is not worth the 2 month yakatori budget it elicits. The worst part is that Gen has the tools, ingredients and training to have the best cocktail experience/bar program in town but his Ego (which is even bigger than the NY bros who trained him) is getting in the way. I saw the con forming as soon he splashed a smidge of an unnamed wine in a Yarai (Japenese mixing glass/vessel) of OJ, which I hope was made on a blood moon eclipse from citrus picked by an acient clan of monks... because once again thats what the price tag entails. The “vibe” that all these positive ratings are portraying is laughable. If i wanted to reach a meditative state on a night out I would get drunk and go to yoga. I felt so bad for the poor soul who finally squeezed out a, “So where are you guys from?”... thats how akward this situation is! Everybody knows they’re getting robbed but can only stare it out in silence while this guy gets his daily wrist work out (from the eternity of muddling). I would honestly rather get pick pocketed on the subway (wouldn’t happen in Japan but you get the point).

Here is my solution: Gen, get over yourself and start bartending (probably calls himself an urban bar-focused horticulturist). Run the same format but have your ingredients prepared, have at least .5 oz or about 4 bar spoons of spirit in each tasting, have an element in each tasting other than juice, stop stirring citrus based cocktails..its wrong, make your drinks at very least slightly chilled (shaking would solve this) and straining would go a long way... and please play some sort of music or at the very least encourage some conversation between your excited patrons.

Other than your chakra-centering muddling I found the experience lazy and once again fraudulent. If you would like to show some actual bartending prowess I will put you up in a nice hotel in Portland and you can have a guest spot at my solid but non-pretentious bar for weekend because I know you’re better than this and I would like to see it.

Hopefully this daily fortune you’re receiving is helping you raise a family because that is the only thing that would slightly justify...

Gen Yamamoto was a very unique cocktail experience. You have the option of choosing 4, 5 or 7 courses. 7 is a cool 10,000 yen. Yamamoto-san speaks English quite well and provides a course by course description similar to dishes being brought out from the kitchen at a Michelin restaurant.

Every cocktail is prepared in plain sight as you would see at an omakase sushi restaurant. Nearly every cocktail is a blend of fruit or vegetables and one spirit. Yamamoto-san used Finnish whiskey in two of the cocktails, as well as sochu and brandy. My favorite was the tomato, lemon juice and whiskey blend. The smoky whiskey and fresh tomato juice complimented each other harmoniously. I’m trying to recreate it at home and the tomato jam seems to be the one missing element.

You need to make a reservation over the phone starting from a week out. I asked my hotel concierge to call but Yamamoto-san requested to speak with my directly since he speaks English. There were two tourists from China and one from New York. Neither party stayed for all 7 courses, so I was the last one there.

I will say that some of the reviews complaining about the lack of spirits used are valid. Yamamoto-san uses less than a shot of alcohol per cocktail so you end up getting more fruit and vegetable juice than a bonafide cocktail. That said, I still enjoyed the creativity behind each cocktail and left inspired but still needing more drinks. So I wandered into the neighborhood to find Bar Melt, which is a new bar with patrons smoking houkas but quality cocktails that have considerably more alcohol in them. Bar Centifolia is less than a block away from Bar Yamamoto but was closed that night. Tokyo Confidential is also very close by.

Here are my tasting notes in the order that they were served:

1 - Yuzu and Sochu 2 - Strawberries and Daikon / Sochu 3 - Kiwi/Marc Grappier Brandy made from Pinot noir 4 - Soy Milk / Fava Beans / Palo Single Malt Whiskey from Finland 5 - Pineapple / Japanese Whiskey 6 - 🍅 Tomato/Lemon/Tomato Jam/ Benromach Whiskey 7 - Quince / Wasabi / Kyro...

YOU WILL NOT TASTE COCKTAILS LIKE THESE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. This cocktail omakase was an incredibly unique experience and absolutely the highlight of our trip. If you’re looking for a skillfully-crafted flavor journey, THIS 👏 IS👏 IT👏!!

No old-fashioned, manhattans, or margaritas here, so this is not the place to go if you’re looking for a regular cocktail bar to get your buzz on. This is similar to an omakase/kaiseki for food where the experience is all about immersing yourself in flavors and reveling in the master’s expertise. Yamamoto-San is a master at combining and spotlighting flavors in each of his drinks. He makes each cocktail with intention, and you can certainly taste it! Whether there is coffee, Szechuan peppers or smoke in the liquor, Yamamoto-San is able to highlight those flavors while completely diminishing the astringent flavor of liquor. All the ingredients he uses are freshly juiced, none of those syrupy fruit juices that are overly sweet or tart. Some ingredients he used: peach, mango, corn, tomato, ume plum, green melon, wasabi. The drinks change depending on what is currently in season so the drinks are constantly changing. You can choose between 4, 5, 6, or 7 cocktails. If you start with less, you can always upgrade to more. I definitely recommend all 7 though! The alcohol content is minimal, so you won’t be drunk after 7.

For those who care about aesthetics, I was absolutely obsessed with each cup he used. Loved the modern, minimalist interior design as well. You can make a reservation 1 week in advance by calling. I called in on a Wednesday and got a reservation for Saturday night. He speaks English because he was a bartender in NYC area for a...