This izakaya was hand-crafted: after traveling to Tokyo and Kyoto, perfectionists Denis Bobkov, Victoria Konyukhova, and Vitaly Bgantsov created their own version of a jazz kissa, a Japanese vinyl-listening bar, in a tiny basement alcove of a Solyanka building. Vintage Tannoy monitors hang from the ceiling. The bar menu features sake, cocktails, wine, whiskey, and umeshu. The kitchen team trained under chef Hiroki Arakawa: they turn out gyoza, oshizushi, sando, tempura and hibachi combos, koji cucumbers and French fries with nori salt; complimentary tea arrives in chawan bowls. As you enter via the Black Swan, be prepared for time to move differently in these underground corridors — especially when diggers and selectors spin rare ambient, city pop, and library music.

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• japanese
• petsallowed