Flowers for congratulations.
Last month a new bar "OFF/Bas" opened in my neighbourhood. I attended the opening party with my friends who live nearby. The general problem with Japan is that there are very few places where you can go and have a quiet drink and relax. Most people who drink do so while eating or instead they order a "nomihoudai" (all-you-can-drink session). Otherwise, "bars" tend to be expensive places where you pay for the privilege of sitting down or talking to the girl behind the counter.
The (limited) food menu.
I don't want to suggest that my friends and I are raging alcoholics. In fact, quite the opposite. We were looking forward to this bar opening so we would have somewhere close to home where we could relax over a glass of wine...without drunken salarymen or students going crazy beside us!
The (extensive) drink menu.
Traditional Japanese seating area.
Floral arrangements.
I told my friends to "act normal".
We were the first people to arrive and the two lovely staff members looked so relieved. I suppose they were nervous on "opening night". The decor is really lovely, it felt more like a cafe than a bar. The traditional seating area is a wonderful idea and looked so inviting. However, we worried that if we sat/lay down, we would never get back up! Instead we sat along the bar and chatted to the handsome staff for the evening.
Japanese bars always have a seating charge but they give you a little food to make up for it.
Kanpai!
We got some free nuts because we were sooooo cool and foreign, haha.
Everything we had was excellent - the drinks and the snacks. We considered food but thought it was a little expensive when we weren't sure about the serving size. The only disappointing part of the night was the bill - we were stuck with a 500yen seating/service charge each (on top of the customary 5% sales tax). 300yen wouldn't have been too bad but as it was, we weren't impressed. If I go in there for one drink that costs 500yen then there's no way I'm paying a bill of 1000yen.
Cafe & Bar OFF/Bas, Sendai, Japan.
So although we really liked the bar and its staff, the service charge is keeping us from going back again. It's a shame for the bar because we really wanted to give it our custom. I think it's their loss!
4 comments
Looks like a great spot - such a pity about the service charge!
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad! Can you imagine pubs in Ireland charging a fiver for the privilege of sitting down?!?!
Deletehi~thanks for your comment❤ that place looks really cozy, the service charge is really a little expensive, though. but it seems, it can't be avoided in Tokyo *sigh* - once I had to pay 700 yen extra charge at an ordinary izakaya >.<
ReplyDelete700yen at an izakaya?!?! That's crazy! I don't know why Japanese people accept things like this...but I suppose you could say that about lots of things in Japan!
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