I like this place. I think you can tell by the way I wrote it up in today's JT column.
"…when it comes to settling in for a simple session with some good, affordable wine and food to match, few can hold a candle to Fujiya Honten Grill Bar.
If the name sounds familiar, that's because it was set up by Fujiya Honten, the cult-classic standing-only wine bar close to Shibuya Station. It also shares most of the same core values: a massive selection of budget wines that cost little more than you'd pay for them retail; a total lack of pretension and wine snobbery; and not a single chair to sit on in the entire house."
I like the fact that it offers 120 wines by the bottle (and only one of them over ¥5.000), plus almost a score by the glass (from as little as ¥400); I like that it's cheap and easy-going, but still has a nice sharp look; and I like that it serves an amazing range of foods (more on that in a moment).
But first of all I just really like that it has taken over the late lamented Tsuribori shop in Sangenjaya and has kept the old building intact.
This (above) is what it looks like now; and that (right) is what it looked like before...
I also like that they've kept the old sign that used to be out front, and have it hanging over the bar (or is it a new reproduction? Hard to tell.)
Here are a few more pictures to give an idea of what it looks like inside — and the remarkable menu...
Virtually all available wall space is covered with blackboards spelling out the extensive menu...
At the heart of the kitchen is the grill, manned by head chef Daiki Shigematsu.
• “Lisbon-style” grilled sardine. A single fish lightly salted and skewered over the grill (electric — at these prices you can’t expect charcoal)...
"Served with a wedge of lime and a rosemary-infused olive oil, this was worthy of any bistro in the city."
• And how about this ankimo (monkfish liver), served on a slice of togan winter melon? At most Japanese restaurants you only get a small portion of this super-concentrated "foie gras of the ocean" but here you get the entire organ, which is larger than your fist and very rich indeed.
Bathed in a light, almost Japanese-style bouillon, this was a standout, if only because we have never before eaten so much monkish liver at a single sitting. And very nice with a glass of Yarden Red (from the Golan Heights) and a Mendoza pinot noir (Jean Bousquet Riserva).
This is what it looked like inside — very rich indeed!
• Gnocchi in a creamy sauce packed with the umami savor of semi-dried tomato and parmesan...
• This was the Caesar salad. "Served on a large wooden tray, it was made with mixed leaves rather than romaine lettuce, but it came with plenty of bacon and croutons and a generous daubing of mayonnaise. Not delicate by any means, but highly effective."
A saucer of home-made pickles; and a basket of warm bread. This is sophisticated fare for a stand bar...
• The galette de sarrasin. "A hearty buckwheat pancake topped with egg, cheese and nicely browned strips of juicy ham. This was nothing like you’d find in Brittany or the better galette restaurants of Tokyo, but nonetheless tasty and filling."
• Grilled duck with leek. The filet of grilled duck breast, seasoned with mustard, was pretty good. But the leeks were served with a sauce that was under-seasoned, overly oily and just didn't work. This was one of the few let-downs, a rare exception to the overall high quality of the food at Grill Bar.
But there's so much affordable wine, you can't really go wrong...
One last thing I like: the logo..
And here's a map link...
