Located on the ground floor of the stylish Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon, the Gold Bar is a sophisticated haven for hotel guests and visitors to swing by. Thanks to its highly innovative cocktail menu, Gold Bar was placed top 3 in the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award for The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023.
Director of bars Hideyuki Saito and his team of bartenders created the ‘Two Faces’ themed menu featuring a variety of innovative cocktails. You’d need to experience the menu personally to understand how it works. But in a nutshell, the ‘Two Faces’ themes include ‘beauty and ugliness’, ‘light and shadow’, and ‘strength and weakness’ etc. – uniquely depicted in beautifully edgy illustrations by local female tattoo artist Haruka Sasaki. The second theme on each page is revealed when you shine a blacklight over the graphic work. The concept of the Two Faces menu represents the things in life which can only be understood by looking at both sides – and this is imaginatively brought to life via the cocktails.
For instance, ‘Two Faces of Emotion’ is inspired by Picasso’s work. When Picasso was experiencing difficulties in his life as an artist, absinthe served to a certain extent as his inspiration. Gold Bar’s team created a martini-style ‘Psychedelic’ cocktail that combines Picasso’s favourite absinthe with peach and aloe.
When the menu is illuminated with the blacklight, you will get the ‘Revolutionist’ cocktail, a combination of rum, calvados, Vermouth with citrus and beets, served with a Cubist inspired garnish (this is inspired by the period Picasso revolutionised the art world with the unveiling of cubism – his imaginative approach to representing reality).
Fascinating drinks menu aside, the bar offers a menu of small plates (think: wagyu katsu sandwich, salmon marinated in miso, and spaghetti with karasumi (bottarga)) and a vast selection of whiskies and local gins.
4 Chome-1-1 Toranomon, Minato City