01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Just a short walk from the south exit of Kinshicho Station in Kotobashi, Bar En Low opens its doors on the 2th floor of an unassuming building. It is an authentic bar dedicated to the varied world of honkaku shochu. Neatly arranged across the back bar are bottles representing distilleries throughout Japan—not only familiar sweet potato, barley, and rice varieties, but also brown sugar, Okinawan awamori, buckwheat, and specialty distillates made from chestnut or shiso. Even those unfamiliar with specific labels need only tell the bartender their preferred flavor profile or mood for the evening to receive a thoughtful recommendation served on the rocks, with water, or lengthened with soda to bring out each spirit's character.
Original Cocktails and Tea Highballs
Beyond drinking spirits neat or with straightforward mixers, Bar En Low distinguishes itself through inventive cocktail work that casts shochu in a fresh light. The list includes the crisp Ginjo Highball, combining ginjo sake-lees shochu with soda, alongside the Kikaijima Caipirinha pairing kokuto shochu with fresh lime, and the BAKUJUU Alexander, which blends barley shochu with crème de cacao and cream. The house also serves a curated range of tea highballs—such as Tom gin paired with gyokuro or whisky layered into oolong tea—as well as the Kemuri no Lemon, balanced with smoky mezcal. These house-crafted drinks offer an engaging alternative to standard serves.
Appetizers and Savory Accompaniments
Complementing the drinks is a considered selection of food designed to pair seamlessly with distilled spirits. Guests are greeted with an otoshi appetizer prepared with seasonal ingredients, a quiet touch that sets the tone for the visit. The à la carte menu features smoked assortments of duck breast, bacon, whelk, octopus, and quail eggs, alongside savory bites such as moromiso cream cheese, smoked iburigakko radish with cheese, and fragrant satsuma-age fish cakes from Kagoshima.
With a calm, understated atmosphere, the interior provides counter seating alongside box seats, accommodating solo guests in search of a quiet drink as comfortably as couples or pairs deep in conversation. The bar opens from 17:00 on weekdays and from 16:00 on Saturdays, running until 0:00 the following morning, with Sundays closed. Reservations are accepted, making it equally dependable for a deliberate first drink after work or a measured nightcap.
