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Bulgari Bar in Ginza, Tokyo

Bulgari Il Bar in Ginza, Tokyo

"But still, I could not help it, while leaving the Bar at Bulgari in Ginza, I thought "I am not coming back here". Why? Read on, if you like"

Yes yes... it is Ginza, the most expensive district in Tokyo, after all. And it is Bulgari… yes, I know who or what Bulgari is, I am Italian myself… and yes I know, it is located in Ginza's Bulgari Tower… and it is Bulgari's largest shop in the world… all nice things. But still, I could not help it, while leaving the Bar at Bulgari in Ginza, I thought "I am not coming back here". Why? Read on, if you like.

The Bulgari Bar (or… "Bulgari il Bar" as they call it) is a nice lounge bar. Actually it is very nice, I liked the décor, and the atmosphere reminded me of one of those late 60's movies, beautiful even though most of its guests are not so young women, and older but clearly very rich men. Next to my table a group of four Japanese women in their 50's were celebrating a birthday and exchanging pictures of their nephews… I could not help but thinking what their husbands were doing at the same time, in some other place…

Located at the 10th floor of the Bulgari Tower in Ginza, the location is so central in Tokyo that you cannot find anything else more… central. When you exit the elevator a group of very elegant waitresses welcomes you to the bar, and - if you are lucky or of course if you have a reservation - they take you to your table.

The wine list is remarkable, and remarkably expensive too (yes, I know, we are in Ginza, this is Bulgari… I know it) but it is ok, money is not everything in life, and the experience of a good glass of wine in one of the most beautiful lounge bars in Tokyo is well worth it.

Bulgari Bar in Ginza, Tokyo

Unluckily the quantity of wine they poured in our glasses was about one third (ok… maybe half, but a small half) the usual amount of wine even the most exclusive bars usually pour in your glass. It is wine, after all, not liquid gold, and Bulgari would not go bankrupt if they allowed their staff to serve a 'normal' amount of wine.

How long can (in Italy we say "un dito di vino" in English we could translate it "a drop of wine") un dito di vino last? Five minutes? Three in my case because it was the first glass of wine for that night, and the first one, in my hands, evaporates very quickly. After two minutes, when my wine was almost finished, a waitress can to our table with a huge prosciutto di Parma asking if we wanted some.

The answer was a polite no, even though the timing of this offer was starting to seem suspicious. No pretzels, no peanuts? After all it was an 'aperitivo'… but wait, the peanuts arrived just as soon as we finished our 'dito di vino', together with the cheapest question, the one I really hate to hear even in the most lousy bar in the cheapest city of the world: "another glass of wine, sir…?"

Bulgari Bar in Ginza, Tokyo

No, thank you, I will continue my aperitivo in some other place, where I do not have to listen some old ladies excited at the sight of the pictures of their nephews (I do not need to fly all the way to Tokyo to hear a conversation I could comfortably hear in some bar in Milano), and the wine is served in more reasonable amounts. The bill please...

Because this is Bulgari, and we are in Ginza, and this is the largest Bulgari store in the world… the 'Bulgari il Bar' experience cost 4000 ¥ (36 Euro or 48 USD, as you prefer). 4000 ¥ for 5 minutes at the table, 3 minutes sipping a drop of wine, one minute waiting for the bill… maybe 9 minutes in total, and I am not exaggerating. The "I am not coming back here" is understandable, after all.

Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Tokyo Restaurants
Ginza Tower
2-7-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 104-0061
+81 3 6362 0555

Alessio Cristianini - Adversus