Tokyo wine bars : Ahiru Store
Crowded counter at Ahiru Store (Teruhiko on right)
Shibuya, Tokyo (a last Tokyo story)
Ahiru Store is a gem of a wine bar serving food and natural wines on the outskirts of Shibuya, it’s rather on the Tomigaya side but an easy walk (see itinerary by foot) from the famed Shibuya Hachiko crossing. The business card of the place (pictured in left) which looks as if it had been drawn by the owner a few seconds before is a good omen for what it has in store...
People go to Ahiro Store for both the food and the wines, which are mostly artisan wines from France. The food is prepared on the other side of the counter where most of the patrons stand, although there are a couple of standing barrels that you use as a table when the counter is full or if you want more privacy. The wine bar/restaurant is easily full because it is one of the casual restaurants serving these wines which are increasingly popular in Tokyo. This is definitely a place to go to if you want to experience the natural-wine public here, which is more mainstream maybe than in France, and possibly younger.
I was tipped about this wine bar by Rebekah (seen on the picture above walking into the venue) who in addition to be a fine-sake specialist knows much about the wine scene in this big city. She had presented me to the founder of the place, Teruhiko Saito (picture above, on right), who was also visiting Festivin (the Tokyo natural-wine fair) a few days earlier.
Read Rebekah’s profile on Ahiro Store, written 15 months ago.
Hahiro Store is the convenient translation of the Japanese name of the place, アヒルストアの which meand “duck shop” (Ahiru is duck). I forgot to ask the founder why this name.
This remote part of Shibuya where the bar is located has nothing to do with the noisy, neon-lit streets and alleys around Hachiko crossing, it’s almost residential and very quiet. You can’t miss the place with the line of empty bottles (inspiring labels...) and the freshly-baked (home made) bread behind the window.
Rebekah at Ahiru store
Although this wine bar has become to be listed as a top destinations for wine lovers in Tokyo (see profile by Robbie Swinnerton in the Japan Times), the venue has remained what it was from the start, a non-pretentious wine bar with a top selection of artisan wines from producers/growers taking a lot of care of their vineyard.
From what I could learn while walking in the Tokyo and stumbling on bars/restaurants on the street level, many places that have the sign “wine bar” have an uninteresting wine list seemingly picked from distributors specialized in commercial wine, lots of New World wine and from what I could judge from the French labels, not worth paying what they asked, except for the pride of showing you were having this or that AOC.
Here, no concessions to the bland wines hiding behind a prestigious appellation, just real stuff made without corrections from either organic or biodynamic vineyards. When I spotted the wine on the left on the picture of the Japan Times, I understand why Puzelat-Bonhomme’s delicious cuvée Le Rouge est Mis (which I profiled on this page) is so hard to find in France, they probably grab a large part of it here...
Even Tokyo’s online guide reference Tablog, an Internet resource listing an enormous number of restaurants and bars gives a very good ranking to Ahiro Store.A local hip magazine, Brutus also praised Ahiru Store and from this point it was difficult to find a counter spot there (I’ve read that on Ichi-for-the-michi).
Our first wines at Ahiru
Rebekah settled her choice on a white and me on a red : she got a Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2011 cuvée P from the Domaine les Bois Lucas (owned by Junko Arai who is also a wine importer in Japan) and me an Arbois Uva Arbosiana 2012 from the Domaine de la Tournelle in the Jura. When Teruhiko told us what was opened I jumped for this bright red from which I remembered the vividness and fruity enjoyment. But Rebekah's choice was exciting too, especially that it probably comes from one of the parcels recently purchased by Noëlla Morantin. This Sauvignon has a bright lemon-like color and was a bit turbid, with some gaz still inside, it yielded tiny bubbles glued on the inside of the glass.
Inventive food
Rebekah ordered a few plates which allowed me to see and taste the exciting food at Ahiru Store, very colorful, healthy and salivating, you can see a few pictures on this nice post about the wine bar. We had met at 9:30 pm for this adventure and I had already eaten elsewhere (with sake...) but still could eat this good and generous food. Actually we were lucky enough to be able to get in, because the wine spot is now well known by wine lovers and it is not uncommon to have to wait in line outside. I think that Rebekah had anticipated that we'd get more chance at this later hour, than say 7pm.
The dishes are prepared just under your eyes behind the counter, by Teruhiko's sister Wakako.
Eric Pfifferling left his mark
There is a piece of white wall covered with signatures and graffiti, including this piece with picture by Eric Pfifferling, the magician behind the Rhone wines of Domaine de L'Aglore.
I don't know why I didn't shhot the other ones, there was Banzaï Ahiru Store by Christophe Pacalet in 2010 and Le vin peux changer le monde (wine can change the world) by importer Yoshio Ito, and also the words of René-Jean Dard (in 2011) : Boire un coup avec vous c'est du bonheur, je vous aime (drink with you is happiness, I love you)... There are a few other interesting drawings and comments, see on this picture.
L'Anglore "Nulle Part Ailleurs" 2011
Terrific rosé here by Eric Pfifferling, in spite of being a rosé it's not in AOC Tavel, it is a table wine (Vin de France), probably because the vineyard is planted outside the appellation zone. Again, I understand now why we don't see much of Eric's wines, they siphoon them all here...
Blackboard menu
You need to read Japanese to order, but I guess that Teruhiko or the two other people behind the counter will understand you if you speak English or French, and except for the Japanese pronounciation (which is sometimes surprising), you should recognize the vintners’ names or even cuvées you will be told about. But on the whole, just follow what the owner advises, there is little chance you get disappointed, at least it’s my feel, the available wines by the glass change daily and the guy knows what he pours.
Like I wrote on my Festivin story, Tehuriko Saito wrote recently a book on natural wine with Makoto Konno, and the book, titled Biotalk, also lists 100 of the best natural-wine producers with a short résumé. You’ll notice the duck on the cover page (Ahiru means duck in Japanese).
The bread, you can see it above, with for example French bread (all home made) 150 Y, Campagne bread at 250 Y, onion Campagne bread at 250 Y and fig bread at 350, among others.
The wines seen on the left of the board, priced per glass, cost 800 Yen to 1000 Yen (makes 5,6 € & 7,7 USD to 7 € & 9,7 USD), with also beer (1 pint 800 Y & 1/2 500 Y), cider 800 Y and Champagne 1000 Yen. Also : Calvados 900Y, Grappa 900 Y, Gerard Schueller Marc 1200 Y, desert wine 800 Y. Coffee espresso 400 Y.
The dishes & plates are in the middle : Onion cake 400 Y, potato salad 300 Y, endive & parmesan salad 900 Y, rillettes 600 Y, pork/chicken terrine 800 Y, Spanish omelette with spinach and chicken 1600 Y, fish soup 800 Y, turnip cous cous 800 Y, 3-cheese plate 1000 Y and other dishes...
A few cuvées
Here are a few bottles available at Ahiru Store, you will easily regognize the label of several of your favorite wines. The price on the bottles is the price for the whole bottle, and as you see it's often around 5000 Yen which makes 35 € or 48 USD.
A few more bottles
Smokers spot at a corner (Akihabara, if I remember)
Ahiru Store
1-19-4 Tomigaya
Shibuya, Tokyo
phone 03 5454 2146
Open mon to sat 6pm-midnight, closed sunday
Itinerary by foot from Shibuya’s Hachiko crossing
Metro/train access : Shibuya (Yamanote & other lines) or Yoyogi-koen (Chiyoda Line)
Ahiru’s Profile on Tabelog (in Japanese)