7 Tales at Sosharu, bar review: Precision drinks in sexy, seedy Tokyo den

David Ellis gets a taste for sake at the hidden den underneath Jason Atherton's new restaurant
Welcome darkness: the small barspace
David Ellis @dvh_ellis27 November 2017

What they say: With no reservations necessary, this underground bar catches the hazy, debauched glamour of Tokyo after dark: a little bit seedy, a little bit sexy.

With flavours leaning beyond the usual at a London bar – think rice-washed gin, sake, infusions of sesame, snacks like tempura – it’s has all the hallmarks of an authentic Japanese hideaway, while somehow staying very London.

What we say: Below Jason Atherton's new joint Sosharu, but much easier to say when you’re sloshed, 7 Tales is a hidden den of a place, neon lights and low tables, the buzz of chatter riding the gentle slick of the hip-hop that rolls and rumbles through the night. Unlike so many bars underneath restaurants, 7 Tales doesn’t feel like a holding pen: we weren’t the only ones in who’d come just to drink.

Much of that may be to do with bartender-in-chief, Geoff Robinson, an earnest but charming Canadian, who chats away as he builds drinks, welcoming newcomers, commiserating those who have to go. His drinks are precisely made – partly that Japanese influence again, partly his history with the likes of the ECC and Happiness Forgets – and the room sits in its own happy half-light. The combination is an intoxicating one.

Precision crafted: a Nikkei Martinez

Good for: Whereas the restaurant perhaps feels a little hemmed in, and a bit too broad-shouldered and masculine, the bar is unwound and welcoming, and though not cheap – none of Atherton’s bars are – many of the drinks come in at £10, reasonable enough, just the right price to convince yourself that just once more isn’t going to do too much damage. Bring friends along and chat out the night, or sit at the bar with a date. If they're boring you, read the cartoons on the walls.

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Order: They’re keen on sake here, and who knows, you might find it’s your bag too: the Nikkei Martinez (aged sake, mosto verde pisco, black salt, flowers) certainly is persuading. Fans of rich, woody drinks will find home with the Gastown (mezcal, Fernet Branca, Cynar, maple syrup, bitters), which smells fresh and light but tastes in the opposite direction, full of a heavy sweetness, a drink to be sipped that coats the mouth. Glorious. The Champagne Papi feels pricey at £15, but benefits from decent fizz – Perrier-Jouët – and alongside the umeshu, banana, lactic sugar, it has the added novelty of being topped with something special from the bar’s very own vending machine. Japanese kitsch, but charming.

By the way: The bar snacks sit flirting on the menu’s first page and, sure enough, they prove irresistible. Wagyu salami at £4.50 is a must: the saltiness cuts the drinks, which will only make you order more, but it’s a tasty trick to fall for. We had a wagyu karaage, with lemon and salt, too, but they’ve got a chicken one that promises to be just as good. The menu (led by Alex Craciun) works nicely here, the little snacks bright and moreish.

Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis

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