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When, nearly a decade after opening, Angel’s Share was overrun with first-daters, the original bartenders moved the hallowed drinks list to a diminutive, stripped-down space that, in Tokyo tradition, is discretely located down a flight of stairs. Grab one of the few wooden booths or a covered bar stool and watch as vest-wearing “bar chefs” deploy an arsenal of strainers, measuring cups, and ice cut to several shapes and sizes—ball-shaped for whiskeys and scotches, large cubes for old-fashioneds, and small pebbles for mint juleps and mojitos. (The mint for the latter is grinded in a mortar so that bits of leaf don’t end up in your teeth.) Certain favorites like the margarita are surprisingly prepared straight up in a martini glass while other more experimental cocktails incorporate Japanese ingredients like shiso-infused vodka and yuzu juice. Whether you play it safe or wild and loose, low-playing bop and dim lighting will make your love for this place supreme. — Daniel Maurer