MARUGO II Shinjukusanchome

Came across this small, cosy wine bar after having visited Digital Art Museum (which is amazing btw). Looked busy but managed to secure a table. Lovely, knowledgeable, friendly young staff. As we were both starving we decided to order pork and lamb main course. The waiter advised us that it would ta...ke about 40 minutes, which wasnt an issue. So we decided to order a portion of pate and battered vegetables. These came at intervals that were perfectly paced to lead us up to the mains. Delicious pate served with small toast. Even more delicious battered vegetables, asparagus, cauliflower and a few other pieces that were unfamiliar but tasty. A beautiful light tempura batter...yummy. We had already finished one bottle of Minervois that we ordered a second to accompany our mains. OMFG. The most beautifully cooked piece of pork with a small, yet intense delicious sauce. The 2 pieces of Lamb Chop. OMFG. Again, beautifully cooked with another delicious, intense sauce which had an underlying mint flavour which accompanied the lamb beautifully. For dessert we ordered a portion of homemade chocolate truffles. Four small, chocolate cubes were elegantly presented on a small dish with a dusting of cocoa powder. OMFG, for something so small to punch such an intensity of flavour was amazing. Better than any petit fours we've had in more reputable establishments, so much so that we ordered another round. The reason for the 40 minute wait..? One incredibly talented young chef behind the counter. They have a good wine selection, many young guests enjoying wine together with small plates of cheese, charcuterie etc. The fact that we can distinctly remember those dishes and have difficulty remembering taste of dishes that we had 10 days before in Michelin starred restaurants speaks volumes. Can't emphasise enough how good this was, even to the point we had to have a photo with the chef, something we never do.

Visited April 2019

Noisy, crowded, ridiculous excuse of a high- end wine bar. After making our wine selection ( a $100.00 bottle of Cab. Sauvignon.which sells for $35 at my local liquor store), our waiter took away the bottle, uncorked it somewhere in the bar, and brought back four glasses of wine. Only three of us we...re having wine so we had to deal with an already poured 4th glass just sitting there. He never asked how many glasses we would need. No uncorking at the table. The bottle was uncorked and poured out of our sight. No buyer's approval of the bottle label before uncorking. A ridiculous and unprofessional approach. I have no idea who trained these servers, but they had no respect for their paying patron ( me) or the wine they served. I do not recommend this establishment to anyone.

Visited December 2015