371 (san-nana-ichi) Bar Shinjukusanchome

One of the worst customer service experiences I’ve had in Japan. My friend ordered a beer and ice cream at this bar, and while we were waiting, my husband and I arrived with ice cream we had bought at a nearby 7-Eleven. A staff member came to me and said outside food was not allowed. That rule is c...ompletely understandable and was never the problem. The problem was the employee himself. Instead of speaking politely like any normal hospitality worker would, he immediately spoke in a rude, arrogant, and confrontational way. I apologized right away and said “sorry,” clearly showing that I understood. But instead of ending the conversation there, he kept repeating himself over and over again in an aggressive tone, trying to embarrass me in front of everyone. His body language was also extremely hostile — opening his arms aggressively and acting as if he was looking for an argument rather than simply talking to a customer. Everyone around us started staring because of how uncomfortable and unnecessary the situation became. My husband then calmly told him that we had already understood and that there was no need for him to continue speaking so disrespectfully. Even then, the employee kept going and replied, “It’s my job.” No — his job is not to intimidate customers or behave aggressively toward women over something so small. Honestly, if he had spoken to the wrong person that way, the situation could easily have turned into a physical confrontation because of how provocative and hostile his attitude was. We are visitors in Japan and have experienced incredible kindness, politeness, and professionalism everywhere else. That is exactly why this employee’s behavior stood out so negatively and felt completely unacceptable. The management seriously needs to train their staff on basic manners, professionalism, and how to speak to customers without acting rude, aggressive, and disrespectful.

Visited May 2026

Nice array of both Japanese and western breakfast items, delicious coffee and in a comfortable setting with a good street view, along with top-notch service.

Visited September 2019

Big bustling place, and seems kind of related to Tokyu Stay Hotel (or maybe not, but they do offer breakfast for hotel guests). Always busy, modern and cosmopolitan-looking. Went in... as a solo diner, expecting from previous posts to be refused entry. But not so. Got a seat at the counter. Ordered ...a penne with spicy sauce and crab and glass of white wine. Wine was OK (for UK readers... this was what you would call a (very) small glass, for 800 JPY); penne with crab was OK (albeit a very tiny portion -and I am not really a big eater- for 1700 JPY). So, food and drink were OK-ish, but way too expensive for what it really was. I guess this is Tokyo Shinjuku San-Chome... Oh... service was correct. English was spoken (or at least understood). And I did not feel treated tourist-unfriendly.

Visited December 2019

Polite, helpful and welcoming staff. I had several afternoon sit down bar sessions of Japanese Whiskey. They have an English menu and are happy to help with questions about the Shinjuku night scene. Slightly more expensive but I felt welcome and they kept pouring me great whiskey.

Visited September 2018

This bar/restaurant is actually attached to the Tokyo Stay hotel where we were guests. (Breakfast is actually served there in the mornings) The "bouncer" refused us at the door telling us we needed a reservation, in an extremely rough and unfriendly way. We went back to the hotel desk, someone went... to talk to the attender, and we were allowed in. I am still not sure exactly why we were refused. The bar was not at all full. We were not dressed up but as 65 year olds, we were certainly dressed correctly. I think frankly that they only want younger wealthy chic Japanese people. In any case, we were the only foreigners there. I asked the waiter why we were refused and he simply said "you are right...you should not have been refused". The wine was excellent and the food was good enough. However, I never got over being refused at the door as "rif-raf". Perhaps they are just simply racist snobs. It haunted me into the night.....

Visited March 2018