Tachinomi Sanbun (立ち呑み 三ぶん) is a small Japanese bar on level 3 of Midtown Hibiya, a new shopping mall near the Yūrakuchō Station, Tokyo. It has a standing-only bar that can accommodate around 10 people. A good list of sakes by the cup as well as a decent range of food are available.
Chicken and Duck Talk
The sake list and the menus are only in Japanese. Our server spoken a little English. We know even less Japanese. But don’t worry, other patrons also chipped in to bridge the communication gap. And when we truly got stuck, Google Translate was your friend. As you can tell it was an impromptu social event, with some hilarious moments.
Tachinomi Sanbun 立ち呑み 三ぶん
Unlike Western style pubs which tend to be dark and sombre, this Japanese standup pub is bright and nicely decorated. With no bar stools , the elbow height bar counter is the only support. The bar patrons displayed impressive endurance. On the left end of the counter is an antique oden stove where pieces of radish and other oden items (Japanese yong tau foo?) are kept warm. A large collection of ceramic jars, sake bottles and other crockery is on display behind the counter. A very beautiful sight indeed.
We did not find much information about this unique standing only bar in Midtown Hibiya. What little we can find are as follows. It serves kappo cuisine. Seasonal food are listed on the blackboard with recommendations of the day and classic side dishes. They offer around 15 kinds of sake by the cup.
Midtown Hibiya Standing Pub
According to the Midtown Hibiya website, Tachinomi Sanbun (a standing-only pub) first opened in Higashi-Ginza several years ago. It :overturned the conventional wisdom regarding standing-only pubs, attracting great attention from the mass media and gourmets. In the 2016-2017 edition of Michelin Guide to Tokyo, Sanbun earned the rank of Bib Gourmand despite being a standing-only pub.”
It is said that tableware aficionados will be thrilled by tableware and sake cups. These include pieces made by “Rosanjin and artists designated as Living National Treasures”.
What we Ate at Tachinomi Sanbun Midtown Hibiya
The easiest thing to order was oden. We just pointed at various items on the stove.
This is a picture of our oden selection. Taste wise it is no different from oden at other Japanese places we have tried but the antique stove, the environment and the plate made it more memorable.
As for the other items, we could not make out what was written on the blackboard. Using the translation app, we could make up some raw fish items and some more exotic ones like ox-tongue. We communicated our preference for cooked food items and these were the two dishes that we ended up with.
Japanese Tapas Bar
We were expecting food similar to ‘pub food’. The fish dish (pic above) and pork dish (below) exceeded all our expectations. Using ingredients which tasted good – fresh and tasty. The fish had been fried and then served in a light broth while the pork was tender and had no porky flavour at all. It appears to have been lightly marinated.
Three cooked food dishes were sufficient for our short visit to Tachinomi Sanbun Midtown Hibiya Standing Bar. We tried three types of sake and a beer. No prices were discussed at the time of ordering. At the end the bill was just a number written on a piece of paper. I cannot remember the number exactly but it was around 8000 yen. This experience reminded us of tapas bars in Barcelona, where drinks and good food in a casual setting make a perfect combination.
Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 
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