Fort Greene

Tokyo's most multi-purpose hipster hangout, Fort Greene (which opened on February 8 in Yoyogi-Uehara) crams an impressive amount into its cosy premises. It's a snug, 10-seater eatery, but it's also a wine bar, café and vintage select shop, where you can even try out the cutlery and kitchenware before you buy it. Owner Makoto Asamoto – who's also the brains behind popular bakery Jiyugaoka Bakeshop – used to live in Brooklyn, and Fort Greene feels like the kind of place you might stumble across on a lazy day in Williamsburg. The interior is crowded with East Coast antiques and old vinyl (complete with portable record player if you want to listen to it), while the menu brazenly mixes bistro fodder (omelettes, foie gras terrine) with American comfort-food staples (meatballs, clam chowder). Asamoto spent a decade working as a sommelier before his move to NYC, and his wine list bucks the current trend for ever-cheaper bottles in favour of high-end French vintages from the '80s and '90s, sold at prices that practically force you to savour each glass.