A couple of weeks ago, I accompanied a fellow writer to conduct a menu test at a recently opened eatery. She looked at the menu and knit her eyebrows together. “What am I supposed to call this? A bistro? It’s not — it’s too Japanese… There are burgers, but also, ajillo. And matcha lattes of all things?” Welcome, my friend, to a bal izakaya!
Recommended Bal Inzakaya Spots in Tokyo
What Is A “Bal”?
Bal is a recent term popularized by the owners of certain izakaya-cum-bistros. Not “bar”, nor the Spanish “baru”, but bal. This romaji-fied katakana word perfectly illustrates how these only-in-Japan “bars” differ from Western iterations.
J-Net 21, a service that guides would-be business owners, defines a “dining bar” as an eatery offering a wide range of alcoholic beverage options in addition to food. The subtypes outlined are “Western European izakaya”, “wine bar” and “shot bar”. Not that many readers would equate “shot bar” with a place for eating charcuterie, though.
Turnip and bacon aglio-olio
If you search “dining bar” and “Tokyo,” you might be surprised at the scarcity of usable listings. In fact, much like the contents of the preview menu, results from my own search lacked rhyme or reason. If you try in katakana, however, a clear pattern emerges: trendy eateries with an East-meets-West menu and an emphasis on drinks and atmosphere.
Another Japanese-only source, the celebration and gifting website Mechoo, explains the differences between French bistro and Spanish “baru,” noting that in Japan, bal (baru) has come to mean “Spanish-inspired Western Izakaya,” even though bal typically leans towards Italian or French influences.
The writers at Mechoo seem right on point, as their coverage came out in 2021 and was most recently updated in July 2023, with the uptick in bal openings.
As it stands, it seems that the bal hasn’t quite entered the expat space yet….time to change that.
Getting Girls To The Bar
Image: iStock: tky15_lenz
For those who wince at the thought of pit stains on otherwise immaculately crisp white shirts, a risk of sloshed cheap beer and free-flowing cigarette smoke in izakaya, a bal isn’t that. Nor is it a place to risk typical bar-like bothering.
Instead, most bals smack of posh, plushness and premium. Bals provide if-you-know-you-know intimacy that makes them perfect for dates or drinks with friends. The atmosphere is inviting but upscale enough to make guests feel like they’re having an evening out.
Raisin bread and sardine ajillo might sound strange, but it’s a classic bal-style invention.
Mature flavors and fashionable interiors make bals especially inviting to the working women of Tokyo. They come to rub the salonpas of camaraderie into stiff shoulders and relax into voluptuous, enveloping flavors.
If izakaya promise salarymen a second wind after a long day, bals allow trendy guests to dip their toes into gourmet with all the familiar comfort of a warm bath.
The Bal Menu
Potato salad dressed up with ikura (cod roe)
Expect bagna cauda, carpaccio with Japanese flair and plenty of cheeses. One tell-tale sign of a bal is the fruit-burrata plate, sometimes accompanied by prosciutto. All bal seem to have potato salad, but each eatery employs some special flair or signature prep method.
Bals make a point of serving bread or cracker-paired appetizers too, unlike izakaya, and typically have Western-style pickles instead of oshinko or zuke (Japanese pickles).
“Bagna Cauda” a Spanish-inspired vegetable fondue-esque appetizer
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