Virtù is a handsome cocktail lounge found on the 39th floor in the luxe Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi. With an art-deco interior reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, this Paris-meets-Tokyo spot is a relative newcomer on the city’s bar scene, celebrating its first anniversary in September 2021 and launching a new menu the very next month.
For all its shiny newness, Virtù also has a strong sense of history. The bar’s entrance is via a corridor-length library lined with books on food and drink from around the world. Once you’re inside, it’s hard to know where to look first. The floor-to-ceiling windows face east, offering spectacular views over Kanda towards the Sumida River, with the Tokyo Skytree in the background.
The light fittings hang like a brass sculpture over the room and the bar itself is a sight, with its retro chequerboard-pattern feature wall and row after row of ornate bottles. If the entrance is a library, the bar is an encyclopedia. The cocktail menu (from ¥3,400) is largely a mix of French aperitifs and liqueurs with Japanese shochu and whisky.
Pair your cocktails with a selection of bar snacks, including savoury options like truffle french fries (¥3,800) and a decadent pork katsu sando (¥4,800), or sweets such as brandy ice cream (¥2,700). If you really want to explore the extensive selection of spirits at Virtù, you can even book a private room with its own separate bar and a skyline view to boot.