Artist Cafe, Korakuen

This sounds like a great idea - live jazz every night with stunning views from the 43rd floor of Tokyo Dome Hotel. In practice, it's a little less impressive than that...

The decor and menu are a little on the family-restaurant side. I know they'd be pizzed to read that, but it's true. The names and ingredients have aspirations, but you can tell from the surrounds, the uniforms on the waitstaff, etc., that the presentation isn't going to cut it. I only tried the ham plate and the cheese plate but...well, I could be wrong. You may find out for yourself some day.

The music is the draw (other than the view). Seriously - live jazz every night, Y500 cover charge? At higher-end venues like this (I'm thinking of Maduro, New York Bar...) the charge is Y2000 and the drinks are also 2X or more. I know, this is terribly vulgar. But the last time I went to Maduro the band and the drinks were certainly insufficient to justify the additional expense. At Artist Cafe, the band wasn't so good on the night, so I'd advise going with low expectations and also picking carefully from the schedule.

The view is definitely good though! It reminds me of the view that you get from restaurants and bars in Shiodome building tops. What's really funny is the people looking at the view - plenty of families, old couples that look like they're in from the country...classic and cute.

Go-----tta sing! Go-----ta dance!
03-5805-2243