I’ve actually been trying to put together a top list of anime bars more or less since I started this blog but, these are surprisingly rare. Maybe this has to do with the fact that anime protagonists are usually too young to drink but even in grittier dramas, it’s not a location that features very prominently. How does Durarara! not have a main bar location?
On the other hand, there are tons of video game bars for some reason….
In any case it took me quite a while to compile this list and I’m not sure I would really frequent most of them. I think there’s a real imaginary market for anime speakeasies. Once I finally isekai myself into an anime world, first thing I’m doing is getting my alcohol permit. I know there’s in fact an Isekai Izakaya anime happening right now that most likely features a bar but I haven’t seen it yet…
5. Cerotto’s Bar – 91 days
Understandably, as this is a prohibition era story, actual bars will be few, but I think 91 days could have used a few more speakeasies. The one actual bar we did see more than once was Cerotto’s. As it was depressingly empty in most instances I wouldn’t exactly call it inviting and you have a 50/50 chance of getting shot while enjoying your drinks, but you know what they say…beggars can’t be choosers.
With a bit a sprucing up, maybe a coat of paint and a few less murders, I bet the place could really cheer up! As it is though, it squeaks by on the only virtue of actually being a bar. 
4. Bar Lupin – Bungo Stray Dogs
Yet another back-alley mafia bar, this one at least has that old school heavy charm of rich dark woodwork and overstuffed leather chairs. This is exactly the type of place you would expect successful mob bosses to frequent. The lights are dim, people keep to themselves, and the long, narrow layout offers few hiding spots.
Featured only in the flashback opening arc of season 2, this unassuming drinking spot offers shots in tumblers with those enormous round ice spheres that betray more profits than one would assume. I wouldn’t be surprised that some high stakes gambling is taking place in a secret back room.
Extra points for being based on an actual real life bar that looks almost exactly like the anime version and where I desperately want to go!
3. The FamiRes – Cheer Boys
One of the things I remember best about Cheer Boys is their frequent meetups at a local family restaurant. Ok so this is technically not a bar per say but it is a restaurant that serves alcohol and will apparently let you get drunk without having to order food while talking about your cheerleading team. Also – all bars should serve noodles. Like drunken soba is the BEST!
I just really love this place. If I lived close by I would be in there twice a week. There’s something just so cozy about the unpretentious family restaurant atmosphere. I’m also OK with bars the get filled with cheerleaders in general.
2. No Rest – Love is like a cocktail
This bar doesn’t in fact feature much in the anime since Sora doesn’t seem to still be working there but we do get to see it in the last few episodes and it looks nice. Not too big or crowded. It has just enough room to feel homey but not cramped. Also, there’s a sofa to sleep off any excesses of alcohol enthusiasm you may have which is always a big plus.
Most importantly though, there’s a nice bartender. There’s a certain mystique that surrounds bartending, they are part performer, part host, part mixologist and part psychologist. I must say, in my experience, bartenders have mostly been bored men and women who would quietly bring a drink and occasionally smile for tips rather than the borderline magical creatures portrayed in movies. This said, although you can have a good bar without a special bartender, a great bartender will bring it to the next level.
Sora is sweet, attentive and apparently not in any hurry to cut anyone of. What more can a girl ask for?
Honorable Mentions
The Bar From the Eccentric Family,
We see this bar a couple of times throughout season 1 and it actually looks great. Generously stocked shelves with a wide variety of alcohols, a nice tanuki bartender, happily ruckus patrons.. Thing is, no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find the name of it which leads me to believe it did not have a big impact on most viewers.
Various – Bebop
Cowboy Bebop actually features a number of bars in it’s single season but I found none of them to be present enough to get their own entry. The two I remember best are Rester House which doubled as a pleasant music venue and looked like a fun place to spend a Saturday night and Looser Bar, which has a wonderful name and is your typical hole in the wall dive bar. I know there were at least two more. Impressive for a single show.
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Crossroads – Persona 5
The crossroads in one of your job options in the game. I’m not sure if it has/will be shon at all in the anime which is why it hasn’t been included on the list but it would be if for nothing else than the wonderful owner. One of my all time favorite bosses.
Sake Lake – Natsume
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that Yokai enjoy a stiff drink. The mythical Sake Lake is mentioned several times throughout the series with a mix of wonder and awe, but we have never actually seen it and so I’m dubious about it’s existence. That doesn’t mean I’m not considering booking a flight to Japan to go look for myself.
1.Quindecim – Death Parade
Not only do you have high class uniquely crafted cocktails and every bar game ever created at your disposal, but this bar can apparently become whatever you want. Well not: YOU, anything the bartender wants.
Fact is, if I have to go, I would like to go to a bar. I would be the one guy who realizes they’re dead, shrugs their shoulders and orders another drink. They’ll have to throw me out of the place or else I am perfectly satisfied on spending eternity there.
Also, the Memento Mori seems interesting. Maybe a little too flowery for me but I’ve actually been trying out Elderflower Liqueur in cocktails and it’s often intriguing. I’m also curious about the white cranberry juice.
So there you have it. I’m not too thrilled by the fact that you could get killed by going to two of these bars and another won’t even let you in until you get killed… Help me out guys, there must be better options out there! Which is your favorite anime drinking spot?
Clearly the best drinking place is Shinji’s house. It’s where Misato piles on the beer cans like an art form, and it’s beautiful.
That or wherever the characters of Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte kara live.
you just described one of my favorite gifs
I’d post it, too, if it weren’t for these lousy comment limitations 😛
Have you seen Hinamatsuri? That one has a pretty nice bar.
I have now but I can’t wait to
Ah, a subject close to my heart and my first thought was that lovely bar in Eccentric Family. However, you left out two of my favorites! In Polar Bear Cafe, the Grizzly runs a bar called Bar The Grizzly which is frequented by animals – the “tough” guys of the animal world as suits the “biker” Grizzly character. Some of my favorite funny moments occur there.
It’s a bit iffy, but there really is what I would consider a bar in Moyashimon, which if you have not watched it, you must. I think you’ll love it. The bar is the back room of the Hiyoshi Liquor Store, so it has the added perk in my quirky mind of being something like a juke joint or speak easy in that it’s “hidden” and more or less unofficial.
I really love the atmosphere of the Bungo Stray Dogs bar, too. Very noir.
I had never heard of Polar Bear Cafe – just added it to the list! Really inexplicably excited about watching it now!
Most family restaurants in Japan allow people to order alcohol, especially the big chains that are open late or 24/7. Not that I typically see many people getting drunk there, since the booze is limited to one or two types of domestic beer and maaaybe wine if you’re lucky, and there are also much cheaper ways to get drunk if that’s what your aim is. I must admit though, it’s nice walking in to my local Coco’s or whatever and knowing that if I really wanted, I could have a nice cold beer with my meal.
That does have a certain charm to it
This list is amazing! haha My fav would def be Bar Lupin ~ i just love it when a place or a scenery is based on actual locations irl. Plus, back alley mafia bars always have the most interesting customers ^^;
You must throw some great parties!
I’m not surprised to hear people bring up Bartender. It’s the classic anime bar. Sadly, the one time I tried to watch the show, the very first shot, a loving pan over a wall full of gently lit bottles, triggered me. See, my experiences with alcohol range from neutral to terrible, so that’s sort of a sore topic for me, and I never know when something’ll be unpleasant to watch. (I found the cocktail anime terribly creepy – the first few episodes, didn’t see more – for example.)
From the above, it might seem I’ve stumbled into the wrong blog, here, but I’m actually fine with alcohol for the most part (as long as I don’t have to drink myself). It’s just that too much focus can make me uncomfortable, and even I can’t tell when that will happen. It’s probably not only treatment in the source, but also real-life mood.
I get that and I remember you mentioning it before.
I’ve said many times that the booze is more of a metaphor. As long as everyone’s having fun the booze is completely oprional.
And as I said before, it’s perfectly obvious to me how you’re using it, and if I weren’t fine with it I wouldn’t have chosen this place as one of my few regular hang-outs. (Maybe I should have shut up about it? I’m often worried about being a mood-dampener.)
Are you kidding.. I look forward to your comments, please never shut up. Besides it’s fantastic to vary the voices a bit.
There really is no bar as sacred (and unholy) as the Quindecim. And ooh, Love is like a Cocktail, plus Cheer Boys?! You’ve really broadened your scope for this one. Not sure if you’ve seen all of it, but do you remember that bar from Sailor Moon SuperS where the Amazon Trio would just complain about love, boys, and all the “hard work” they’ve been doing? What a place!
Oh i had completely forgotten that. Good pull
Quindecim and Bar Lupin are my faves! 😀 I really like the bar from the anime, Bartender. It always looked so inviting and classy.
I really need to see that show
It’s a cool little episodic serial. Has drink recipes at the end of every episode. 🙂
Have you ever seen the anime Bartender? It’s a show that literally takes place in a bar. Each episode features a different customer, and their stories being unfolded as the titular bartender breaks them down and decides what to serve them. I learned a lot about different alcoholic drinks while watching it.
No I have not! You are the third person to recommend it though and now I feel like every minute I spend not watching it, is wasted!
Sadly I’m at work – I will remedy this Bartender situation ASAP!
XD I posted my comment before backreading… Sorry!
Well, at least the heavy recommendations will lead to you checking out an awesome anime, so I’m glad to pitch in.
Oh no – I love seeing that readers agree. It gives me a much better idea. (Besides – I’m the worst at repeating everyone else’s comments – I certinly wouldn’t hold against someone)
Definitely agree with Death Parade. If I’m not wrong (yeah, thanks, MAL), there’s a relatively unknown anime called Bartender. Been on my watchlist for some time so I can’t say anything about it but it sounds like it could be a competitor.
Leap just mentionned it as well. If I can find I need to watch it
Oh, I missed that. You do get a lots of comments.
Anyway, if you ever find it, sharing some thoughts would be appreciated.
seems some obscure little website called Youtube has it….
That’s a surprise. By the way, what’s a youtube?
Not sure…just discovered it.
I was THIS close to being mad at you Irina, for not including Quindecim, but I knew you would pull through. After all, it’s a place where the drinks are to die for.
I wish the bartender was a bit more upbeat but you need to have one gripe…
I completely forgot that Death Parade had a bar. How did that happen?
PTSD?
Mine has to be Eden Hall from Bartender — mostly for the services of the titular bartender himself who’s known for making what the series calls “Glass of the Gods” (along with being, like, the best life counselor ever xD).
I should really watch that show
Haha! Jokes on you, I’m waiting till I’m legal!
…
Totally not bookmarking this to come back to when I’m 21. Totally. You can trust me~
Oh I’m totally young too – this was just theoretical…super duper young.
*Mother’s words echo in your ear*
“There are two things you should never talk about with a woman: their age and their weight.”
🤔
Edgy Anime Teen uses Escape Rope!
There’s Angel Ladder in SNAFU. Nice place in a high rise in Chiba. Very classy. That’s where Saki Kawasaki was working to earn money for cram school.
There’s several bars in Black Lagoon, but my favorite in the one they go to several times, and it gets shot up half the time, worst by the Colombian FARC lady hunting for the kid.
There’s several more bars in Cowboy Bebop. Nicely random, complete with the same three drunks outside complaining about retirement and how hard they’d worked before.
Wagnaria is a family restaurant but serves beer without limit to the hero’s older sister. She gets hammered there every time she breaks up with a boyfriend after she suplexes him.
Konosuba guild restaurant also acts as a bar, and the heroes get hammered there frequently.
Wakakozake takes place in bars, izakayas, and restaurants which serve liquor. She visits two per episode. The Drama is better than the anime, also on Crunchyroll. The restaurants are real, as is the food and the sake.
Cheers!
Oh, and Hinamatsuri has a middle school girl working as a bartender in the basement bar which is frequented by the Yakuza. Funny show.
I thought of Konosuba (and really more or less all Isekai) later. Those are all great options. I mentioned Bebop. I really did not like either Snafu or Wagnaria so I don’t naturally tend to think of those shows when putting lists together. Don’t they feature casts of minors?
SNAFU is mostly minors, but one of them gets a job bartending after she lied about her age. Wagnaria staff are half and half. Wagnaria is fun because you can play the “Is A Slayer” game with the cast.
http://yahari.wikia.com/wiki/Angel_Ladder_Cafe?file=AngelLadder.png
SNAFU’s bar was really classy af, yeah.
I understand it is based on the real bar.