Winebox Barco at Ikebukuro, Tokyo

A grown-up back-alley wine bar in east Ikebukuro, with monthly glass pours and handmade Italian plates.

Winebox Barco is a wine bar tucked down a quiet back lane six minutes from Ikebukuro's east exit, far from the district's busier nightlife. As the name suggests, wine is the headline, and the owner, who tastes more than a thousand bottles a year, curates a list that keeps around a hundred bottles in stock at any time. Eight monthly-changing glasses are all priced the same, and a clever per-glass pricing scheme makes each successive pour cheaper the more you drink. The food is casual Italian and French, handmade with care and kept affordable, from an eight-kind antipasto platter to a nicoise salad, a parisienne of house-cured ham and vegetables, and an oeuf mayonnaise of boiled vegetables and soft egg. Bottles start in the low thousands, and the room takes counter seats, solo diners and private parties, with card payment accepted. Hours run late into the night, with slightly earlier starts on weekends. For grown-ups who want to savour wine without the fuss or the noise, Winebox Barco is a quietly excellent find. The relaxed, brick-walled space has earned a loyal following among local food lovers and makes a fine spot for a girls' night, a date or a solo glass. Slip in after work and let the owner steer you to a new favourite.