Hinaco

Hinaco is a super tiny wine bar hidden near Yoga Station in Setagaya Ward. The atmosphere is nice and cozy. Well, it’s almost too cozy. I spend too much time here.
There are so many great things about this place, but what keeps me coming back is the owner’s amazingly warm personality. She’s absolutely one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Even if you are a tourist who just stopped by, I’m sure she will treat you like you’ve come here forever. You won’t feel isolated or lonely. She’s very welcoming, understanding, and most importantly, gives you the best wine available in the area.
Here’s how it goes. You tell her what you like (sweet, dry, red or white… etc), and she brings you exactly what you expect. Simple, right? The owner is also a great chef who makes, again, exactly what you expect. There’s no concrete menu at this bar. You tell her what you want (my typical order is «something light but not greasy that keeps me warm»), and with her playful creativity she cooks up some very interesting dishes. Most of them do not have a name. So enjoy your conversation with her (she used to live in LA so you should be able to communicate in English), or simply show some of my pictures to her and your stomach will be happy.
What a lovely, lovely, wonderful place. If you live near Yoga, congratulations! Go become a regular and have an awesome time. Their regulars are super cool, not like some Ichigensan Okotowari (Regular, recognized customers only) places. If Unilocal had more stars, I would rate this place 1 000 000 000 stars.