Mandarin Bar

The Mandarin Bar is Mandarin Oriental’s lobby bar. The No1DP and I sat at the bar for pre and post-​dinner cocktails.
Accessing the bar can be a bit tricky as the elevator doesn’t have buttons for the odd level floors. Go up to the top level (this is also the same level as the restaurants) and descend the stairs adjacent to the entrance to Sense. The lobby bar will be underneath the stairs. For such an excellent bar my «nitpick» was going back up the stairs with heels after having a few drinks. Let’s just say that the stair handlebars were my new friends for the night.
I had to get used to the idea of people smoking at the bar premises — as I’m from CA it’s one of the few states that don’t allow smoking inside buildings.
Once you are seated you are given the menu along with a damp washcloth (Japanese custom in every restaurant/​bar). After orders are placed the complimentary munchies are senbei (rice crackers) along with seedless olives in their juices. These small olives are my gold standard for an olive and I had to be careful as to not inhale the whole bowl.
We were served by two bartenders for the evening: a Japanese woman and Frank, an expat from NY hired on as consultant for the bar. No1DP and I thought that he was also the manager. He made our experience quite memorable as not only did he make excellent drinks, he also made great conversation. He also handled the situation quite well when another customer accidentally spilled his drink on the No1DP’s jacket and shirt — he covered the cost of both of our glasses of neat bison vodka even when the bar had nothing to do with the accident. No1DP and I were very grateful of such a gesture.
Pre-​drinking consisted of a Mandarin Mojito for the No1DP (Orange Infused Potocki Vodka, Cointreau, Fresh Mint, Lemon Juice, Soda, Mint Syrup, 2100円) and an Apple Ginger Mule for me (G’vine Gin, Apple Bitter, Ginger Juice, Honey, Apple Juice from Matsuzawa farm, Nagano, 2300円). No1DP enjoyed his drink and I took a sip of his; it says a lot when I’m *not* a mojito person and I enjoyed his drink — the mint flavor is a bit subdued. My drink is an interesting take on a mule as usually apple isn’t a common flavor encountered back in the US. The cocktail was mixed well and I could make out the apple flavor. The cinnamon stick was a nice touch as not only did it impart flavor, I could also mix my drink again should it become watery. Bonus points that the mule was served in an actual copper mug.
Frank served us again for post-​dinner drinks. Knowing how much we liked our cocktails he offered to make an off-​menu drink for us. No1DP chose a slow-​sipping drink with a vodka base similar to an Old Fashioned while I chose a sweet slow-​sipping drink with a rum base incorporating Japanese ingredients. When making our drinks Frank incorporated modern interpretations of classical pre-​Prohibition cocktails. Though we don’t know what exact components were in our drinks that night we had so much fun sipping our cocktails while Frank talked to us about the history of cocktails and his experiences being a bartender and eventual owner.
This was one of the best experiences we had at a cocktail bar and my overall second favorite bar. If you know a thing or two about cocktails, please ask Frank to serve you a drink. The drinks are expensive even by my standards but *nothing* comes cheap in the Mandarin Oriental.

Classy spot. Mandarin Oriental bars always are…
The drinks were pricey @ $ 22 USD when converted, but not generally speaking. If by themselves, absolutely. But along with a jazz duo serenading the place with no cover charge? Not so much.
Very worth it.