Fikret Can Kuşadalı
Google
Utterly Overrated – A Masterclass in Wasting Time
If you enjoy waiting in line for hours just to stand while you eat, this is your place. Ahiru Store has somehow turned basic inefficiency into a cult experience. After a painfully long wait outside, you finally squeeze into a space so cramped they couldn’t fit five stools even if they tried. “Cozy” isn’t the word — it’s claustrophobic.
Once inside, the real endurance test begins: a glass of wine might arrive after 30 minutes, food after an hour and a half (yes, even a simple hummus plate). The queue outside isn’t because the food is exceptional — it’s because everything moves at a glacial pace.
There’s no English menu, no effort to explain the dishes, and yet when they want to, they suddenly speak perfect English — usually to tell you that what you ordered isn’t available. Ordering here feels like trying to solve a riddle while someone sighs impatiently next to you.
The wine list is fine, the food acceptable, but nothing remotely worth the ordeal. The hype surrounding this place is baffling — Tokyo has hundreds of wine bars where you can actually sit, be served within the hour, and not leave wondering why you just sacrificed your evening to a concept built entirely on pretentious scarcity.
In short: Ahiru Store is not a hidden gem. It’s a hidden trap.