Upmarket yakitori may sound like a contradiction in terms, but Birdland approaches its vocation from the novel viewpoint that since we're no longer living in postwar Showa austerity, there's no reason we should continue to eat that way.

In moving from the other side of the Chuo Line tracks last autumn, the folks at Birdland have shed the last of their proletarian roots and begun redefining the genre. Now they have the premises to match their aspirations: contemporary yet in no way self-conscious, quiet (no music) and comfortable enough to linger while savoring yakitori that is about as good as it gets.

They are big on quality here--all the way from the farm to the table. The birds in question are shamo (bantams), reared in free-range bliss in the mountains of Ibaraki. The meat is tender, fragrant and fresh enough to eat just as is: and many people like to start their meals here with shamo sashimi, a rare delicacy perfectly complemented by a traditional shoyu-wasabi dip. An alternative opening to the evening is unconventional and entirely brilliant: Birdland prepares a chicken liver paté that is as good as any in Tokyo--and probably the only one served with French bread and shiso leaves.

There are drinks to support either choice: they stock a select list of junmaishu sake; several quality beers (including the Hokkaido-brewed Sapporo Classic, Guinness stout and Belgian Cassis lambic), as well as a dozen well-priced wines running the gamut from Veuve Cliquot and a Montrachet 1er Cru to Chile's Santa Catalina Special Reserve.

While Birdland may dally with fine foreign wines, paté and such dishes as red peppers with anchovies, the focus, in the end, has to be the charcoal grill. You can take your yakitori one or two sticks at a time; or you can order the Y2,500 kushiyaki course, which will consist of roughly the following:

Wasabi-yaki--deliciously rare morsels of shamo breast, topped with a dab of green horse-radish; liver--pungent, red and searching; kawa--the neck folds of the bird, sprinkled lightly with sun-dried sea salt; negimaki--a classic version of the favorite leek and breast meat combination; grilled ginko nuts; shiitake with sudachi citrus juice; and tsukune--three generous-sized balls of minced meat, browned crisp outside but soft, rare and juicy inside.

This is all tantalizing, five-star fare--as are the dozen or so other choices on the (Japanese language) menu. One dish, however, stands out: shamo no sansai-yaki (grilled breast of bantam with mountain herbs). A whole breast fillet, the skin scorched to the point of blackness, the interior perfectly pink and moist, basted delicately with peppery sansho before being sliced and arranged on a square, handthrown platter. This is yakitori supreme, approaching perfection.

CARI MELLO

1-8-7 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku

Tel: 5453-8518

Open: 2pm-sunset (tea time); until 11:30pm (dinner); Closed Mon.

Average check for two: Y8000

Every neighborhood needs a place like this--somewhere you can drop by for coffee or a glass of wine and some good eats; where you can get to know the patron and your fellow regulars by name; a place to slow the adrenaline down. Cari Mello promises to fulfill all of the above with enthusiasm and aplomb.

Self-styled as a yuropa no daidokuro (European kitchen), there is something here of a country taberna ambiance. Its interior is spare and uncluttered, painted a Mediterranean blend of ochre, olive and brick. There are shelves of grappa, liqueurs and minor league vintage ports, and an open kitchen that sweeps into the dining area in a stylish arc.

During the afternoon, Cari Mello plays the role of a café, with a simple menu of Spanish omelet, quiche, home-made cakes--all baked on the premises--and pots of tea and coffee. Then, with a charmingly unspecific time frame, the kitchen shifts its emphasis as dusk falls to provide more substantial fare. The evening's offerings are inscribed on a long mirror which occupies almost one entire wall.

There's a set meal of the day--sometimes featuring a fine roast lamb chop--as well as the kind of tapas-style dishes that work so well with non-vintage wine: couscous salad; garlic chicken; sardines with herbs and the like. The entire wine list consists of four adequate bottles, three French, one Spanish (they clearly don't see themselves as a "European Cellar"), but all are reasonably priced (none over Y3,500). Later in the evening, Cari Mello segues into a tranquil bar, a place for late-night conversations, a game of table football, or just listening to the whisper of the trees in nearby Yoyogi Park.

TIDBITS

PLUGGING THE DRAUGHT

Dubliners' Irish Pub: 3-28-9 Shinjuku
Tel: 3352-6606
Open: 11:30am-11:30pm; Sun. & hol. until 10pm

What the Dickens: Roob 6 Bldg, 1-13-3 Ebisu Nishi, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 3780-2099
Open: 5pm-2am, daily

The Barley Mow: 3-9 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 3443-9082
Open: 5pm-midnight; Sun. from noon, daily

The Mean Fiddler: 2-1-2 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku
Tel: 3204-2698
Open: 6pm-3am, daily

Enthusiasts for British-style draught beers have never had it so good. After years of neglect--first in favor of bland North American suds and then, in the yuppie years, of more exotic Mexican or Belgian brews--the sterling virtues of bitter, stout and amber ales are beginning to stake their claim here. Much of this new presence has been driven by a rash of new drinking holes of both English and Irish persuasions.

No sooner did Bass finally decide to introduce its famous London bitter to a select number of specialist pubs then along came Guinness, with not only "real" kegs of its eponymous stout (as opposed to its oxymoronic "canned draught" version) but also, for the first time on these shores, the super-smooth Kilkenny Red Irish Ale.

At present this latter is on tap at only one location, the new Dubliners' Irish Pub, on the second floor of the Sapporo Beer Hall in Shinjuku. In fact this creamy, connoisseurs' beer--and the smoked fish pie with soda bread that comes from the Dubliners' kitchen--are perhaps the only valid reason for visiting this bar, unless bland identikit interiors and endless U2 background music are your cup of tea.

Meanwhile, Draught Bass Ale, along with real keg Guinness, is pulling in the punters at several British pubs--most notably the excellent What the Dickens, which has taken over the top floor of the building that formerly housed Aum's Ebisu chapter--not that you'd know to look. Anyone familiar with the faux-rustic look of the Barley Mow (the prototypical English pub at the British Club) will recognize the same hand at work behind the interiors at both locations. Gary Hier designed, built and also manages What the Dickens, but where the Barley Mow fails to rise beyond the level of ersatz theme-park, his new venture works admirably--due mainly to the intriguing shape and scale of the space. Gary also cooks the food offered at What the Dickens, which consistently exceeds the standard for acceptable pub grub.

Third in our troika of notable new English pubs is The Mean Fiddler. Since receiving a Tokyo Journal recommendation in January, this converted snack bar has now also installed Bass and Guinness on tap--and is dispensing them at a prodigious rate to the thirsty expats of Takadanobaba and all points east.

Nihonshu o' the month

Tama-no-hikari, from Kyoto's Fushimi district, is one of the best-known brands of quality junmaishu sake. Less readily available, but well worth the search (and the price premium), is this 323-year-old brewery's top-of-the line Omachi-mai junmai-daiginjo. Crisp and fragrant, with hidden depths and numerous subtle undertones, but not a hint of those fermentation undertones that sometimes linger beneath the palate with lesser brews. This is the nihonshu answer to premier cru Chablis.

High Octane Veggies

The name HOF is an acronym for High Organic Foods--but the store owners here are no stoned hippies, just an organization dedicated to the principles of non-chemical farming. Even the shop is recyclable--it's that single-story prefab just down Aoyama-dori from Kinokuniya (3-11 Kita-Aoyama; 3499-5031).