Give Thanks to the God of Alcohol

Have you ever heard of the god of win and alcohol Bacchus? If you haven't, he is a Greek god that is often depicted with grapes and vines. This god has been seen in Tsukuba and has his own bar. His followers, Food Truck Bolilian and Kaltena, do his bidding of serving you amazing drinks and cooking up some delicious dishes to go with your drinks. Want to feel the power of this alcohol god? Then you are going to head on down Bacchus Tsukuba.

Bacchus Tsukuba

Bacchus is a new bar located in the Ninomiya area of Tsukuba. It is on Route 244, but you have to go to the small narrow street across from Route 244 where Ninomiya House is located. It is near Doho Park but a bit far from Tsukuba Station. It is a walkable distance from Tsukuba Station but not a short walkable distance. Parking is right by the entrance if you come by car like we did.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo went to Bacchus on the second day that it opened. There were flowers everywhere, the god Bacchus was on the door, and two familiar faces were behind the bar.

Inside

Everything inside the bar feels and looks brand new. Seating wise, there are high stool chairs by the bar that can seat up to six people. If you do not feel like sitting by the bar, three tables by the wall can seat up to four each. Want to just relax and have a beer? Bacchus has a small couch area at the back of the bar. Want to stand while having your beer? There is a whiskey barrel that you can use as a table. If you are into sports, Bacchus has a variety of sports playing on their TV. It was American football when we went.
My wife and I greeted the owners of the bar which are the guys who run Food Truck Bolilian and Kaltena. I have talked about Food Truck Bolilian before on this blog and commented on their amazing fries. I haven't had the chance to talk about Kaltena yet. Kaltena is a food and bar truck that has been to a lot of events in Tsukuba; Village Market, Waninaru, and even the Summer Tsukuba Festival. You might have seen Kaltena by DayzTown during the festival. Kaltena makes excellent cocktails and tasty karaage.
When I heard these two guys were going to open a bar, I wanted to go on the first day it opened. Unfortunately, I was busy on the first day it opened so my wife and I went on the second day.

The Menu

The menu is written on a huge blackboard on top of the bar. Bad news to my non-Japanese speakers, the menu is only in Japanese for now. I will try to translate the menu as best as I can.
To the right of the picture (your left) are all the Hitachi Beef dishes: Brisket style Roast Beef, Beef Carpaccio, Marbled Steak and Fries, Braised Beef Tendon with Salt.
Next to that is the rest of the food menu: Bacchus Pickles, Tsukuba Okaki (rice crackers) and Cream Cheese, Seasonal Vegetables Fried in Soy Sauce, Bolilian French Fries which come in either cream cheese and sweet chili, original chili and meat, or anchovies and bacon, Bacchus Vegetables and Cheese Fried in Beer, Fish and Chips, Shrimp Ajillo, Ibaraki Tomato Tosa Vinegar, Kaltena Salt Karaage, Tonight's Potato Salad, Mackerel and Ibaraki Vegetables with Daikon Radish and Ponzu Sauce, Fresh Tuna Yukke, Oyster Namero, Steamed Mussels in White Wine, Ibaraki Vegetables and Shrimp with Mayonnaise.
Next to that you have the Beers: Asashi, Moon Rabbit, Fresh Pop IPA, Hop Japan White, Mizuha no Me no Shizuku.
Next to that are the sours: Lemon Sour, Dry Lemon Sour, Lime Sour, Mikan Sour, Grape Sour, Grape Fruits Sour, Western Pear Sour, and Coconuts Pine Sour.
Below that are the wines: Red, White, and Sparkling
I am sorry to say that my picture cut off the whiskey and soft drinks portion of the menu. I will try to get back to you on that part. There is also a nihonshu menu that is separate and I think it is better to ask the owners about it.

My wife and I ordered a bunch of different small dishes to try and some drinks.

Bolilian's French Fries with Anchovies and Bacon

I ordered a craft beer which is pictured at the beginning of this post, Moon Rabbit. My wife was so kind to be the designated driver so she was only having soft drinks. Our first plate was an oldie but a goodie. It has been quite a while since I have had Bolilian's french fries, and I am extremely happy I can have them again. My wife wanted to try the anchovies and bacon french fries. When the fries came to our table, we were both excited. The fries are just as I remembered them, wedge style and fried to perfection. The creamy anchovy and bacon were a perfect match for my beer. I couldn't stop eating these fries and grabbing small pieces of bacon with my chopsticks. This was an amazing starter to our night and I contemplated ordering more fries. My wife stopped me and let me know that more dishes were coming.

The Tower of Potato Salad

A potato salad tower with fried pieces of meat all over it? Yes, please. This is the "Tonight's Potato Salad" menu item, meaning that the potato salad will change often. On the day we went, the potato salad was spectacular. I think the fried pieces on the potato salad were fried garlic. It was fantastic with the potato salad. When I tried the potato salad, I got all these different spices with the soft mashed potatoes and then a nice crunchy garlic surprise in the potato. It was a lot of fun to eat and again, went well with my craft beer. I can't wait to see what the boys at Bacchus will think of next when it comes to potato salad.

A Tower of Cream Cheese and Rice Crackers!?

While the owners were talking to us and explaining some things on the menu, they let us know that they had a special menu item that we should try. On the menu, it is called, "Tsukuba Okaki and Cream Cheese." My wife heard that and ordered it automatically. Then this tower of cream cheese and rice crackers came to our table and we couldn't wait to dive in. Bolilian let us know that the rice crackers are made in Tsukuba and that they just whipped some cream cheese around it.
At first, I wasn't sure if this was going to work, but after one bite out of a cream cheezy rice cracker, I had to admit that it does work and more. This was another great snack to have with a drink. Not beer, but a cocktail or maybe even wine. Getting that crunch of that salty fresh rice cracker with that cheezy flavor all around it was heavenly. I liked this tower of cream cheese and rice crackers a lot, my wife on the other hand, LOVED it. I had never seen her be so excited to be having rice crackers at a bar before. She couldn't stop having them. Almost to the point that if I didn't grab some rice crackers, they would have been all gone in an instant. I can't wait to order this tower again and neither can Mrs. Ibaraki Eats.

Beef Carpaccio

I enjoyed all the drinks and food I was ordering at Bacchus, the beef carpaccio though, was on a whole other level. When the beef carpaccio came to our table, it looked like a work of art that belonged in a museum. I was in awe of how everything was perfectly arranged. I grabbed one slice of beef covered in what I assumed was olive oil and balsamic vinegar with shredded cheese on it and slipped it into my mouth.
It has been getting cold at night recently, and just slipping into my bed under the covers and warming up is one of the best feelings I have during winter. That is the same feeling I had when I put that slice of beef in my mouth. Calling this delicious is an understatement. It is divine. I loved every part of this dish. Even the mushrooms on top of the beef by themselves were excellent. I was deeply impressed with the beef carpaccio and have been recommending it to everyone who has asked me about this bar. My wife also loved it and gave it her thumbs up of approval. Even just writing about it now makes me want to have it. I will have another beef carpaccio before this year is over. That is a promise to myself.

Thanks you Bacchus!

In all this food talk, I forgot to mention the drinks. Kaltena has been serving drinks for years in his food truck and is a master at his craft. When I ordered a drink that night at Bacchus, he came and explained to me in detail what went in it, and what liquor he used. One drink I have to talk about is the Mikan (Asian orange) Sour.
One thing about me when it comes to alcohol, I don't like gin. I hate the aftertaste of it and am not a fan. When the mikan sour came to our table, I took a sip of it and loved it. It had that strong taste of mikan with a hit of liquor that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Then Kaltena brought over the bottle of liquor he used which was mikan gin. I was in shock. This gin had no nasty aftertaste and was quite good. I loved this sour and it went well with that delicious tower of potato salad. Let it be known that if you are not sure what to order or want to know what a certain drink has, the owners of Bacchus will describe and educate you on every specific detail that is in the drink.

My wife and I had an amazing time at Bacchus and can't wait to go back. It was fun meeting up with the owners, enjoying all the food, and having some drinks while sports from my home country was playing on the TV. I will say that if you are extremely hungry, maybe eat a small meal first and then head to Bacchus. A lot of the food is on small plates and is made to go together with your drink which I greatly appreciate. So you might not leave full but then again, if you order a lot of fries and beef with beer, you might be full till tomorrow.

Bacchus, thank you so much for a great time! We are both very happy for you that you finally got to open your own bar. We hope to go again soon and just hang out and try some new drinks.
So if you are in the neighborhood of Ninomiya and would like to grab a drink, why not head over to Bacchus? Who knows, you might see us there, enjoying the beef carpaccio while ordering a new drink.
Enjoy!

For more information on Bacchus, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/bacchus_.tsukuba/

By the way, Bacchus is taking orders for their Christmas special plate. It has a lot of their beef dishes in it and more. If you want to know more about this Christmas special, check out their Instagram.