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Virtù

Tokyo

Franco-Japanese cocktails served with award-winning hospitality

High above the city in the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, Virtù pairs skyline views with a warmth that keeps the luxury from feeling stiff. Keith Motsi and his polyglot team bring humour and ease to a room of brass details, Art Deco flourishes and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over eastern Tokyo and the Skytree. Fluent in nine languages, the staff can guide you through the nuances of a cognac or simply let you sink into the view.

The drinks carry the same blend of polish and personality. Most of the menu mixes French spirits with Japanese produce, like the Smoked Ume Fashioned, made with homemade rye-and-brandy umeshu, Japanese whisky and hinoki bitters. A new range goes all-in on Japanese ingredients, from a garibaldi brightened with local amaro to a martini built on Japanese gin, vodka and vermouth.

A map in the menu pinpoints where ingredients come from, whether that's a small sake brewery or a local orchard. Service runs on quiet coordination, with details about guests – birthdays, anniversaries, favourite drinks – passed along invisibly so the welcome feels personal without being scripted. It's that mix of care, craft and comfort that won Virtù the Michter's Art of Hospitality Award in 2024, and that keeps it from feeling like any other luxury hotel lounge in the city.

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