Sake Lounge

Descriptive phrase: SAKE BOMBS.
Sake Lounge is a small space above Osaka House off Gilman and State. There’s an entrance on Gilman, or you can just walk through Osaka House from the front. Up the stairs you go to this hidden gem.
I’ve literally never spent more than 10 minutes here, as it’s just our destination for Sake Bombs. $ 3 for a fun and delicious treat. The bartenders are always cool about it, and often take one with us. The last time we went the whole bar of 20+ people lined up for one at once. Is it cheesy? Of course, but who cares when it’s this much fun. In, sake bomb, out.

You may have walked by the Sake Lounge without ever realizing it was there. Situated above the Sushi Hut on State, it just blends in as part of the restaurant, while the entrance is an unmarked door around the corner on Gilman.
The space is small, but clean lines and warm colors make it inviting. In addition to bar and table seating, they’ve set up a platform surrounded by screens with a long, low table and pillows for sitting. Music was by way of iPod, leading to a mix of popular indie (Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Grizzly Bear) and rap (Mystikal — «Been So Long» is the only one I can recall).
Service was slow but attentive. The staff was young, and the drinks reflected that. The Barcadi & Cokes were mostly Barcadi, and the martinis weren’t quite right. Kudos to the bartender, though, for at least trying to get it right. When mixing his first martini, he saw that there was a speck of something floating around in it. He tried fishing it out with a straw, and got it to the rim of the glass but couldn’t quite get it out. He initially went to wipe it with his finger, but thought better and stopped himself. He ended up just dumping it out and starting over for a foreign-​object-​free drink
One major downside for me is that the bathrooms are a little (OK, a lot) creepy. The bar is upstairs, and the bathrooms are in the basement and down a hallway. There’s really no one around, and the bathroom is a single-​occupancy room with no lock on the door. When I went there was a guy lurking on the landing, and I ended up getting walked in on (luckily by a friend). I’d suggest bringing a friend to guard the door.
Overall, it wasn’t the greatest, but it has potential and was a nice, quiet space to have a few drinks and chat.