Gento Torigata

The Climb

A kitchen background came first. In 2011, Gento Torigata started as a chef trainee at Ginkgo in Tokyo, Japan, where the pace and discipline of line work formed the basis for his later service style. By 2013, he had moved behind the bar as bartender at Bar Aileron in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, shifting that kitchen-trained precision into drinks and direct guest service. The Singapore years broadened the scope. As head bartender and bar manager at Sugarhall and Gibson (Jigger & Pony Group), Torigata worked across both execution and floor rhythm, holding the drink program and the room at once. He then became project manager for the RTD cocktail project PONY (Jigger & Pony Group) in Singapore, a role that sat closer to planning, packaging, and the discipline required to carry cocktail work beyond the bar. London brought the next series of posts. In 2021, Torigata became head mixologist at Pantechnicon in Belgravia, London, UK, adding another city and another service context to an already multi-market career. In 2023, he joined the reopening team at Kwãnt Mayfair, London, UK, a setting that required the particular coordination of a relaunch. Since 2024, he has been owner and mixologist of Waltz and brand ambassador of Ryukyu1429, pairing independent bar ownership with a wider representative role for the spirit.

Today

Since 2025, Torigata has been owner and mixologist at his London venue. The center of that work is micro-seasonal cocktails, a method that asks for attention to detail, timing, and the narrow window when an ingredient reads at its best. On creation, he keeps the language plain: “I feel very happy when I get to create something that has been on my mind into real, actual drinks.” The line lands where good bar work usually does: in turning an internal draft into a finished drink that can be served cleanly and without fuss.

Signature

Gento's signature dishes include Topepo Pepper, Nome, Brooklyn, Tokyo, matcha Old Fashioned, and Bitter Gimley. The range moves between named house-style drinks and more familiar reference points, showing a bar language that can carry both specificity and recognizability in the same list.

In Their Words “I enjoy honing my craft, especially when it gets recognised as I take part in bartending competitions – it satisfies my desire to be creative.”

Recognition

Competition work is part of how Torigata benchmarks his bar practice. “I enjoy honing my craft, especially when it gets recognised as I take part in bartending competitions – it satisfies my desire to be creative.”