Shochu Lounge

I like drinking shochu, but it's hard to find in the UK. A bottle which is typically a couple of pounds in Japan can go for as much as thirty pounds in an asian supermarket. I've been to this bar and the upstairs restaurant a few times. Roka, the restaraunt is nothing special and hideously overpriced. The Shochu lounge is quite atmospheric and if you just want a couple of plates of yakitori and a beer, it's overpriced but bearable. However, I went there last night just to have a glass of shochu. When I asked for this the waitress said "Which flavour?" Now the drink shochu is made from either barley, sweet potato or rice, each with its own distinct flavour. My surprise came when the waitress said "Rasberry or jasmine?" Er, just straight on the rocks please, I asked...To which the waitress said "We just have rasberry and jasmine." followed by "Shochu doesn't have any taste so you have to flavour it." My companion went for the jasmine, at £7 a glass! Tasted horrid. This is like going into a wine bar and being offered 'banana or avocado' wine as 'wine has no taste.' I mean, of course you can mix it, but why not be able to just drink it straight? Snooty staff who don't know what they're on about, and a bar called shochu that doesn't sell it. Decor's quite nice, but otherwise pretty naff all round.