Today, part three of my loose Belgian trilogy and it’s another Delirium related place. I think I mentioned in the Brasserie Muh post that I hadn’t yet been here, so given that I was kind of close, I thought I’d pop in and get it done. I was expecting great things as De Dolle is one of my favourite Belgian breweries. Was I disappointed…?
– First impressions were that this is a pretty fancy place. Typical Delirium decor, but with a lovely big terrace out front with seating for around 50 I reckon. The inside is less spacious, but there is still seating for around 30 I reckon. Toilets are outside in the office building the bar is attached to. Enjoyed sitting with my De Dolle glass looking at the big De Dolle signage. One thing I did notice though is that they seem to have changed the nose a bit on the big De Dolle logos on the front of the bar, which is a little strange. Found this slightly perturbing.
– 10 taps of Belgian beer, pretty much the same selection as the other Delirium places, except thankfully they had one De Dolle beer, Oerbier on tap, which I would say is pretty much essential if you are relying on the De Dolle branding so much to distinguish the cafe. I hope they always have at least one De Dolle on, but I’m not sure if this is the case. Beers were served pretty cold so if this upsets you, order a couple at a time and let one warm up as you drink the other. I recently discovered that all the Delirium places’ taplists are online here. Although at the moment this does not include Oerbier Man unfortunately. If it does in the future, it would definitely affect how often I might go here.
– Generally speaking, beers are served in 250ml glasses ranging from ¥590 to ¥790. So far, so normal for Delirium places. The De Dolle beer was significantly more expensive. ¥1100, but it was 330ml. Given that you don’t see this on tap so often, I think it’s a reasonable price. Think the same beer in bottle was a little more expensive. No cover charge before 17:00, but after that time it’s ¥300. Tax is added on at the end.
– Daytime opening!! But in the middle of the afternoon I was the only person drinking beer. Seems like it’s a popular spot for people to relax and have a coffee or soft drink. Guess it becomes more beery and foody in the evening.
So, mixed feelings. It’s a nice place and if they always have a De Dolle on, I’ll be here fairly often in the afternoon. But I think they might be overselling the De Dolle thing. The St. Bernardus cafe does a good job of having St. Bernardus stuff on offer but in my opinion with Oerbier Man, one tap does not justify the hype. (And the logo has got the nose wrong. I have a theory why they might have done this). If you ignore the branding and treat it as another Delirium branch, it’s pretty much what you would expect, a Belgian bar with some great beers and some nasty ones at not too bad prices, but not really cheap enough to be a regular stop. Let’s see how things are looking in a year or so.
Japanese breweries recently seen on tap:
None
Opening Hours:
Sunday-Tuesday, 11:00-23:00
Wednesday-Saturday, 11:00-00:00
Location/map:
外神田 4-14-1, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-3526-2321