Today a pretty small place out in Mitaka. I think the only other time I’ve been to Mitaka was to go to Drunk Bat. Beer Pub 25 is another decent place in a neighbourhood that I’m not particularly familiar with, but which you could easily combine with Kichijoji if you were in a pub crawl kind of mood. Here are the details.
– Limited capacity but doesn’t feel in any way cramped. Seating for four at the counter and tables for maybe another ten. In the daytime it’s light and airy and there are some interesting stained glass style window pictures. I particularly liked the one in the toilet, mostly for the choice of image and the significance I gave it. The master was friendly and it seems like it would be a nice place to be a regular of if you lived in the area. There is some kind of meat leg (spoken with the authority and knowledge of a long term vegetarian…) on the counter and he seems to give small servings of this away free of charge to drinking customers. There is a small food menu available too.
– 13 taps of craft beer, split roughly 50/50 between Japanese craft and imports (mainly US when I was there). Beer is served in three sizes, in UK measures, half (284ml), 3/4 pint (426ml) and pint (568ml). The Japanese stuff was priced from ¥500-780, ¥750-1150 and ¥980-1500 respectively, so about average, but maybe a touch higher than usual. The imports were quite a bit more expensive with prices going up to ¥1180, ¥1680 and ¥2030 from small to large. The beer selection was good though, with some interesting stuff in both the domestic and import sections. There is no cover charge and tax is included in the prices mentioned above.
[UPDATE: Jan 2018. Apparently all the prices have come down a bit and the UK pint size is now a US pint size]
– Some other points of note. It’s no smoking, which for me is always welcome. Also, it’s very close to the train tracks so don’t be shocked at the light shaking of the building when trains pass. I initially thought it was an earthquake, but earthquakes thankfully aren’t as regular as Chuo line trains are, so I soon worked out my mistake.
All in all, I think it’s a nice place and if I’m in the area I would go back again. As I normally stick to domestic stuff, the prices weren’t quite so significant for me but I guess it could get expensive if you go there to drink only imports. But you do get the free meat, so if you can eat that, it balances things out a little. I guess pricing is always a difficult decision for small bars. Some go with the otoshi, some with the tax added at the end and 25 goes with slightly higher prices but them being softened by some free meat. It’s definitely the case that some places go for all of the above combined (well maybe without the free meat…). The triple whammy of a cover charge, tax added at the end to your bill and to your cover charge (!?) and high prices is an always unpleasant experience. And I can’t really get annoyed when a bar does it the 25 way. It’s certainly a lot less sneaky than any hidden charges. Here the prices are clearly displayed on the menu so you know them before you order.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
Minoh
Y Market
Ushi Tora
Coedo
Baeren
Ise Kadoya
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 18:00-03:00
Saturday, Sunday & Holidays, 15:00-03:00
Location/Map:
中町1-25-10, 2F, Musashino-shi, Tokyo
Telephone:
0422-90-2418
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