Today a quick post about another Swan Lake Pub Edo in Tokyo, this time in Tamachi. The deal is pretty much the same as it is in the other Swan Lake places, I have already posted about. You can check the post on the original Pub Edo near Tokyo station here and the Yoyogi Uehara Cafe De Tete Pub Edo here. Tamachi is not an area I’m in very often so it has taken me a while to get here, but it’s finally done! Here are the details you need to know.
– Pretty small place, much more reminiscent of the Yaesu brach than the Uehara one. Found in an area of narrow streets with lots of pubs and restaurants nearby, north of Tamachi JR station. Seemed to have a mainly office worker crowd when we popped in early on a Friday evening. Lots of seats considering its small size. Apparently there is seating for 27 and this is spread between a few high tables for four and various small counters crammed into every nook and cranny. It’s an impressive feat that they could get so many seats in there. I would imagine if you are looking to visit on a Friday evening it might be worth booking in advance as it seemed quite popular.
– 18 taps of craft beer, but it’s likely that they won’t all be on. When we visited, there were a couple of guest beers on from Beer Hearn and Shiga Kogen and nine taps of Swan Lake stuff. It seems that they have five regulars on and a rotating cast of seasonals. Generally speaking, the Swan Lake beers are ¥650 for 250ml and ¥900 for 430ml. High alcohol and barrel-aged stuff is served in a smaller size (¥800 for 150ml). They also offer a tasting set for ¥1100, for which you get three 150ml glasses of your choice from their regular line up. Maybe not such an enticing offer to be honest. The prices of the guest beers are bafflingly expensive and this is something I have never quite been able to get to grips with about these places. They are ¥900 for 250ml and ¥1300 for 430ml.
– Thankfully they have a happy hour! Before 7pm on a weekday (including when they are open at lunchtime) and all day Saturday the prices are nicely discounted. The small glass is ¥500 and large ¥800, which are pretty good prices! The guest beers are ¥100 off too, bringing them a little closer to what you might play elsewhere, but still pretty expensive. If you are visiting, I would strongly suggest you do it during happy hour times and stick to the Swan Lake beers.
– Couple of other points of note. The bar is non-smoking which is nice. And there is a cover charge of ¥300 per person. However, this is not charged before 19:00 on weekdays and before 18:00 on the weekend, but you’ll pay it after those times.
A bit of a mixed bag. The prices during happy hour for their beers are pretty damn good and even when it’s not happy hour, their beers are a reasonable deal. However, the guests are crazily priced and there is that ¥300 cover charge which makes things even more expensive. If you went at 18:30 on a weekday and had a pint of Swan Lake beer you’d pay ¥800. If you went on the same day but an hour later and ordered a pint of guest beer (which are not particularly hard to find breweries and are available at plenty of Craft Beer Markets and the like), including the cover charge you would be paying double. It’s pretty hard to stomach that. But I did quite enjoy popping in at happy hour and the beer was nicer than I remember it being. Another plus point is their daytime opening, particularly on Saturday when they stay open throughout the day. During the week they close between lunch and their evening opening. As I’m not in the area particularly often, I’m not sure when I’ll be back there, but it is a nice place to grab a quick beer.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
Swan Lake
Shiga Kogen
Beer Hearn/Herun (Shimane)
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 16:00-23:30
Saturday, 12:00-22:00
Closed Sunday and holidays
Location/Map:
芝5-21-15, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-6453-7928
Links:
Facebook
Website
Twitter
Ratebeer listing
Oh dear. Looks like the lunch hours have disappeared. Opens at 16:00 each weekday. Saturday hours unchanged.
The trickiest aspect is figuring out which subway exit to use.
From the Toei Mita Line, Exit #A8, go west four blocks and turn south one block.
From the Toei Asakusa Line, Exit #A3, go northeast, turn north when you reach the Tsutaya shop, go past the site of Mizuno Kenmotsu's Residence as it jogs, and walk north one long block.