Today we’re in a new neighbourhood for Tokyo Beer Drinker and we’re at another shopping centre food court beer bar. I always say that the thought of this in the UK where I’m from wouldn’t inspire a great deal of confidence, but the truth is food courts are a much more pleasant experience in Japan than some might expect. Judging by the clientele when we visited, Craft and Farmers seems to be most popular with the locals for its food, which I have to admit was pretty nice. There is a focus on organic food and this seems to be something of a trend recently. We visited late on a Sunday afternoon and there place was pretty busy, with not many free tables and a good turnover of customers. Anyway, here’s what you need to know.
- Located on the 5th floor of the MyLord shopping complex next to Shinyurigaoka station on the Odakyu line. Small counter for five or six and quite a lot of tables. I’d say it probably seats about 50. There was also a big nice looking patio/terrace, but to be honest it’s probably still a little early in the year for that to be a massive draw right now. Very big salad bowls, nice pasta dishes and other food which included some of the more usual pub type side dishes.
- Ten taps but one of them was Carlsberg… The other nine were all Japanese craft breweries with a heavy reliance on Yokohama Brewery. There were also a couple of tap of Kyoto Brewing though, and both were pretty rare beers at decent prices. Beer served in two sizes, the usual glass (265ml) and pint (473ml). Prices ranged from ¥770-¥800 for the former and the pints were ¥350 extra across the board, so therefore ¥1120-¥1150. Tax is added later though so there’s a little more to pay when the bill comes. Even so, the prices seemed pretty reasonable, particularly if you find and focus on what are usually the pricier breweries. Honestly the Kyoto beers were a steal I thought. And there should always be some of them on as it seems to be a Kyoto permanent tap place. They also do a flight of 3 x 130ml for ¥1280 and a two hour all you drink plan for ¥3500 plus tax. And in the unlikely event that you might want 1300ml of Kyoto’s 13% imperial stout you can also get any beer in a MEGA pint size for ¥3000. Probably had better have a lie down after that to be honest.
- No smoking, as it’s in a shopping centre food court. Day time opening, as it’s in a shopping centre food court. WiFi, as it’s in a shopping centre food court. And no cover charge.
To be honest, this was quite a pleasant surprise. Perhaps if they hadn’t had the Kyoto beers on I might have felt a bit different about the selection and the pricing, but it was a fun experience to visit here. They don’t seem to ever really update their social media, so you might be taking a bit of a beer gamble by visiting, but given that it’s in a shopping centre food court, you can definitely have a look at the menu before sitting down. The location means that it’s probably not somewhere you’re going to head to from miles away, but given that there is, as far as I know, nothing else craft beer wise in Shinyurigaoka, if you’re in the area this is your only option, and it was a far better option than that might suggest. I really enjoyed the food and the beer and in the unlikely event that I’ll be back in the area, I’ll definitely visit again.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
Yokohama
Kyoto
Ushitora
Opening Hours:
(These are COVID times hours so please check their social media)
Daily, 11:00-22:30
Location/map:
上麻生1-4-1新百合ヶ丘エルミロード5F, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa
Telephone:
044-455-7115
I enjoy stating that, despite these seemingly distant venues, Japan’s wonderment of through-running subway lines – in this instance the Chiyoda Line – means it is not that difficult to get here (& return) from a typical Tokyo hotel | hostel.