Written by James
I love to drink beer in the afternoon but it is difficult to find places to enjoy a craft beer before 5-6 p.m. I saw this place on Instagram and was attracted by the fact that, being both a barber shop and a bar, Frank’s Barbe(e)r The Stand is always open during the day as well as at night.
Actually, Frank’s Barber seems to have three branches (the other two being in Hibiya and Ningyocho) but I was told that this branch has the best beer selection.
There is a nice L-shaped counter that seats about seven and there is on big table with eight chairs. There are 10 taps and there are several fridges with a pretty good selection of cans.
You can see the barbers chairs from the counter and I’d say that a lot of people combine a haircut and a beer when they come. Some staff speak English so it would be a good place for a haircut if your Japanese isn’t particularly good.
About half of the taps were domestic. Half pints ranged from ¥700 to ¥1000 and pints from ¥1200-¥1700. As you’d expect the imports were the more expensive beers.
There was no charge and the cans could be drunk on site at no extra charge.
The only food options were simple pre-made food or snacks. Quails eggs, Pretzels, olives and mixed nuts. This isn’t a place you’d go to for lunch or dinner.
People sometimes joke that psychiatrists, bar tenders, barbers and taxi drivers all do about the same job i.e. reducing people’s stress by talking to them and more importantly by listening. Frank’s combine two of these four jobs and the people serving the beers all seem to cut hair too. All the staff were good talkers and listeners and I enjoyed my time at Frank’s. The only things that made it a bit different from any other craft beer bar were that most customers (all when I went) were men and everyone except me had well coiffed hair.
Frank’s Barbe(e)r is an enjoyable place for a beer if you are in Iidabashi.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
Minoh
Shiga Kogen
Beer Brain
Black Tide
Opening Hours:
Tuesday-Friday, 12:00-22:00
Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 11:00-21:00
Closed Monday
Location/map:
下宮比町 2-31 第一園田ビル1階, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-6228-1121
Links:
Website
Facebook
Instagram