Today, a place that has been on my radar for a little while but which I haven’t had the chance to visit till now. Neko No Shuukaijyo, which I guess is translated as the cats’ meeting place is very close to Umegaoka station on the Odakyu line. I think the last time I was in Umegaoka was when Tap Time was still there. It’s a station I pass quite often but rarely get off at. But maybe that will change now as I had a very nice time here. Here’s what you need to know:
- Quite small place with table seating for six, a small counter by the front window for three and some standing room at the bar. It bills itself as a beer and food place. Regarding the latter, I can only speak for the cheese portion which was VERY nice. The place has a friendly and relaxed feel to it and it was nice to stand at the bar and chat with the owner.
- Six taps of Japanese craft with some interesting breweries represented. In addition to the taps they have a fridge of bottle and cans which contained some Japanese stuff and some well chosen imports. Beers served in three sizes, L (450ml), M (250ml) and S (150ml). Prices range from ¥1450-¥1900 for the L, ¥1000-¥1400 for the M and ¥700-¥900 for the S. So it’s a little on the expensive side to be honest, but I think the selection and the atmosphere make up for that. Also the high end of these prices was just one beer, (surprise surprise, a hazy IPA, the usual culprit in these matters), with most of the beers being priced in the middle of the range above. By contrast the cans and bottles seemed like really good value.
- No cover charge, lots of daytime opening. I couldn’t find WiFi, but I could see a big router, so I imagine they have it if you ask for it. Oh, and they have a lot of charging points which is becoming increasingly important for me as my phone battery gets worse and worse. Oh, you order at the bar and pay as you go. One last thing, the picture shows the street facing side of the bar, but the entrance is down the side street on the right.
I had a lot of fun here. Initially I thought it might be a pop in and move on thing, but it was somewhere we wanted to stay for at least one too many beers, which for me is the sign of a good place. If you wake up the next morning regretting the last beer you had, that’s a thumbs up for the place you were drinking in I think. Certainly the prices will put some people off, but high prices are becoming an increasingly common thing, so I think we are just going to have to get used to it. And I think I’d rather pay a little more to drink in a nice place than pay less but have a miserable time. I will definitely be going back here. It’s a good reason to go to Umegaoka! And would definitely be part of a really good Odakyu line pub crawl, I reckon.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
Minami Aizu Mountain Brewing
Ohloy
Black Tide
Shiga Kogen
Oni Densetsu
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 15:00-00:00
Saturday & Sunday, 13:00-00:00
Location/map:
梅ヶ丘 1-22-12, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-6413-0413
Links:
Instagram