Bit of a weird one this. I wasn’t sure whether to give it a full write up or not, but I’ve decided I might as well, given that I have now visited. In the long tradition of new breweries in Tokyo, they have opened but are not brewing yet. This wasn’t really that clear until my friend asked, but the telltale sign for me was the fact that out of their eight taps, they only had two of their own beers, and both of them were collaborations, presumably made at the other brewery. Anyway, you’re probably not interested in this, are you? So here’s what you need to know:
- Kind of fancy place in what I imagine is a pricy neighborhood, not far from one of the main shopping streets in Harajuku. Small counter for maybe six and standing tables for maybe a few more. Felt like a lot of money has gone into the place. The photo on their website makes it look a lot bigger that it felt when we visited. It seems that they focus quite heavily on being a ‘beats and beers’ place. They had one of those DJ things that people use when they aren’t DJing with records, (as you can see this kind of DJing is not my specialist subject), and have a YouTube channel broadcasting live DJ sets from the bar. Their music tastes apparently range from ‘house to techno’ which doesn’t seem like a massively wide range to me, and isn’t really my cup of tea, but I’m sure will appeal to many.
- Eight taps of beer, two of which were those collaborations I mentioned above and the rest of which were Japanese guests. The selection of breweries was a bit curious, but presumably the aim will be to serve all of their own beers when they are up and running. Prices ranged from ¥900-¥1100 for the half and an eye-watering ¥1600-¥1800 for the pint, so it’s definitely an expensive place to drink. I tried their two collaboration beers and thought one of them was ok. But I guess it’s not really fair to comment on beers and prices till they are brewing their own stuff on site. Not sure when that will happen. I remember when I started this blog in 2012 the Watering Hole was going to start brewing onsite ‘soon’ and that still hasn’t happened and was actually impossible due to the building it was in. I presume this will not be the case here.
- No cover charge, lots of daytime opening, but closes kind of early at 10, which goes slightly against the party feeling that seems a big part of the brand, but I imagine is because the area they are in is semi-residential. I didn’t check for WiFi but I’d be astonished if they didn’t have it given the general feel of the place. I should add that the barman seemed very nice, so that’s a big thumbs up for them.
I’m pretty sure this place is aimed at a very different kind of clientele than me. I love music but this isn’t my kind of music and maybe I’m a bit old now for the party vibe. Probably even describing it in those words shows how out of touch I am. I’m sure it will prove to be a popular stop for tourists who want to have a drink in the daytime in an area that is very popular with visitors. Perhaps I’ll pop back if/when they start brewing on site, but clearly it’s not really for me due to the atmosphere, the prices and some of the beers and breweries available, but I’m sure some people with love it.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
Brewmin’
Kaigan
Tokyo Ale Works
Kanpai
Hakuba
Opening Hours:
Daily, 13:00-22:00
Location/map:
3-26-5 神宮前, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
None