I’ve finally made it to the new Amber Rondo! I’ve left the parts about the old bar below for you to refer to if you are interested. It’s moved closer to Sendai station, now about 10-15 minutes walk from the Shinkansen platform if you move quickly. The beer things are pretty much the same although they now have more taps (10 I think), containing a mix of Japanese craft with some local stuff and some imported beers. Plenty of serving sizes to choose from. Lots of bottles and cans too. I didn’t check the food menu but given that the otoshi and the beers were pretty much the same I’m guessing the food is similar too. The new place has some daytime opening but not that much, but is probably a much more enticing location as there is a little bit of patio available, (although not sure if it is used), and it’s in a more family friendly neighbourhood than before. As I haven’t found myself staying in Sendai recently the option to be able to go here and have some beers before a train is very welcome. And it’s still my favourite Sendai place. One quick word of warning, I don’t know if it was because I visited on a particularly busy Friday, but it was fully booked, so if you’re planning on going here it might be worth getting in touch beforehand to check you’ll be able to get in.
After Craft Beer Market and Craftsman I really felt like I should be giving some money to an independent bar and as I had heard of Amber Rondo before we thought we’d pop in for one for the road. It’s just round the corner from CBM and in the middle of what seemed to be a lively nightlife district. It was definitely the most fun out of all the places we’d visited. They have just celebrated their 8th anniversary so you can see that they were around before a lot of these newer places had even tried their first Yona Yona. Actually, most of the staff member of CBM probably weren’t even allowed to drink when Amber Rondo opened. Whilst other places in town have more taps, Amber Rondo has plenty of atmosphere. The master was very keen to talk to us and gave us lots of information about events that were going on or about to happen. We mentioned that we’d come to Sendai for football and I think he presumed we were Vegalta fans. We didn’t correct him as we had beaten Vegalta 3-0 that day. If you are reading Amber Rondo master, sorry, we are actually Frontale fans, but we love your bar and your city. Here are the details.
– Around five taps. I’m a bit vague on the details as it was quite ‘late’. Was very happy to see some local stuff on. He had two anniversary beers made especially for his bar, one from Aqula and one from Yakurai. The Aqula one was absolutely great. So good we had it twice. Two sizes, 330ml and 500ml, ranging from ¥800-¥880 and ¥1150-¥1280 respectively. Around 50 bottled beers too with an emphasis on German and Belgian stuff. Didn’t see the prices. Cover charge of ¥300 for which you can a bowl of bar snacks. In an independent place like this, I don’t mind that so much.
– Small and comfortable. Seating for maybe 20 including a small counter. Unfortunately it’s smoking friendly which would trouble me more if I came here every week, but given that we were on a trip I didn’t mind so much. It does affect your enjoyment of the beer though, I think, especially if you’re drinking something subtle. But it more than made up for the smoking by having a great atmosphere.
– It’s on the second floor with its windows facing the street. Look for what you see in the picture above and then enter down the corridor on the left and go up to the second floor.
Japanese breweries recently seen on tap:
Ishinomaki Hop Works
DD4D
West Coast
Be Easy
Opening Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 16:00-23:00
Friday, 16:00-23:55
Saturday, 15:00-23:55
Sunday, 15:00-23:00
(But these change sometimes so best check the Instagram to make sure)
Location/Map
本町2-13-11 ラ•リューシュ仙台1F, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi-ken
Telephone:
070-9449-1690