Hemel Miyamasu

Post By James

Hemel is a Belgian beer/wine bistro. There are two of them in Shibuya. One, In De Bourgondische Hemel, is on Dogenzaka and the other, Wine & Belgian Beer Hemel, is on Miyamasu-zaka. It was the latter which I checked out.
The place was a reasonable size. There seemed to be about 18 counter seats and three tables which would each accommodate six. There were only (if you don’t count Asahi) Belgian beers on tap and there were only three of them. None was anything unusual. Prices and sizes varied quite a bit. I had a small glass (maybe 250ml) of the most interesting draught for ¥950, but a large glass (not sure how big) of Hoegaarden cost ¥1390. Much more interesting were the bottles, of which they had about 60 varieties. These were all Belgian too. Large bottles (750ml) cost about ¥2000-¥3000. Small bottles (330ml) cost ¥900-¥1400. They have different shapes of glasses depending what beer you order, which I rather like. Smoking is permitted all the time and there is a charge of ¥300, for which I was given a small chicken dish.
There were three chefs and four waiting staff even at 17:00 which is pretty unusual for a place of this size.  I was told I could only have my counter seat until 19:00 because they were fully booked. It is a popular place and I have been turned away for not having a booking before, so I would recommend booking if you want to go. I tried the famous fries. Portion size was generous and it was interesting to get three kinds of mayonnaise to dip them in. The staff were very friendly and when I asked about Japanese beer they said that they are going to open a new branch in Kichijoji next month (March 2016). It may have some Japanese craft.
Overall, this is a bistro rather than a bar. It has good food, but it is an expensive place if you just want to drink beer. I am not sure how different their place on Dogenzaka is or what the new place in Kichijoji will be like.

Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
None