Post by Jim
Beer Saurus is a restaurant and bar less than a ten minute walk from the west exit of Ikebukuro station. It seats 60. Ten of the seats are at a counter with green back-lighting. At first glance the interior looks a bit like a club. Then you’ll notice all the craft beer signs and posters. There are also dinosaur figures scattered about and a big dinosaur mural on the back wall. The place is called Beer Saurus after all.
They have five taps. Kirin Heartland and Hoegaarden White are their regular beers while the other three are a selection of craft beers, usually from the U.S. During my last visit they had Maui Mana Wheat, Lagunitas IPA and Epic Capt’n Crompton’s Pale Ale on tap. New beers are rotated in every few days. Draft beers come in two sizes. The craft beers are ¥1260 for a glass and ¥680 for a half glass. The glasses are regular glasses and smaller than actual pint glasses. Heartland is ¥680 a glass and ¥1440 for a large flask. Hoegaarden is ¥680 a glass and ¥1640 for a big glass. From 18:00 to 19:30 everyday including weekends, they have a happy hour special and the five beers on tap are half price.
When the server hands you the beer menu he or she will point out which three craft beers are on tap and which three are coming up. I recommend checking their Facebook and Twitter before you visit. They’re good about updating the tap list and they’ll preview what’s coming up next. Every once in awhile they’ll announce an event like IPA week or Super Rare Beer Week. Sometimes they’ll label a beer as a “rare” beer and the happy hour price won’t apply. During one of my previous visits they had Hobbit Hunter from Pizza Port on tap and they were limiting the servings to one per customer.
Beer Saurus also has a pretty decent bottle and can selection. Be sure to check out the two coolers at the entrance. During various visits I’ve seen Ballast Point, Caldera, Bear Republic, and Modern Times.
The food menu is extensive. It includes pasta, pizza, sausage, omelettes, salads, tacos, seafood, and more. I’ve had the Sicilian eggplant and tomato pasta a few times. They have a tapas menu with a large selection of items ranging from ¥350 to ¥650. It includes things like potato salad, soft tacos, mushrooms in garlic and Utsunomiya gyoza.
Beer Saurus has three other locations, all located in Kawagoe city in Saitama (check their website for details). They just recently celebrated the original location’s 20th anniversary. In celebration they released their own beer, Beer Saurus 20th Anniversary IPA, in collaboration with Coedo brewery. This was on tap for while but I haven’t seen it recently.
If you’re looking for something different from the usual craft beer pub check them out. They’re pretty crowded during happy hour and on weekends. But, keep in mind that there’s a ¥300 cover charge and the entire restaurant is smoking.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
None
Opening Hours:
Daily, 18:00-4:00
Location/map:
セイコービル 3F, 西池袋 1-38-5, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-5992-8217