I’d heard a few things about Rikri which made me keen to pay them a visit. Also, when checking their Instagram there seemed to be plenty on there to make me feel quite optimistic about what I’d find when I did visit. Given that there were some holidays coming up which basically massively extended the weekend, I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally check it out and decided to make it my first stop on an on-foot mini pub crawl. After I’d walked for around 80 minutes I arrived and found that they’d announced a couple of hours before that opening would be two hours later that day. Which was quite irritating as I’d checked the day before and there was nothing about it mentioned. I know all of this sounds like a moany start to an entry on here, but I’ve included it because after the disappointment of not being able to go there, I decided to try again a few days later. So basically what I’m saying is that I definitely thought this place looked good given that I was willing to make the effort twice in four days. And I was right! Here’s what you need to know:
- Small taproom and brewery a few blocks, (in as much as blocks exist in Tokyo…), north of Gakugei-daigaku station on the Toyoko line. One table for two and a couple of counters with two seats and a little bit of standing space too. So definitely not big at all! And when we were there it seemed quite popular, with plenty of people coming and going.
- Eight taps, one of which was a guest. Beers served in the usual two sizes with the UK half ranging from ¥750-¥950 and the US pint from ¥1200-¥1500. I’ve not included the guest in these price ranges as, obviously it was a guest so would be more, and also was an imperial stout, so that’s another reason why it would be more. They also had a fridge with some cans to take away. The styles were modern and a pretty good range I thought, with the obligatory hazies, (one of which was surprisingly maybe my favourite beer of theirs I had), but also with some lagers and a saison. Not the kind of place to make a Golden Ale and Weizen, I’d guess.
- WiFi, a decent amount of daytime opening, (but obviously, I’d double check if you’re thinking of heading there early 😉), and no cover charge. I didn’t see any food apart from some Cheetos, (if I recall correctly). But given that there’s no kitchen, this probably makes sense. I think, (and to be honest, what is the use of ‘I think’? You’re here for details and facts, right?), they might have had one of those options where you can order food from a nearby place. I say ‘think’, because I couldn’t quite read the sign which I thought looked like it might be saying this, which was near a different seat to where we were. Not much help, am I?
This place was very good. I would say I was pleasantly surprised by the beers, but the truth is I thought they’d be good before I went, so I guess the phrase should be something like I ‘had my expectations pleasantly proved right’. I will definitely come back here and will look out for their beers in other places I go. I think the brewery is only a year old right now, so am excited about their future!
Japanese breweries on tap:
Rikri
Inkhorn
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 15:00-23:00
Saturday & Sunday, 12:00-23:00
Location/Map:
鷹番 3-19-20 , Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
None