Baird Beer Harajuku : The Bottom Line
Baird Beer Harajuku : Background
Baird Beer Harajuku, officially the Harajuku Taproom, opened in August 2009 and was Baird Brewing’s second Tokyo taproom, following the opening of Baird Beer Nakameguro the previous year. For a brewery based in Numazu, Shizuoka, expanding into Tokyo was a significant step, and Harajuku was an interesting choice given its reputation at the time for fashion, youth culture and shopping rather than craft beer.
More than fifteen years after opening, the Harajuku Taproom remains part of Baird’s directly operated network of pubs. It also represents an interesting period in the development of Japan’s craft beer scene, when smaller regional breweries were beginning to establish permanent homes for their beers in Tokyo. Harajuku may have been an unexpected location for a Shizuoka brewery in 2009, but Baird’s presence there has proved remarkably long-lasting.
Baird Beer Harajuku : Atmosphere & Interior
The Harajuku Taproom was designed around Baird’s idea of creating a distinctly Japanese beer pub rather than simply importing the look and feel of a Western craft beer bar. The concept drew heavily from the traditional izakaya, particularly yakitori restaurants, with the beer served alongside Japanese food and a more casual pub-style experience.
There are around 42 seats at the Harajuku Taproom, split between tables and a counter. The tables are mostly suited to smaller groups, with plenty of two-person tables, while the counter runs in front of the taps and is probably the place to sit if you want to watch the beer being poured. There are no tatami, sofa or private-room options, so this is very much a straightforward pub rather than somewhere designed for lingering in a fancy dining room.
One thing I particularly like is that there is no table charge or service charge. You can sit down and order what you actually want rather than being presented with the inevitable mysterious ¥500 bowl of something you didn’t ask for, a minor but welcome victory over one of Japan’s more peculiar drinking traditions. Finally, there is also some free wifi that you can connect to though there’s no need for QR checking here.
Baird Beer Harajuku : Beer & Tap Information
The beer selection at the Harajuku Taproom is a proper showcase of Baird Brewing rather than a token handful of house beers. There are normally around a dozen regular Baird beers on tap, supplemented by a couple of seasonal releases, so there is usually a decent spread of styles to work through. Naturally, the exact lineup changes with the brewing calendar, which is half the fun and half the reason for checking the taps before deciding what to drink.
Beer sizes and prices vary according to the beer, but the current listings show many beers at around ¥600 for a small (200 ml / 250ml) and ¥1,100 for a large (400 ml / 500 ml), with stronger or more unusual beers sometimes costing a little more. The important thing is that the selection isn’t built around chasing the latest fashionable IPA. Baird has always brewed across a fairly wide range of styles, and Harajuku gives you the opportunity to see that breadth in one place. There’s also a three beer sampler of three 140 ml glasses for ¥1,200 so you can work your way through the menu.
Baird Beer Harajuku : Food & Menu Information
Yakitori is the main attraction, with a fairly broad selection of chicken cuts including thigh, skin, heart, tail, cartilage, sasami and tsukune, alongside vegetables such as shiitake and shishito peppers. There are also less everyday options such as beef zabuton and chorizo. Prices generally put individual skewers in the ¥300 – 400 range, with more substantial options costing more. While the yakitori is good, it’s also on the expensive side as you only get one stick per serving so it can easily get expensive here if you order more than a few sticks. The omakase option is an interesting choice but at ¥1,800, is also on the pricier side.
Beyond the grill, the menu covers the sort of small dishes that work naturally with beer: edamame, pickles, potato salad, fried tofu and various vegetable dishes. There is also a selection of fried food, including chicken and blue-cheese spring rolls, fried Camembert, potato fries, fried sweet shrimp and squid rings. The Beer Chicken karaage is another obvious choice, currently listed at ¥650. The menus are all in English and there is also English speaking staff here. Finally, all the prices include tax so there’s no sudden surprise at the end of your drinking session.
Baird Beer Harajuku : Bar Details
- Open : Weekdays 17:00 – 23:00 Saturdays 12:00 – 23:00 (L.O Food 22:00 Drink 22:30) Sundays 12:00 – 22:00 (Food 21:00 Drink 21:30)
- Closed : –
- Happy Hour : –
- Phone : 03-6438-0450
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://bairdbeer.com/pages/harajuku-taproom
- Social Media : Instagram
