Craft Beer Market Jimbocho The Bottom Line
Craft Beer Market Jimbocho is a marmite bar – sometimes the beers you get are well-served and in good condition, and at ¥780 a pint (includes tax!) then there are few better places in Japan, let alone Tokyo, that can beat the price. However, at other times, the beer comes up with a massive amount of head and the beers are in off-condition. If you don’t mind a gamble, then it’s a sure fire place to try some new domestic craft beers. The whole place is non-smoking though there is an unavoidable table charge of ¥300 and a maximum stay of two-and-a-half hours (why do some bars insist on this?!)
Craft Beer Market Jimbocho The Full Review
Craft Beer Market Jimbocho is the second of the Craft Beer Market chain, after the Craft Beer Market Toranomon branch, that has taken Tokyo by storm, with nine bars at the time of writing, and it was the first one I ever visited when it opened back in 2012. Why the wait for the review? Well, I’ve been busy and it’s been a while since I’ve been in the Jimbocho area for non-snowboarding purposes. As such, it doesn’t differ too much from the other branches so this is going to be a much shorter review as I feel we’ve covered enough about them in other reviews.
There is space for about 40 people inside, though you are strongly recommended to book in advance. There was a couple of seats by the walls when we went though the outside area was empty; however, it was raining. There is also the dreaded table charge that is unavoidable – ¥300 – for which you do get a tiny bowl of “something”. For some annoying reason, I guess to get people in and out, you’re limited to a 2.5 hour stay – regardless of how much beer you’re drinking or want to drink.
Craft Beer Market Jimbocho offers 30 taps of beer, with 3 of those being dedicated to domestic macro beers, and the other 27 being dedicated to both domestic and imported craft beer. Beers come in two sizes: glasses at 250ml for ¥480 and pints at 473ml for ¥780. Both prices include tax though the pourings do vary greatly – the bane of the Craft Beer Market chain. I prefer to ask for “awa nashi” or “no head” and tend to get served a minimal, but still noticeable, amount of beer. I didn’t notice any beer tasting sets on offer either. There wasn’t a happy hour either.
The food is wide and varied at Craft Beer Market Jimbocho though the chips are massively large. Thinking I could polish off a large portion, it was swiftly delivered and took two of us to polish off. The roast chicken, while expensive, is tasty and comes in three different flavours. There are vegetarian options also available for those non-meat eaters among you.
Craft Beer Market Jimbocho Details
Open: Monday to Friday 11:30 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 23:30 (L.O 23:00) Saturday 15:00 to 23:30
Closed: Sunday
Happy Hour: None
Phone: 03-6272-5652
Homepage (Japanese only): http://www.craftbeermarket.jp/store_jimbo.html
How to Get to Craft Beer Market Jimbocho
The closest station to Craft Beer Market Jimbocho is Jimbocho on the Toei Mita Line (I-10), Toei Shinjuku Line (S-06), and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line (Z-07). Take exit A6, turn right, and take the first right. Craft Beer Market Jimbocho is about a two-minute walk from the station.
