Editor’s Note: Craft Meat closed in April 2021 but this article will remain up for posterity’s sake.
Craft Meat The Bottom Line
If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, then Craft Meat is a cracking little place to try some cheap craft beer – though be warned, the food is pretty pricey for the portion sizes you get. While during the week it’s strongly recommended you book a table ahead of time, what with all the salarymen in the area wanting in on the cheap beer, at weekends, we’ve found the place to be relatively quiet – even at 8pm on a Saturday night. The whole place is non-smoking, there is also WiFi with the password printed on the menus, and some English is spoken.
Craft Meat The Full Review
Craft Meat opened in June 2016 in Shibaura – a tiny little area that is made up of reclaimed land located in south east Tokyo. It’s pretty much the only restaurant in the area as you walk past office buildings and apartment buildings, though its sister restaurant sells horumonyaki, which comes from the Kansai dialect term hōrumon (放る物), which means “discarded goods”, aka guts, intestines, innards, what have you. Craft Meat is located in between JR Tamachi station and Shibaurafuto Station on the Yurikamome line.
It’s hard to miss Craft Meat as you walk along the street – it’s bright lights indoors shining out through the jungle of apartment blocks and offices that line the roads around it. There is plenty of seating space inside, with tables accommodating couples to large groups, with there about 50 seats, and also 12 counter seats as well. The whole inside is non-smoking and moreover, I did not notice any table charge either. For those wanting to read BeerTengoku while they drink, Craft Meat do also have free WiFi with the details printed on the daily beer menus.
There are 20 taps of craft beer – with a heavy leaning towards domestic craft beers, and a couple of macro taps as well for those wanting to bring friends that don’t drink craft beer, so they don’t feel left out. Beers come in two sizes half pint (235ml) for ¥450 and US pint (473ml) for ¥750 with prices including tax. There didn’t seem to be any sign of a tasting set on the menu. There was plenty of variety on the menu for everyone though the beer could do with being topped up and the staff were welcoming enough to do that when asked. There is also a happy hour deal which gets you a pint and some snack for ¥1,000.
If you’re vegetarian and didn’t get the hint from the name of the place, then Craft Meat is probably not the best place for you. Craft Meat specialises in grilled meat, though disappointingly it isn’t BBQ meat but rather something similar to a giant grill in the kitchen and also be prepared to wait. The food can take up to one hour to cook during busy times, so make sure you order as soon as you get there.
Craft Meat Details
Open: Weekday 11:30 – 15:00, 17:00 – 24:00 Saturday 11:30 – 15:00, 17:00 – 24:00 (Food L.O 22:30 Drink L.O 23:30) Sunday 11:30 – 23:00 (Food L.O 22:00 Drink L.O22:30)
Phone: 03-6435-0291
Homepage (in Japanese): http://craftmeat.jp
SNS: Facebook
How to Get to Craft Meat
Craft Meat is located in between JR Tamachi station and Shibaurafuto Station on the Yurikamome line so we’ve included maps for both stations.
[ezcol_1half]Directions From JR Tamachi station
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[ezcol_1half_end]Directions From Shibaurafuto Station
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1 comment
I had no idea that’s where the word “horumon” comes from!
This is a nice place. Last year, I remember they had Brewdog’s Born to Die at a decent price.
As to the table charge, I’m not sure if their policy has changed, but when I usually go, there seems to be a charge of something like 380 yen (except for lunch on a Saturday).