Editor’s Note: Darcy’s Beer & Burger closed in May 2021. This article has been kept up for posterity’s sake.
Darcy’s Beer & Burger The Bottom Line
Come for the burgers and chips by all means, but there are better (and cheaper) options in the area for craft beer. While the atmosphere is chilled out and relaxed, it felt like it was more of a quick eat and drink place rather than a bar you can sit and stay the whole night. Thankfully, Darcy’s Beer & Burger doesn’t have a table charge though the prices don’t include any tax. The whole place is non-smoking, so if you want to smoke, go stand outside – by the door that let’s people in and out. If you have pets, then Darcy’s Beer & Burger does let you sit outside and drink – right next to the smoking area. The menus do have some English in them, and the owners did try to explain things to us in English – even though we tried to use Japanese – so credit there to them.
Large on the outside, small and compact on the inside.
Darcy’s Beer & Burger The Full Review
Burgers and beer are a winning combination in Japan – just check out Burger Mania and Sun2Diner for two places that manage to do them well; however, it’s in Ikebukuro and Shinjuku where burger places seem to be setting up shop. Perhaps with so many train connections on that side of the city, shop owners think these places are the best places. Darcy’s Beer & Burger opened in March 2014, ahead of the craft beer and burger boom we shall say, just south of Ikebukuro station. They specialise in flame grilled burgers and also sports, with an Asia Ice Hockey league game (who knew that even existed!?!) being shown on the TVs around the bar.
Darcy’s Beer & Burger is located about five minutes south of Ikebukuro station – well it’s supposed to be five minutes but having only been to Ikebukuro three times in my life, and I’ve been in Japan for almost 15 years now, meant five minutes took more like 15 minutes as I got lost and not even Google Maps could help me. Eventually getting there meant asking for help and some random direction, taking me past love hotels, with couples streaming out, looking down at the ground. Darcy’s Beer & Burger appears quite large from the outside, but inside there is space for about 20 people, with six seats at the counter and 10 seats around the bar. There is a small outside drinking area or for people with pets but annoyingly enough, the outside area is for smokers too, as the inside is non-smoking. Darcy’s Beer & Burger doesn’t employ a table charge system, which is great news.
There are four taps of craft beer at Darcy’s Beer & Burger, with one tap of domestic macro beer, though that tends to be Kirin’s Heartland – one of the better choices out there. Beers come in two sizes: medium 90z / 266ml for ¥600 or large 16oz / 470ml for ¥1,000 though prices don’t include tax, so add on 8% or the future 10% to those prices. There wasn’t any happy hour deal either, nor a beer flight. Darcy’s Beer & Burger also had a wide selection of bottles available, offering domestic and imported craft beers; however, bottle prices were double or triple for what we’ve seen them for in shops, so stick to the pints for best value for money.
It would have been rude of us not to come to Darcy’s Beer & Burger and try some of their food out. Joe hates drinking with me – mainly because it takes me ages to decide on a beer – so he would have hated coming here and waiting for me to choose a burger. How would you like your burger? So many different combinations that I ended up taking the chili chips, which burnt my mouth due to my impatience. My friend, Tim Maloney, who decided to come along for the trip, had the burger, but be warned, chips cost extra! And you don’t get very many for the extra cost.
Darcy’s Beer & Burger Details
Open: Tuesday to Friday 11:30 to 15:00 (L.O 14:45) Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays 11:30 to 23:00 (L.O 22:30)
Closed: Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday)
Happy Hour: None
Phone: 03-5927-8791
Homepage (in Japanese): http://darcys.info/
How to Get to Darcy’s Beer & Burger
The closest station to Darcy’s Beer & Burger is Ikebukuro, which is shared by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, and Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line) along with Seibu Railway and Tobu Railway.
