Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for some tasty vegan food, with some solid, well-made beers, and amazing views to boot, then Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant is up your street – figuratively, not literally. It’ll take some time to get to, but it’s worth combining this place with a hike in the area and then coming here afterwards. The whole place is non-smoking and has enough variety on tap for everyone to pick a beer, or several from. Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant has no table charge, and also offers up a beer flight and also beers to go. There is also plenty of choice on the menu for vegan and meat-eaters alike, with the menus being fully bilingual as well. All of the prices include tax and there is also free WiFi.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant The Full Review
Hanno isn’t a place I’ve knowingly ever wanted to come to, mainly because it’s pretty far from where I live. However, combining Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant with a friend’s BBQ at the river that runs in front of the brewery meant a quick beer in here before heading home. The brewpub opened in July 2017 without much fanfare in the craft beer industry, and its name stems from the Persian word “Carvaan” which means “caravan” with the concept of the restaurant and beer brining interesting and different flavours to the local area. The bar is the product of Far East, which was established in October 1994 that handles the import, export and sale of food and miscellaneous goods, and the manufacture and sale of food for the domestic market.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant is located about a ten minute walk from Hanno Station, on the Seibu Ikebukuro and Seibu Chichibu lines, and is located high up on the banks of the River Hanno. I suggest taking the infamous Wariiwa bridge that spans across the river, though make sure you have your eyes peeled for the entrance to the building as it is a small stone block, just tucked back into the vegetation that surrounds the brewery and restaurant.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant Atmosphere & Interior
With Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant taking its name from Persian, you’d expect a Persian style interior. And you would be kind of right there. There is a distinctive Ottoman style atmosphere going on – very unusual for a craft beer bar but usual for a restaurant to be themed, along with an Egyptian styled palace, though there is also a Western influence with the amount of wood going on. A proper mish-mash of cultural architecture going on that gives Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant plenty of character. There is, and this was unusual, a strict dress code, and while I went in wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I did feel kind of out of place; however, I suspect the dress code is to stop people from coming up from the river dripping wet and wearing shorts.
In terms of seating, you have the choice to sit outside on the deck and look over the Hanno valley and river, or inside. I’d hazard a guess to say that there was over 100 seats but I didn’t have time to count, nor did I manage to get access to all of the bar as there was a private party going on. However, if the weather is good, I’d strongly suggest sitting outside on the deck as it did seem a bit dark inside. The whole building is non-smoking, as is the deck area, and there is also no table charge at Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant Approach to Covid-19
Like other bars in Saitama, Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant isn’t facing the same measures and seriousness as in Tokyo; however, the staff do wear masks and only groups of people can sit at the same table. I would have preferred for the tables and seating to be farther apart; on the other hand, we were outside and no-one else came along during the time we were there.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant Taps & Beer Information
All of the beers at Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant are brewed in-house, and you can see the shiny stainless tanks if you walk through the building. In terms of taps, there are 7 taps of in-house brewed beer, with 4 regular beers on throughout the year, and seasonal beers that take in local ingredients and an occasional overseas influence. The beers come in one size which is about 400ml from ¥750, with the seasonal and limited edition beers costing a little bit more. There is also a four beer flight of 150ml glasses for ¥1,600, but all of the beers are decided for you. And for those wanting a bit more, there is also a craft beer drink plan which gets you 2 hours of drinking for ¥3,500 – not a bad deal if you plan on drinking all of the menu of beers. The beers were well served, though the head was a little on the large side. While the beers are not that exciting, they are solid representations of the styles and are drinkable. I didn’t notice any happy hour, but you can get some bottled beers to take away of the four regular beers on the menu.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant Food
The menu at Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant is based around Arabian food, with all of the meals being certified halal. There are plenty of choices for everyone on the menu, with all of the menus being bilingual and having a good selection of small shareable dishes, and much larger meals. As I was with some friends, I couldn’t get my usual portion of chips, in spite of them being on the menu, so shared the vegan mezze plate and let me tell you this. Next time I go to Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant, I’m getting another plate to myself. It was that good. In fact the menu looked so good that I wanted a lot more food. The prices are inclusive of tax as well.
Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant Details
- Open: Weekdays Lunch 11:30 – 15:30 (L.O. 14:30) 14:30 – 17:00 (L.O. 16:15) Dinner 17:30 – 20:00 (L.O. 19:00) Saturdays 11:30 – 23:00 (L.O.22:00) Sundays 11:30 – 20:00 (L.O. 19:00)
- Closed: N/A
- Happy Hour: None
- Phone: 042-973-7000
- Homepage (in Japanese): https://hanno.carvaan.jp/
- Social Media: Facebook / Instagram
How to Get to Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant
The closest station to Carvaan Brewery & Restaurant is Hanno on the Seibu Ikebukuro and Seibu Chichibu Lines. It’s about a ten minute walk.
