MacKendy : The Bottom Line
If you’re in the area, then I would suggest popping into MacKendy but it is very much a work in progress with regards to its beers, but the pizza is definitely worth coming down for. There is a nice little community of drinkers in the bar though and that’s where it excels – you really do feel part of the local community and that’s what brewpubs can do for a small town. The disappointing thing about MacKendy is that they do allow smoking and there is no segregated area – I only found this out when I was about to leave and someone decided to light up inside. There is no table charge, and all the prices include tax but in term of Wifi, I didn’t pick anything up.
MacKendy : The Full Write Up
MacKendy opened in August 2018, though at that time, it was just a bar and the brewery wasn’t open. It was only a few years later that the brewery was up and running. Originally, MacKendy had guest beers on, awaiting for their own system come online. As such, I scrapped that review and took another trip down to try some of their beers a bit later. Moreover, Tsujido is not a place I wish to visit – there’s not much there besides a huge shopping mall, and the beach – the former doesn’t interest me and the latter, well, there are better beaches closer.
MacKendy is located about 10 minutes from Tsujido station, from the south exit, so you won’t be walking all the way to the beach, though I suspect some may do that after a couple of beers.
MacKendy : Atmosphere and Interior
MacKendy is a very light and airy bar, with the big bay windows helping to go someway in making the bar seem larger than it really is. I arrived at just before midday and there were a few locals chatting away over beers and pizza, and that was easily heard over the music playing in the background. The music choice was interesting, with shades of 90’s and 00’s pop punk streaming out of the stereo.
There is space for about 30 people inside, with various high tables and counter seats available, though it is possible to stand up. The disappointing thing about MacKendy is that the whole bar is smoking – with no segregated areas set aside for anyone. Tad annoying, especially as the kitchen and bar prepping area is wide open. I know, I could go somewhere else and stop complaining about smoking, but I really believe that if you come out for beers and food, I don’t want to be tasting smoke throughout my time out. A small gripe for some, but a major one for me.
MacKendy : Approach to Covid-19
To say standards were slack would be an understatement. There was one bottle of alcohol spray by the front and that was it. Some of the staff were wearing masks but on the whole not as stringent as some places in Tokyo.
MacKendy : Beer & Tap Information
As MacKendy is a brewpub, they only had their own beers on, though there was 10 taps when I went – impressive considering that the brewery isn’t that big. So either they’re brewing a lot and selling through them, or some of the beers were a bit on the old side. There was a good variety of beers on tap, with fruit beers and a variety of pale ales so there is something for everyone.
Beers came in two sizes: half (275ml) from 550 yen, and full (490ml) from 1000 yen, with all of the prices including tax. There was no option for a beer flight, nor was there a happy hour, but you can get beers to takeaway, with the takeaway beers being prices at the same for drinking in. The beers were ok, nothing spectacular to write about, and no discernible off flavours. The problem was they just didn’t really showcase the styles there were showing off.
MacKendy: Food
I had been told about MacKendy having some tasty pizza, and after cycling 40km or so, I was hungry and knew that a pizza would be best to help mop up some of the alcohol. In the centre of the kitchen is an authentic Italian pizza oven so that was an easy choice to make. In terms of other food, there is some stuff but just order a few pizzas and you’ll be truly happy. The owner was also kind enough to recommend some of his homemade chilli oil, and wowzer, it packed a punch that had me sweating but also pouring more on the food. The menus had a basic amount of English on them, though some of the staff did try to converse in English.
MacKendy : Details
- Open: Monday To Thursday 18:00 – 02:00 Friday 18:00 – 05:00 Saturday 11:30 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 05:00 Sunday 11:30 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 23:00
- Closed: N/A
- Happy Hour: None
- Homepage: https://ameblo.jp/mackendy
- Phone: 090-6952-5550
- Social Media: Facebook / Instagram
