Beer Stand Marca : The Bottom Line
Beer Stand Marca is a funny little place – a hole in the wall for beers, but the sum of the parts of the area that it’s in makes Beer Stand Marca a quaint place to go to. As you sit on the wooden benches, drinking some well made beers, and listening to some funky music, your eyes can wander over the banks of the river – even if you sit inside. The whole building is non-smoking, has no table charge, and also has some free wifi.
Beer Stand Marca : Background
Beer Stand Marca opened in January 2020 – a rather auspicious time around the world – that 4 years have seemed like such a long time ago. Having visited the original Marca Cafe & Beer Factory in Kitahorie, Osaka almost 7 years ago, it was great to come to Osaka again and find this place.
Beer Stand Marca is located on what is called Tugboat Taiso – a moored tugboat that used to pull ships up and down the river Taisho – or so I was led to believe. I have no idea if any of that is true, but it’s a funny little story and also is endemic of the quirkiness that is Osaka. Beer Stand Marca, and Tugboat Taiso itself, is located a two minute walk from the Osaka subway Dome Mae station.
Beer Stand Marca : Atmosphere & Interior
As you navigate around Tugboat Taisho, you can’t help but feel a bit weirded out by it all – is it a boat, is it really operational, is it really floating on the water? The interior and atmosphere are both warm and inviting and feels like an outdoor market that can be seen in the hawker areas of Singapore and other Asian countries that have similar set ups – food and drink stalls located around a bustling seating area. There was some gentle background music – enough to be heard but not enough to drown out the conversations.
The seating area of Tugboat Taisho can be used by anyone at any store so you may end up drinking your beers from Beer Stand Marca with other people who have ordered some takoyaki or some chips at the benches. There is space for around 100 people in the general area and the whole place is non-smoking and has no table charge. There is also some free wifi for those wanting to connect though it was a bit spotty.
Beer Stand Marca : Beer & Tap Information
Beer Stand Marca is a funny one – the beer list on the day had ten taps of craft beer on with a good spread of styles on the menu – from light beers such as pilsners, to strong / dark beers with stouts and porters. But here’s where it gets funny – there are so many more taps behind the counter. I counted around 30 taps so I am guessing that they could offer more beers on or that the clean a tap and then use a differnt tap to serve a beer when a tap is being cleaned.
The beers come in two sizes: regular (300ml) at ¥750 and then large (500ml) at ¥1,200 with prices including tax. Be warned – the “glasses” are made of a fleible semi-rigid plastic so you may end up lightly squeezing them without realising. There is also a beer flight option, and perhaps the first one I’ve seen in Japan that gives you various options for the glass sizes. You can get four beers of 150ml for ¥1,500, 300ml for ¥2,800, or the big boy option of 500 ml for ¥4,400. A good idea for “saving” money as it does work out cheaper to buy the beers that way. There wasn’t any happy hour though.
Beer Stand Marca : Food Information
Beer Stand Marca doesn’t offer up any food but there are food stalls in Tugboat Taisho that you can order from.
Beer Stand Marca : Bar Details
- Open : Weekdays 16:00 – 23:00 Weekends & Holidays 11:00 – 23:00 (L.O 22:30)
- Closed : –
- Happy Hour : –
- Phone : 080-2110-6099
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://tugboat-taisho.jp/
- Social Media : Instagram / X (Twitter)
