Toranomon Brewery : The Bottom Line
I felt a bit short changed coming to Toranomon Brewery – and for good reason. I asked about where the brewery was located, and the bar staff “behind the bar”. I looked, and it’s just kegs. Then I did a bit of a deep dive and found out that in fact Toranomon Brewery is collaboration between Nihonbashi Brewery and Sunmai Beer from Taiwan. Saying that, I did really enjoy the atmosphere in the Toranomon Yokocho alleyway, and the beers were pretty good, so I guess I would come here again. The whole place is non-smoking and has no table charge.
Toranomon Brewery : Background
Toranomon Brewery was the third on an impromptu stop and drink session in the Toranomon Hills area – and for one I was glad of. Before coming here, I had never heard of this place and was impressed that the Toranomon area had two breweries in such a small area. It wasn’t until much later during drinking that I found out this place was actually a collaboration between Nihonbashi Brewery and Sunmai Beer from Taiwan. But if you can get over that point, then we can carry on with this write up.
Toranomon Brewery is located in the Toranomon Hills Business Tower, in the Toranomon Yokocho area which encompasses a plethora of shops, but also a gin distillery. As the name implies, the closest station to the bar is Toranomon Hills on the Ginza and Hibiya line, but it does involve a bit of a maze to get here.
Toranomon Brewery : Atmosphere & Interior
As Toranomon Brewery is located inside of the Toranomon Yokocho, it’s not really fair to give it an assessment on this – I love yokochos and the fun they provide. However, the bar does have seats for 5 people at the counter, though you can actually just get any beer from the counter and drink wherever you want. The whole place is non-smoking and has no table charge – which sounds obvious in a yokocho but be careful, there are set areas you can drink in, and some areas which are attached to a store. How can you find out? Easy. Take a beer in and get shouted at.
Toranomon Brewery : Beer & Tap Information
Toranomon Brewery has 13 taps for beer, but on the day I went, there were 8 taps of in-house brewed beer and one tap for macro. Seems a bit weird to have a macro beer on tap considering you’re in a yokocho, but it’s always helpful to have something like that on tap for people new to craft beer. The beers come in three sizes: glass (375 ml) at ¥880, yard glass (1,400 ml) at ¥2,200, and a pitcher (3L) at ¥3,800 = who needs a beer flight with a pitcher that size? The pitchers do come with glasses though the yard glass doesn’t. There are no options for beer flights or takeaway beers but after a yard glass, I can’t imagine anyone needed a takeaway beer.
Toranomon Brewery : Food & Menu Information
As you’re in a yokocho, you can order food from the various stalls and booths around Toranomon Brewery, and you will be given a buzzer. Next door, is a fantastic fried chicken place that is called Pollo Chicken – chicken that has been is marinated in a zesty, earthy and citrusy marinade with lots of Mexican spices and achiote, then grilled to perfection.
And it really is delicious with the lagers on tap at Toranomon Brewery. The beef jerky is nice, but served hot (why?!) though there are plenty of other options in the yokocho.
The menus at Toranomon Brewery are in English though the staff don’t really speak English so it might be a case of pointing at things on the menu. However, there were a couple of non-speaking Japanese groups on the day that I went and they managed to get their beers.
Toranomon Brewery : Bar Details
- Open : Weekdays 17:00 – 22:30 Sat 12:00 – 22:30 (L.O 22:00) Sun 12:00 – 21:30 (L.O 21:00)
- Closed : –
- Happy Hour : –
- Phone : 03-6273-3927
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://www.toranomonhills.com/toranomonyokocho/1024.html
- Social Media : Instagram
