We’ve talked about our love of chips before with craft beer – it’s one of our points of reference in terms of food in a craft beer bar; good chips usually means good food. Chips are an easy thing to make, but difficult to do well. However, throughout our travels and drinking, we’ve also had some fantastic meals at craft beer bars that stray away from the usual fried food, pizzas, and hamburgers. There’s been times where we’ve sat down and gone, hang on, this food is fantastic, the beer is great, and this is a place where I’d like to come back to again.
Now, I’m from the UK, so the initial idea was to call this ethnic food – but that is such a loaded term that this is going to be international food. Why not ethnic? Well, not wanting to divert the monologue too far, it’s a term that gets applied to certain international food groups but not others. Would you call French food ethnic? How about Italian? Then let’s think about Japanese? Then we can go for Mexican? Or even Indian? How about Egyptian food? Notice how some of those lean more towards the term of ethnic food while others don’t? So for this instalment, the bars on this list have to fulfil the following conditions.
There are some conditions to this:
- No place that has just chips, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizzas, or pastas on the menu. That’s pretty much the norm for places.
- Craft beer has to be on tap and not in bottles – we have no problem with the latter; however, there is no difference then in making your own food and buying your own bottles for consumption at home.
- Must have Japanese craft beer on tap – that’s a given.
- We’ve widened the area to anywhere in Kanto, though there are probably places outside, we’re yet to get to them. Let us know in the comments below and we’ll try and get there.
Carvaan (Multiple Locations)
When I went to the original location back in 2020, little did I know that I would be dreaming about the plates of food we had on that day, longing for the chance to go back there to dine on all the delicious mezze. Of course, COVID happened and that blew all the plans I had to go back there again for a few years. However, someone in the company must have heard my wishes as since that day, Carvaan have opened up two other locations – Shibuya and in Yokohama – that serve the same delicious food with some solid, well made beers.
The mezze plate, with its various combinations of flavours that you can put together, immediately grabbed my attention, and the enjoyment of sharing it all with friends made some great memories. The subsequent times I’ve been back to Carvaan, I’ve tried to eat as many different things on the menu, and I can safely say, the food has never let me down.
Chelasa (Setagaya / Tokyo)
Now for those coming from North and Central America, you might be a bit stunned to see this place on the list. But hear me out – I’m from the UK and I had never eaten decent Mexican food until I came to Japan and visited Cactus Burrito quite some time ago. Since then, I’ve been craving some decent tacos, burritos, et al and Chelas has that as well as decent craft beer, both on tap, and in cans to drink in store.
The food is firmly entrenched in tacos, with a mix of meat and fish based on offer, and they are some of the best I’ve had in Japan. I honestly don’t know how they compare to tacos from North and Central America, but with one of the owners having grown up there, and experience in that cuisine, they’re holding their own.
Craft Beer Kitchen Cocoro no Tsuki (Hinodecho / Yokohama)
You’re probably wondering why this place is on the list here – Chinese food. Yes, I know that Yokohama has the biggest and bestest Chinatown outside of mainland China. Yes, I’ve been there numerous times and had some fantastic food – dim sum, duck, spring rolls, the works – but the beer has always been, for want of a better word, terrible. Tsingtao is not a nice beer and I would rather drink tea than that.
However, the owner and chef at Craft Beer Kitchen Cocoro no Tsuki used to work at a Chinese restaurant and has combined his knowledge of Chinese cuisine and paired it with craft beer from across Japan, and the occasional import. This means you get to have some delicious dishes, washed down with some tasty beers. What’s not to love?
Cuffy (Kashiwa / Chiba)
Who’d have thought a small little curry and craft beer shop in Kashiwa would make it onto this list? Well I know one reader would, as they recommended it to me on a trip up there. When I was young, biryani was perhaps the only kind of curry I would eat – spice never really was my thing growing up. Since I’ve grown up, physically if not mentally, I really enjoy my biryani and Cuffy has both fantastic food and great craft beer on tap.
There are a variety of different curries on the menu, with the occasional Thai and curries from other regions, but it’s the biryani that had me from the get go. Get there early in the day to avoid the lunch time rush, and also the early dinner slot too if you can. You won’t be disappointed.
Ege Craft Beer & Turkish Food
It was on a sudden trip that I came across Ege in Kamakura – not a place often thought of for non-Japanese cuisine. Walking past the station, I looked up and saw a sign for Turkish food in the area. Most of my previous experiences with Turkish food in Japan has been random kebab trucks in some random places – Akihabara springs to mind. I had never eaten Turkish food, in spite of growing up with a Turkish friend, we always ate chips or pizza.
Ege isn’t a cheap place by any stretch of the imagination – it’s right on the main thoroughfare of Komachidori in Kamakura, but every little bite was deliciously spiced and flavourful. I wish there had been more food on the plate, but paired with a nice crisp beer, the balance was perfect.
Far Yeast Craft Beer & Bao
So while this place has moved around a bit, the original idea of it has stuck – craft beer with bao. I had read a lot about bao before going here – soft, pillowy buns that are packed with vegetables and some kind of braised / grilled pork or other meats. And like other places on this list, it was something that I hadn’t tried before.
Why?!! Why had I gone so long without having one of these buns before – so much goodness packed into every little bite that I ended up ordering a couple more of these buns and wishing I had space in my belly for some more. There were some other items on the menu, but I didn’t really care – the baos were more than enough for me.
Himalaya Table
We’re going back to curry for this entry at Himalaya Table, and it was one of the first craft beer places that I went to where I thought, hang on, perhaps there is a world outside of chips and fried food with craft beer. Himalaya Table took me by surprise as I had eaten just before going there, but the smells emanating from the kitchen meant I had to order something. I had the lamb gyoza and was taken so aback that I ordered another set.
I’ve been back a couple of times since, to explore the variety of food on the menu, and paired with numerous craft beers, the risk you have is perhaps the food dominating over the craft beer itself. It’s worth checking out the place at different times – lunch and dinner – as there’s plenty on the menu to keep you coming back
La La Chai
La La Chai came recommended to me by a follower on Instagram – go check out Samson the Craft Beer Dog – and we met up there for some lunch. I knew that the place had Thai food, and knew that there was craft beer, so I was going to be happy with either of these satisfying my appetite.
The presentation of the food was amazing – all laid out on a plate, with the chance to grab a little bit of this, a little bit of that, combine it together and then a taste sensation exploding in your mouth. There was a good level of heat to the food, but paid with a cold pilsner then followed up with a powerful double IPA, I was happy as could be. I have been back once since then and the food remained as delicious as I remembered.
New Rose
This place might be a bit far for most people but if you’re in the Shonan area, then I’d say it’s worth taking a walk down the beach and finding this little gem of a restaurant / bar if only just to discover that Japanese curry isn’t all bland and boring.
New Rose takes Japanese curry, a dish I don’t really enjoy in Japan as it’s mostly just bland sauce on rice, and elevates it to something far much better – through in some more meat, some more spices, some more flavours – and leaves you happy with what is put in front of you and what is in your belly. Pair this with some local craft beers, with Passific Brewing, Yggdrasil Beer, and Barbaric Works often being found on tap here alongside the occasional can, and you’ve got a decent meal and beer here.
