Btaps Kamakura : The Bottom Line
My first thought about this place was good; it’s airy and spacious. It’s non-smoking, it has free wifi. There is no table charge either. Yet as my bar crawl around Kamakura went on, I realised that I didn’t really like this place as much as I thought. I think Btaps Toranomon had set me up for a fall with this place. Or it could be there are better bars in the Kamakura to get to. If you’re on Komachi Dori, and not worried about prices or pours, or perhaps an English menu, then Btaps Kamakura is perfect for you. There is one saving grace, which is the all you can drink plan – 2 hours for 5,000 yen and any beer on the menu.
Btaps Kamakura : Background
It seems that Kamakura has had a spate of craft beer bar openings in 2023. Btaps Kamakura was one of them as this place opened in April 2023. The only surprise for me is that it has taken so long for bars to come to the city, especially with all the tourists on day trips in the area.
The bar is less than a minute’s walk from JR Kamakura station. It’s conveniently located on Komachi Dori, across from Ege Craft Beer & Turkish Food. In fact, you can look out of the windows here and see people drinking and eating in there.
Btaps Kamakura : Atmosphere & Interior
As you enter the bar, you’re greeted by one massive open space, which encompasses the kitchen, the bar, and the seating area. Everything is open plan – which is a good thing, and a bad thing. More about that later. There is space for around 40 people inside. There are ten seats at the bar, in addition to the 30 or so dotted around. Furthermore, this seating is at various combinations of tables for small and large groups. There is no table charge at Btaps Kamakura, and the whole place is non-smoking.
There was one other group there at lunch time, and my word, conversations carry. I don’t think they were talking loudly, but their voices carried across the bar. While there was some music playing, it wasn’t enough to drown out their conversations.
Btaps Kamakura : Beer & Tap Information
There are 13 taps of beer on, with 12 of those for craft beer. The last tap is for a macro lager, so you can bring your non-craft beer drinking friends here. Of those 12 taps for craft beer, the majority are for domestic brews. The beers come in two sizes. Half pint (250 ml) from ¥800, and then pint (473 ml) from ¥1,300. I didn’t notice any beer flights or happy hours at the bar. However, they do have an all you can drink plan for ¥5,000. For that price, you get two hours of drinking with any beer on the menu included. A good deal if you’re going to drink three or more pints here. In particular, I wasn’t impressed with the beer pouring. Take a look at how much head that US pint got.
Btaps Kamakura : Food & Menu Information
I didn’t any food here – and for good reason. The open kitchen means you can see everything going on. And I was tempted by a pizza but once I saw the pizza bases were not freshly made, I changed my mind. The menus were in Japanese only, though there is an online ordering system. For this, you can use Google Translate on your phone so it’s possible to order. Finally, the prices include tax.
Btaps Kamakura : Bar Details
- Open : Daily 12:00 – 21:30 (L.O Food 20:30 Drinks 21:00)
- Closed : Mondays
- Happy Hour : –
- Phone : 050-5590-8506
- Homepage (in Japanese) : –
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram
