Craft Beer GRANZOO : The Bottom Line
While I was at Craft Beer GRANZOO for a short time, I did enjoy my time there and I am looking forward to going back there again once the weather is nicer so I can sit outside and enjoy some of their beers along the banks of the River Kanda. The staff were nice and welcoming, and there’s a good selection of beers on tap with styles for (almost) everyone. I guess the only downside to Craft Beer GRANZOO would be that it is tiny inside, with barely enough space to swing a cat – if you’re into that sort of thing. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge, and also some beers to takeaway.
Craft Beer GRANZOO : The Full Write Up
If you missed the write up at Wedge Bottle Shop & Pizza, you missed out on the reason why I went to Craft Beer GRANZOO – I decided, randomly, to walk across Tokyo to Takadanobaba, and stop at some craft beer bars along the way when I got hungry, but most importantly, hungry. Craft Beer GRANZOO just happened to be on that route and was open at the right time, so in I went.
Craft Beer GRANZOO opened in May 2019 and is the taproom for the brewery Kanpai! Brewing that is situated on the second and third floor of the same building as the taproom. Craft Beer GRANZOO is smack dab in the middle between Waseda station, on the Tokyo Sakura Tram, and Edogawabashi station on the Yurakucho line, so you could be sensible and go to one of those stations instead, and then walk along the banks of the River Kanda instead.
Craft Beer GRANZOO : Atmosphere & Interior
To say Craft Beer GRANZOO was a pokey little bar would be an understatement, as in spite of appearing to be rather large from the outside, Craft Beer GRANZOO is probably one of the smallest bars that I’ve visited since BeerTengoku began back in 2014. The only other places I can think of that would rank smaller would be Gotsubo in Ikebukuro (sadly closed) and El Nubichinom in Noge, Yokohama (still open!). But what Craft Beer GRANZOO lacks in space, it makes up in atmosphere as the staff were cheery and welcoming, and the inside was rather light and airy, with the big windows helping as much light get in.
In terms of seating, there’s space for no more than 13 people, with 9 counter seats, and one table for 4 people against the stairs. If you’re brave enough in winter, there are 4 outdoor seats, without heaters mind, but these would be great for the warmer months of the year. I got EXACTLY 4 macadamia nuts, and a free welcome drink, but of course, this means that there is a table charge of 300 yen.
Craft Beer GRANZOO : Approach to Covid-19
I look forward to the day when I can go back through the bar reviews and delete this section. But like most bars in Tokyo, Craft Beer GRANZOO has alcohol spray available, as well as all the staff wearing masks. Craft Beer GRANZOO takes it one step further with rather large plastic dividers placed along the counter for those drinking and dining there.
Craft Beer GRANZOO : Beer & Tap Information
Seeing as Craft Beer GRANZOO is the taproom for Kanpai! Brewing, the only beers on tap were from them. However, there are 9 taps of craft beer on, with a decent spread across styles though there was a general leaning towards IPAs. The beers come in three sizes: small (220 ml) for 690 yen, medium (350 ml) for 990 yen, and then large (550 ml) for 1,500 yen. Not the cheapest but the prices do include tax.
There are also growler fills available, at 100g for 250 yen or 230 yen if you have a Craft Beer GRANZOO growler – why grams is beyond me – and there are also some bottled beers available to purchase in sets of 3 for 2,200 yen. The bottled beers can not be drunk in store though and neither are there a happy hour or a beer flight option.
The beers themselves were ok to good, with my favourite of the day being the Nekomatazaka Wheat IPA. I also bought some bottled beers to take away so check out the reviews of them here.
Craft Beer GRANZOO : Food Information
I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t get anything to eat at Craft Beer GRANZOO, mainly because I wasn’t that hungry from my pizza at Wedge about 30 minutes earlier. Moreover, the macadamia nuts were a nice touch just to keep me full.
The menu on the right, in spite of the errors in the English, doesn’t change at all according to the staff, and I am not surprised considering that the size of the kitchen was tiny. There was some stalwarts of chips and also some soybeans options, along with a larger portion of macadamia nuts. There were some unusual options though in the form of fried chicken hearts, deep fried kangaroo, and also some fried crocodile – clearly aiming for the Australian crowd. So vegetarians are in for a tough ride here…
Craft Beer GRANZOO : Details
- Open : Weekdays + Saturdays 17:00 – 23:00 (L.O Food 22:00 Drink 22:30) Sundays 16:00 – 20:30 (Food 19:30 Drink 20:00)
- Closed : N/A
- Happy Hour : N/A
- Phone : 03-6233-8172
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://granzoo-beer.com/index.html
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram
