Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi The Bottom Line
I was hoping for Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi to be better than it was; however, the prices were way more than I was expecting for something so kitsch I guess. It does have a fun, izakaya-style quality to it, with scaffolding being used for “second” floor seating in some places. Moreover, the whole place is smoking too – something that we were not warned about before going in, and the dreaded mysterious charges reared their head too with a table charge and also prices not inclusive of tax. There was barely any English on the menus besides the real basics of names. I guess if I have to say something good about Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi then if you like seafood then you’ll like this place and there is some free wifi too. There are far better places in Shibuya to spend your hard-earned cash – go elsewhere.
Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi The Full Review
I had been interested in getting to Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi for a while now; however, with so many places in the Shibuya area, it’s hard to drag myself away from them. Yet the pictures of Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi showed it to be a fun place with some craft beer on tap and lots of different food to try as well. Well, seeing is believing, and experiencing is a whole different world.
Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi is located about 10 minutes from Shibuya station, and it’s kind of hard to miss with its bright red and black sign on the corner of the street shining out among the other bright signs on corners. Once you get inside, you have a variety of interesting posters and scaffolding in front of you. It seems in the rush to get more floor space for seating, it costs too much for another floor so instead, Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi used scaffolding to make a half floor between the floors and the ceiling, making it nice and crushed and also more liable for you to smack your head when you stand up. There’s space for about 50 people inside at various counter spots, tatami spots, and regular seating too. However, the whole place is smoking and also has a table charge on top as well of ¥300.
The main draw for me to Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi was the craft beer they had on top; however, for craft beer hunters looking for their next big hit, then Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi is going to be very disappointing. The lineup was fairly basic with the regular stalwarts of Minoh, Coedo, Shiga Kogen, Ise Kadoya, et al on the list, and the list doesn’t seem to change either. There are 15 taps of craft beer on with prices from ¥680 for a US half pint (265ml) and then from ¥980 for a US pint (473ml). There didn’t appear to be any beer flights or happy hour either. None of the prices include tax so make sure you add on the requisite 10% now – I think it’s 10%?
The food at Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi is primarily based around seafood with lots of shellfish on the menu – so if you like shellfish, then you’ll like the food. For me, there was at least some choices of other things on the menu – chips and some edamame – but not much else going on.
Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi Details
Open: Monday to Saturday / National Holidays 17:00 – 05:00 (L.O Food 04:00 Drink 04:30) Sundays 16:00 – 05:00 (L.O Food 04:00 Drink 04:30)
Happy Hour: None
Phone: 03-3461-1553
Homepage (in Japanese): https://shibuya-torohachi.owst.jp/
Social Media: Twitter
How to Get to Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi
The closest station to Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi is Shibuya. It’s about a 10 minute walk.
