Yotsuya Brewery, Yotsuya 四谷

A gathering of Wall Street types, an Engineer, a travelling Writer, a Film Maker, a Pop Star and a Philanderer was planned. Before this disparate band descended upon the appointed izakaya, as it was hot in deepest Yotsuya, The Woodsman suggested a pre-sake beer at the Yotsuya Brewery.

So it was that The Woodsman, Jimmy Dean, his daughter and I ended up washing down oily chips and mayonnaise with Hoegaarden, something I’ve managed to avoid since the late 90s. 

The Yotsuya Brewery is actually just a bar, located on the same street as the Mexican restaurant Salsa Cabana (that I’ve been meaning to write-up for weeks now), a stones throw from Yotsuya station. There’s a lot of beer, mostly of the German and Belgian variety, on offer. Interior and decoration were pretty much as expected. Small bar with high stools, a few tables, dark polished wood, plenty of beer posters and a large display of specialist beer glasses.

Jimmy Dean, despite having started earlier than the rest of us, had the foresight to print out the gurunabi coupon for the place. This is how we ended up with two large paper cones of chips, and a selection of five different mayonnaises to choose from, for free. We went for the black pepper, and anchovy offerings. To be honest, the chips, although a little oily, were actually rather enjoyable. Certainly better than the usual French fries that get served up in most places at any rate.

An exhaustive choice of beers was available, mostly strong, and mostly expensive. If memory serves, the priciest was just under ¥3,000. We ordered the Malheur, but upon hearing of its ABV of 10%, we decided that caution was the better part of valour and went for the wheat beer instead.

The service was good, the affable barkeep even telling us to keep hold of the coupon for next time. Saves on trees, if not potatoes…

Probably a good venue for a night out, especially if you love beer, but expensive if you have a thirst on.

Tel: 03-3353-1009