Mikkeller Tokyo Udagawacho (NOW CLOSED)

No Longer In Business

Lovely looking place in Shibuya with a great selection of Mikkeller rarities plus a mish mash of good quality Japanese brews. Friendly staff and the other clients seemed seriously into beer with many google-eyed at our RB tasting there. The manager is very knowledgeable the other staff much less so and while prices tend to be high most of what you’ll find on tap you won’t see elsewhere in Japan.

Not much new to add. Nice layout and atmosphere. The staff seem a bit clueless except when the manager is there. Pretty great selection of beer but you will pay for them quite handsomely. The low abv year-round beers are reasonably priced, though. Great to pick up a few rarities.

[updated on Feb. 22nd] They are closing this place soon. Their FB officially announced it yesterday. [original comments] They should...no, MUST train their staff. Some of them really do not know much about beer they serve . I was seriously shocked when they served Pilsner in room (warm) temperature... No food available, and international visitors brought snacks they bought at other place, and this makes this place looks so unorganized.

Nice decor but every beer on tap was a Mikkeller, not that Mikkeller isn’t good beer, but at the other Mikkellers there are always plenty of other breweries on tap too.

Solid bar, but can’t see it being a go to. Prices are pretty rough and although the layout has some charm, it feels like super ikea with beers.

Wanted to wait until things settled down and it became more normal pace before rating. Bad points - despite improvements, the staff still have really no idea about beer (going from odering by the beer number to the beer name is the improvement). Very expensive and small serving. Definitely one of the most expensive places in Tokyo. Good points - Tons of rare and good beer. Layout is pretty damn cool and good. Even compared to Mikkellers original bar in Copenhagen, this feels more European. Good outdoor seating. Good indoor seating. Good selection of Japanese beers.

Simple japanese design and completely open with no front door, etc. Big patio leads to the indoors. Seating everywhere and smoking allowed. Staff are not terribly well versed in the beers but the selection is decent. Prices are typical Tokyo craft beer prices so expect about 20% more than what you may be used to in the US or UK.

Beautifully designed and put together. They have done a lot with a relatively small amount of space. Really like the atmosphere. It is very conducive to sitting and sipping on big Mikkeller beers. Service has been a bit bumpy, but par for the course for a company opening up without Japanese franchise or partial ownership. Staff are very friendly but need a little more beer knowledge it seems, but I haven’t had any problems so far. No food, yet but they did seem to have a few light appetizers the other. I think the prices are fair for Tokyo. 550 - 650 yen for most low ABV beers for half sized glasses (probably 200 ml) and 850 - 950 yen for full size (probably around 400 ml). Stronger beers the prices are all over the map but still fairly normal for Tokyo. Many bars in Japan have one size for stronger beers and Mikkeller is one of those. Order at the bar and pay by the drink. There is some smoking space available outside however.

Latest popular hangout for beergeeks and hipsters in central Shibuya. Simple and elegant design. 20 taps with a majority of extreme and crazy Mikkeller brews, as well as a few top-notch japanese guests. Prices seem ok considering the unique selection but serving size is quite small (one-size only for strong beers). No food options at this stage which can be a bit of a letdown when you sip on 21% brews. Lots of typos on the board, lack of description on most beers... definitely quite a few teething issues. Let’s hope they keep improving and make it a truly unique and outstanding place.

Rerate, Oct 2015. Taplist is now updated pretty regularly on their website, which is great. Staff situation is improving. I guess we suspected it was opening teething problems and they are all being sorted out. Score has been put up accordingly. Original rating, Aug 2015: Very welcome addition to the Tokyo scene. 20 taps, 5 of which are decent Japanese craft. As expected, it’s a little pricier than some other places, but they do seem (unsurprisingly) to have beers that you can’t get elsewhere. Nice decor, was very pleasant when I was there. Will probably be busy most of the time. Very welcome afternoon weekday opening times. Low rating for the staff as they seem to be a bit clueless at the moment. Very friendly, but they don’t seem to know much about beer from what I’ve heard. Haven’t asked them anything myself as I have known what I want to drink. Sure things will improve though given time. Wish they’d post their tap list on the internet somewhere.