Baird Beer Harajuku Taproom — Restaurant in Tokyo

I rarely post negative reviews if any - I do not want to apply this globally, this is related to our experience. We randomly walked into this place today, we did not know anything about it (sorry) and we had no idea what kind of a business it is. We went inside, there was no one on the entry on the right side, so we walked a bit further to the right closer to the toilet door to see whether we can find someone from the staff. We had no bad intentions, group of 4 people (1 Japanese, 3 foreigners, all of us living in Japan considerable time), we were just searching for a place. Then one of the staff members felt an urgent need to lecture us about Japanese manners, explaining that we should search for an eye contact after entering, whether we can actually walk in or not - simply whether there is a place for us. After this moment the girls wanted to leave, but we stayed, I did not want to be impolite - I am not that kind of a person. When ordering, my friend took a bit of time, so he was asked "so are you done deciding or what" question, which certainly does not belong into Japanese polite attitude codex. I have been living in Tokyo for years and I visited a LOT of places, this was the first time someone was giving us such an attidude, just because we "broke some rule". I wonder if the same attitude would be given to a group of Janapese businessmen or other folks. Somehow, I personally doubt that. If you hate your job or you have had enough of it - do not take it out at your customers. We are not some rags, who can take everything in. We did this time, we said nothing, but you can be sure we will never visit the place - I will not encourage anyone from visiting, because other members of the staff were innocent and everything else looked absolutely fine. But this place on Google Maps is for expressing opinions and ratings and for the first time after a long time I had...

The food is very good. They have lots of small plate dishes, so you can easily try different foods and share with your companions. I especially liked the chorizo and the grilled shishito peppers. I love it that you can get simple vegetables, like tomato wedges with mayo.

The staff all speak excellent English (this place is very popular for tourists), and the menu is in both English and Japanese.

The dining room is non-smoking, which is not common in Tokyo, so it's very pleasant to sit and enjoy your food. The ambiance is casual and low-key, so it's a nice break if you are feeling that Tokyo is hectic and crowded.

I'm not a beer drinker, so I won't try to rate the beer, but the main draw of the place is craft beer, and they have a pretty big selection of their own brews.

I always look forward to eating here when I...

As a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan I have high standards of beer. While this place might not match the best my hometown has to offer, it's still among the best places I've found to try a Japanese craft beer. Of the seven beers I tried, all were at least good with a few being great. The seasonal kolsch was especially noteworthy.

The quality beer is good enough a reason to go, but the staff really makes it all the more appealing. When I went there was a diverse group of employees with several being fluent or native English speakers. Everyone was incredibly nice and eager to help.

Unfortunately, I did not try any food on this trip, but the great experience I had will definitely warrant another trip.

If I had to make a company, it would be that they don't open until 5pm...