Yanaka Beer Hall — Restaurant in Tokyo

This is probably the worst place I’ve ever visited — not just in Japan, but in any country I’ve been to.

I had been wanting to visit this beer hall for a long time to try the local beer. We came as a group of three adults and two children. There were seats available inside, and we were seated. I ordered a beer tasting set for myself, and non-alcoholic drinks for my wife and friend (they don’t drink beer at all), along with various snacks.

As soon as I placed the order through the tablet, a staff member came over to our table and, essentially, asked us to leave the establishment. He said, “Everyone must order beer. If you’re not drinking beer, you can’t be here — it’s for beer lovers,” as he put it. At first, I couldn’t believe my ears. I was honestly shocked by such rude and arrogant behaviour.

I tried to explain that I love beer and was even willing to order beer for each adult and drink it myself. But he didn’t want to hear a word and kept insisting we leave. It was the first time in my life — not just in Japan — that I experienced such treatment as a customer, and I was deeply disappointed in this place.

As we were leaving this place, we noticed another couple with a child also being asked to leave, because the man had ordered a non-alcoholic beer. So basically, the staff at this place are forcing every single adult (except children, I hope) to drink alcohol!

I suspect this behaviour may be especially directed toward foreigners, which comes across as a subtle form of discrimination.

Dear owner or manager of Yanaka Beer Hall: if you have a policy that all adult customers must drink beer (which is absurd and questionable in itself), then you are OBLIGED to inform customers of this before they enter your place, not after they’ve been seated and placed their orders. What kind of service is this?! How can this kind of treatment still exist in the modern world, especially in the service industry? Why even run a business if your goal is to humiliate people and put them in awkward situations? Even if you served the best beer in the world (which I seriously doubt), it wouldn’t be worth this kind of treatment. You call yourself “the place for beer lovers”, but your service has nothing to do with "love". What you do is closer to concealed hostility. I’ve been to many other beer halls in Tokyo, and everywhere else I received respectful service — whether one drinks beer or not, whether with kids or as a foreigner — it didn’t matter. I recommend you visit those places and learn what hospitality really looks like.

I still can’t believe this happened to me — in Japan, of all places.

Avoid this place...

Yanaka Beer Hall is one of the joints that make up the Ueno Sakuragi Atari complex made up of Showa Era Japanese homes that are over a hundred years old. Here, you will feel like you have stepped back in time as you sip on craft beer while being surrounded by wooden furnitures and vintage clocks.

If it is your first time here, the servers will recommend that you start with one of their beer flights to get a taste of each of their craft beers. Once you find the beer that you like you can order a regular sized beer of your choice. They also have a food menu to go with your food. Although we didn't get to try their food this time, their beers were excellent and we loved what they did with the space. However, what really stood out for us was their service, which was exceptional. For example, we were one of the last ones out of the beer hall and by then it had started raining very hard. When they noticed that we didn't have umbrellas they offered to call a cab for us and they let us wait inside until the taxi arrived.

This place is a bit of a walk from each of the three train stations in the area (Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi) and there will be a wait especially on weekends, as it is super popular among both locals and tourists alike, but is well...

Very cozy craft beer taproom in a traditional dwelling!

Yanaka beerhall offers a range of different beer styles and snacks utilising modern tech to order in an old world setting. The space is very relaxing and transports you back in time, with archaic sewing machines, water pumps and coin-operated telephones offering a retro Yanaka vibe.

There’s a winery-like trellis covered with ivy as you enter this area; as well as a community space, an olive oil vendor and a gorgeous bread bakery at the back with aromas that waft through the surrounds.

If you’re looking for a crafty on a lazy Sunday and a slice of bread or 2, this just might be on the...