Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2014
There may have been a time when beer aficionados had to travel across Tokyo to find a watering hole offering more than regular nama, but these days it seems like you can find a craft beer bar on every corner. The number of traditional brewpubs, though, could still be counted on one hand with fingers to spare.
The ranks of beer bars offering their own tasty creations on tap grew in 2013 with the addition of Two Dogs Taproom, a restaurant, brewery and bar in the heart of Roppongi.
Slightly off Gaien-Higashidori, just past Don Quixote, the premises occupy the second and third floors of a glass-walled building. The décor is of the chic industrial style popular these days, with concrete floors and exposed ductwork, but is saved from severity with the addition of squishy black leather couches and warm-toned wood tables and chairs.
The house specialty is the wood-fired oven pizza, so we opted for the prawn, feta, zucchini and basil paste pie (medium ¥1,600, large ¥2,000). The crust was a good balance of crispy and chewy, but the all-important sauce was blander than we’d expect from a flagship entrée. If it’s pizza you’re after, you’re probably better off heading to one of Tokyo’s many specialty shops, but the menu doesn’t stop at pies. They use the wood oven for a variety of dishes including a roasted vegetable salad with vinaigrette and Caesar dipping sauces sure to please any veggies and a criminally good cheddar macaroni and cheese with bacon (both ¥1,000). Portions are very large, so keep that in mind, particularly as you’ll want to save room for the most important item: beer.
Currently, Two Dogs has 20 taps, with plans to expand to 30 in the near future. The lineup includes some old international favorites like Paulaner Hefeweizen and Stone IPA as well as some domestic picks and three offerings from Two Dogs themselves: their Roppongi Red Ale, American Wheat and Amber Ale. We started with a medium (350ml) of American Wheat (¥800), which lacks the creaminess one expects from a weizen but has a nice bite. Next, we tried the Amber Ale (¥700), definitely the winner of the night with its full-bodied flavor that paired well with the food rather than overwhelming it.
With its well-curated beer list and happy hour deals (¥800 pints and ¥500 halves from 5-7pm), Two Dogs is likely to become a bustling after-work stop for the expat crowds from Roppongi and Akasaka. Their better-than-pub-grub menu will bring in the dinner patrons, and being open until 5am will give the clubbers a place to nurse a beer and wait for the first train, so expect Two Dogs to be busy at all hours once word gets around. Head in soon if you want to say you knew this fledgling brewpub back when.
