Mikkeller Kanda

Burger shop hours: 11:30 - 23:00

Bar hours: 16:00 - 23:30

Mikkeller Kanda is Mikkeller’s second location in Tokyo.

Hidden in an alley full of small bars, Hamilton Shields, Mikkeller Tokyo’s manager and partner came across an amazing location. Despite the fact, that the building may quite likely be torn down in just three years, he and Mikkel Borg Bjergsø decided to jump at the possibility of building a bar and burger restaurant there.

“We loved it so much, we knew we needed to do something so that this little corner of Kanda wouldn’t go to waste. Although just 20 seconds away from the north exit of Kanda station, you’ll feel very far away from whatever troubles you have out in the world”, says Shields.

On the first floor is a small burger spot. The burgers made with Japanese beef, are unlike any burger you’ve tasted in Tokyo, Shields promises.

Tucked away above the burger shop are two stories of beer bar with 12 taps of rotating craft beer from Mikkeller and other great breweries around the world, along with rare bottle pours and select spirits.

Yusuke Seki, who also designed Mikkeller’s Shibuya location, took on the challenge of the old wooden building and balanced features from the building’s past, including a fire on the third floor, with modern Japanese and Danish elements. He opened up the floor between the second and third stories (fukinuki in Japanese) to make an otherwise narrow and cramped building feel both more spacious and cozy.

The staff has also chipped in, building furniture and making finishing elements like the construction bags, silk screened and filled with insulation, that are ‘walls’ on the first and third floors.

“Our time may be short in this location so we have used as many of the features of the building as possible to highlight what is possible when we cherish Tokyo’s past and use it creatively. We wanted to make the place personal and spontaneous. The little mistakes give it a homey vibe”, explains Hamilton Shields.