Has Tokyo¡¯s craft beer explosion hit critical mass? It¡¯s certainly getting there. These days it seems like every area boasts at least one good specialist serving pale ales, saisons, porters, sours and/or stouts. Is that a problem? Not when they¡¯re as down-home well put together as Two Fingers.
This bright little eight-tap, 15-seater pub in the residential streets in northwestern Ikebukuro was opened in February by two enthusiasts who turned their shared passion for beer into a classic labor-of-love project: Stef is Australian; his partner, Nao, hails from nearby Saitama Prefecture.
Their eight taps are loaded with an excellent rotating selection of well-kept beers, mostly from small-scale local breweries they know and trust, with occasional tap takeovers. Together behind their massive counter, which also boasts an impressive array of craft gin, they make a great double act.
Two Fingers is new enough that the bar snacks are still developing. The chili hot dog is a great addition, while the pan-fried Gorgonzola sausage is already a standard. The smooth, creamy chilled tofu is freshly made by an artisan just down the road, who also supplies the ganmo (deep-fried tofu patties) that are used as a base for the Two Fingers ¡°pizza.¡± Definitely not one to be missed.
Beer from ?800; bar foods from ?400; Japanese & English menu; English spoken
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