Mile Post Cafe, or Mile Post Bike and Cafe as it is sometimes known, is a small cafe and bike shop near Kayabacho. It is situated right on the Sumida River and the location couldn’t be nicer. Right next to a nice bridge and close enough to see the Shuto Expressway, it is a great place to relax and enjoy a pint and a nice meal too.
Mile Post Bike and Cafe
Getting to the Mile Post Cafe is not so easy. It is right on the Sumida River, but between Kayabacho and Monzennakacho Stations. The best way there is to go from Kayabacho. If you head out Exit 4A, just walk straight until you get to the Sumida River and turn left. It is at the end of the street on your right. The shop isn’t very inviting at first but once you head up to the second floor, where the cafe is, you realize it isn’t a scary place.
Sumida River Near Mile Post Cafe
I believe the cafe is run by the same people who run Spice Diner, a curry shop in Akasaka. The reason I went to this cafe is because they have 10 different craft beers on tap. They change them from time to time and the cafe food for lunch is reasonable. The beer is only 500 yen for a small glass in the afternoon. The selection is pretty wide ranging so you are sure to get something that you’d like. The only problem is that the menu is in Japanese only, so you had better be good with your Japanese. Some names are in English but it depends more on the company that made the beer. Some companies prefer to have an English name while others prefer Japanese names for their beer.
Beer at Mile Post Cafe
The food at Mile Post was not bad, but it wasn’t extraordinary either. I felt that the food could have been a bit better. I felt that the food was freshly made at the start of the lunch hour but I was there at the end of the lunch service. I got the curry lunch special and while the curry was good, the rice was a little sticky, in a bad way. It started off nicely but started to stick together and feel clumpy. Perhaps they need to improve their cooking technique as the quality of the ingredients looked fresh. The papadum that was included was actually better than the rice and I wish I had more of that.
Keema Curry at Mile Post Cafe
Mile Post has one very annoying feature for their cafe. Unlike most restaurants that I visit, I wasn’t allowed to keep my menu, at least not on the surface. After I ordered, they took the menu away. It isn’t a big problem but when it comes to a cafe like this, I think it is best to keep the menu there. I can understand why they take the menu away, because the menu is just pieces of paper on a clipboard. The paper is easily damaged and if they need it to last for a week or so, they will want to try to keep them for as long as possible. I felt that this was bad as I wanted to know what I was drinking and if I wanted to order something different, I would want to peruse the menu. It is a small thing that should be changed but I don’t see that happening there. It isn’t a bad thing either, just something I don’t agree with.
View at Mile Post Cafe
Mile Post Bike and Cafe is a great place to go for a nice sunny afternoon. The view of the Sumida River is great and I would gladly go back again. Unfortunately, due to the location, I doubt I will be going there often. If I lived on the Tozai Line, I would probably go more often. It is just not convenient to go there from my home so I’ll just have to make do with the other beer cafes in Tokyo.
Information
- Mile Post (Official Site – Japanese Only)
- Mile Post Cafe (Official Site – Japanese Only)
- Mile Post Cafe (Official Facebook Page – Japanese Only)
- Mile Post Cafe (Craft Beer Tokyo – Japanese Only)
- Mile Post Cafe (Tabelog)
- Mile Post Cafe (Taiheiyogan)
I used to go to Kayabacho quite often but never really got to know the area near the river. Is it behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange? Looks like it has a pretty good view of the river.
PS: I think a lot of cafes take the menu away after you order because they only have a certain number of menus and/or the tables are small and there’s no place to put the menu. Can’t say for sure what the reason is for this cafe…but usually if you ask to keep the menu, they let you. Did you ask? 🙂
That area isn’t really behind the TSE. It is down the Nihonbashi River, at the mouth of the Nihonbashi River at the Sumida River. In fact, the view is of the Sumida River.
As for asking… … nope. Well, usually they ask if it is okay to take the menu away or not, even though they normally do. It’s just a mild annoyance at the time when I still wanted to look at the menu. I should be more assertive and ask to keep it next time. 😉