The Aldgate
Shibuya’s beer-loving British pub celebrates 12 years

The Aldgate is very proud of being British. As I
have never personally visited the UK, it is difficult to say (with any authority, anyway) whether all of this Shibuya pub’s “authenticity” is genuine. But if the number of people jammed in to celebrate its recent 12th anniversary is any indication, I’d guess it must pass muster. That, or everyone came for the ¥200 discount on drinks.

What drove the “British” part of the “British pub” home for me was the top hat I spied resting on a shelf in the corner. Every pub has to have a top hat laying around somewhere, right? And an antique rugby ball, you ask? Of course The Aldgate has that—and the requisite shelf of dusty, leather-bound books as well.

Still, The Aldgate doesn’t mess around where it counts: the drinks. In addition to over 60 cocktails (¥700 and up) and 30 types of whiskey (¥700 and up), the pub has 19 draft beers, most of which run about ¥1,000. Most famous, or at least what The Aldgate is most proud of, is the Real Ale, brewed from traditional ingredients and served without extra carbon dioxide. If all that’s too crazy for you, there’s also milk on tap. Perhaps it helps keep fights from breaking out.

Like any good pub, The Aldgate also serves food. Meals with names that only Brits would find appetizing (Beef in Ale, Cottage Pie, or, my favorite, Toad in the Hole) cost anywhere between ¥600 and ¥1,200. Vegetarian dishes, which are rather uncommon in Tokyo’s pubs, run about ¥500 to ¥850, and imported snacks like Marmite on Carr’s Crackers cost somewhere in the neighborhood
of ¥200 to ¥600.

On the night of the Aldgate’s 12th anniversary bash, a “light meal service” was complimentary, and we watched in amazement as patrons cleared plate after plate of the pasta. I decided to stick to the fish ‘n’ chips (¥1,200).

And the music is good. The Aldgate boasts a collection of over 6,000 CDs and LPs, and bartenders will also play most music that patrons bring in themselves. For parties, the Aldgate has a live-music setup. When we arrived, the “live band,” a fellow with an acoustic guitar and a playbook full of cover songs, had just started. How much everyone was listening, I couldn’t say, but the strumming added a festive feel to the atmosphere.

Though The Aldgate hasn’t been around as long as some of the establishments it imitates in Mother England, 12 years of survival in the rough and tumble world of Shibuya is nothing to scoff at.

3F Shin-Iwasaki Bldg, 30-4 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3462-2983. Open Mon-Sat 6pm-2am, Sun & hols 5pm-2am. www.the-aldgate.com

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