July 24, 2011 [ Updated April 2, 2012 ]
I’m re-writing this review based on a recent change in management which has markedly improved the place and changed the whole ballgame at E9. First the not-so-good news: the menu is only slowly changing and it’s still pretty much average pub food. The quality of what is served has got better however. Service is still only fair, but I expect this to improve as sub-standard servers move along. Prices are unchanged - so far. The good news is that the brewers are reinvigorated and are being allowed free reign to innovate and experiment. Sours, barrel-aged beers, collaborations with talented local homebrewers: it’s all happening at the new E9. Beer lines have been changed and are being cleaned regularly. Ditto for improved conditions in the brewing area. Brewers nights are being put on the schedule and the E9 brewers are holding their brews up to be examined in direct comparison to famous regional and national craft brews. Looking for even better things from E9 soon!

November 27, 2010
Good beer selection. Staff is very friendly. French dip is tasty. Many t.v.’s to watch, although the newest one is about 15 years old. Besides that, great place.

August 12, 2010
A fun place where I always manage to have a good time. Great selection of their own brews and some unusual ones (including cask ales), average pub food, good service (though often very busy), pub quizzes, etc. Prices are good, not to be missed during a Tacoma pub crawl.

April 18, 2010
The beer is very good. The chili rocks! Food is good too.

December 11, 2008
I went to college around the corner, and ended up spending probably a couple thousand dollars there learning about beer. My name is on the wall several times. I became a professional brewer with the help of their beer club and Doug Tiede, the Head Brewer there,.

October 26, 2008
This place is a conundrum. Reclamation of historic buildings rocks, and this place is one of the better ones. You can still see the arches that fronted the horses’ stalls they’re still part of the architecture. It’s got a nice, diverse, friendly, lively crowd, like any college bar should. Good service. Plenty of other good beers on draft, and the food is solid. But the brewing effort here is woeful. Still, the night we went, they had The Dissident and plenty of other gems pouring. I’ll be back without a doubt.

October 14, 2007
The house brews are all dull, weak & uninspired. Especially their E9 IPA. The food turned into a real bummer for me which overshadowed the entire experiance. Sandwhichs come with a mountain of fries, for $1 you can upgrade to onion rings. I figured, what the heck, spend the extra buck...they brought out my lunch with a total of 4 onion rings, What a rip off. Nice building & decor, the rest of the experiance blows! Their pale ale looks & tastes like bud:(

May 27, 2007 [ Updated September 9, 2008 ]
This was a great place. I loved the old fire house and the look inside and out was just what we all look for. The beers where good not perfect but hell the atmosphere made up for that. The service was good and the food was also very nice. Kids are Ok and the 10 regular’s taps and 10 guest taps where awesome. They also have some out of country brews by bottle. A must see and have some food sing songs and have a great time. Cheer and have some beer they are getting better in this department also.

February 13, 2007
My Favorite place for a pint! Friendly staff & brewers. Although I don’t like karaoke nights. But they do have music blues and jazz. My favorite brew would have to be Tacoma Brew or the Roasted Porter.

March 25, 2005 [ Updated September 18, 2008 ]
A good range of beers, most of which are drinkable, but average. A couple of good beers. Not great service. The food ranges from average to good. Quite a charming style