Latest reviews from Pescadero

“About 30min north of Santa Cruz. Nice drive up the coast, beside cliffs, wind surfers, old Davenport pier. Super friendly staff. Great quesadilla. 8 beers on tap, all available in cans. Some good, some bad beers. Worth a stop if you are driving, but hard to justify a dedicated trip. Beautiful coastline and hiking here. No cell service, but they have WiFi. Seating inside and out, but entrance is deceptive: order in front, then walk around back to seat. Band sets up in back at 1PM on Sunday.“

wetherel 631 days ago

“I have been meaning to hit this place for a while now, and finally I turned in after seeing the "Brewery Ahead" sign. I am glad I did. Classic brewpub mentality with a dining area and separate bar area. I took a seat at the bar and ordered a sample flight and some food. Service was exceptional and the food was pretty good as well. Sample flight consisted of 5 brews, but there were spots for six on the placard, so I am assuming they have a sixth on occasion. Beer quality ranged from meh to pretty decent. Prices seemed pretty high; I think it was like 25$ for my tasting flight and a taco salad.“

bytemesis 3606 days ago

“Visited December 1, 2013.

I’ve been looking for a reason to go out this way for at least a few months now but it’s really not on my way anywhere. On Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend taking highway 1 seemed like the perfect escape from the mess that is/was I-5. Also, I hadn’t been out to Half Moon Bay in years and I’ve never before been in Pescadero (which I got to see since my GPS took me through the town which is no where near the brewery). There’s also the light house a mile up the way which is a pretty neat park / vantage point. The brewery itself is a little less photogenic than the surrounding area as it’s just a little diner and bar next door to a gas station.

The building is split into two sides, one for the restaurant and one for the bar. I sat at the bar and watched the Niners beat on the Rams for a bit as I tried a flight of house beers. They only had three house beers at the time as the bourbon porter had kicked already. I meant to ask if that was really in a bourbon barrel or if that was done on chips but I never had the opportunity. Actually I had a lot of questions like how big the brewhouse is, if they plan to distribute, what kind of styles they like to brew, etc, but the service was just so slow that I wanted to leave as soon as I was finally able to pay for my drinks. All the employees were nice but while they didn’t look overly busy they were in no hurry to help anyone. Speaking of the beer, my favorite was by far the Rock Queen pale ale. The nut brown ale wasn’t bad for what it was but it’s not my style. The "stock ale" at 9% abv was kind of boring surprisingly. I was told that it has sour cherries in it but I couldn’t taste that. It was just a caramelly beer with little character. At least none of the beers were flawed so in that sense I’d say these guys are off to a good start but could use a lesson in customer service.

I’ll have to stop back in to enjoy the area a bit and to try the food as it looked great. Prices are kind of high though and the parking situation isn’t great. They also have some guest beers like Stone and Ballast Point.“

t0rin0 3815 days ago

“Update: 8/21/2015 Been multiple times now but it had been about a year since the last visit. The place now looks and feels somewhat dirty. We were handed stained paper menus and sat at a sticky bar. Below the windows sat a huge pet peeve of mine: supposedly clean glasses of which basically all were cloudy, spotted and generally shitty looking. We were swatting at fruit and black flies during our entire meal. Staff seems to be without much direction and only moderately attentive, dicking around with their phones from which the house music was being played. Waited about 10 minutes before someone asked us if we were ready for our check, which was obnoxiously presented via an all-too common iPad with the easiest thing on the screen to read being the predetermined tip percentages. This of course requires the server to hover uncomfortably with the expectation that you’ll pay by card even though we were paying with cash. Food isn’t nearly as good either, from the wife’s bland kale salad to my bland and overpriced cheddar bacon burger with terrible fries to the now poorly executed cauliflower bites. Menu has been pared down and made less interesting with more focus on wings and burgers. Beer was average at best. Didn’t care for multiple chunks of Irish moss in my glass of British IPA although the flavor was alright. The bartender described the wife’s brown ale as what Newcastle should be. This beer was disjointed flavors with poor carbonation. We didn’t bother with any of the other 3 or 4 beers. I’ve read a couple of bits mentioning that Highway 1 is under new ownership but haven’t seen any confirmation. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true as something has to account for the changes for the worse that this place has undergone. Most likely won’t be returning. Too bad. Original review: Stopped in on a sunny Friday afternoon. Diner/road house with a front dining room while we sat in second room with large bar and tall bar tables. What used to be a third dining room off the back of the barroom is now the brew room, separated simply by a row of kegs. Server was friendly and attentive. Food did take a while but was pretty good. Meatloaf sliders with mashed potatoes on buttermilk biscuits, buffalo style cauliflower bites, and some very satisfying mac ’n cheese made with Cheez-Its. Five solid beers on tap. Nice views of the ocean across the namesake Highway 1. Definitely worthy of a stop between SF and Santa Cruz. Original total score: 76“

tripelthreat 3867 days ago

“You could catch Half Moon Bay brewing up the road, but this is much closer to Santa Cruz. Styled like a road house, across from the beach. Great hospitality, care given to the temperature at which it is served, and a list that is fleshed out with local beers (just four of its own offerings on tap when I stopped in). Has potential. I didn’t eat on my stop.“

Nuffield 3980 days ago

“This new little brewpub is about 25 miles north of Santa Cruz on the Coast Highway up to San Francisco. Located along the most beautiful Highway on the face of the earth, within view of the Pacific Ocean, this is a must stop if you are in the area. They had several of their beers on tap, but were out of their IPA. Tasted 3, they were all drinkable up to above average, and the food was well made and tasty. Not much in the area, so if you are traveling on this part of the coast, this is the place.“

larryLSB 4032 days ago