Half Moon Bay Brewing Company
| Address: | 390 Capistrano Rd, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-728-2739 |
| Site: | hmbbrewingco.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
CH
Christopher Calhoun
On the plus side, its great for groups. its a great location, easy to find it. Their seasonal low-batch brews are better than the standard selection of creatively "area-named" beers (like Mavericks Ale for example). Beer, beer beer. They call themselves Half Moon Bay Brewing Company and I expect the brews to be the feature of the place, but really, its the fishtank, the view, the music, the ample parking for said car club or bike club, the outdoor seating, the bar (if not overly crowded) and atmosphere that makes it worthwhile. Food is okay. Beers, well they try a bit too hard to make a decent average beer and as Griz from SF Brewcraft would have said, you can taste that sort of anal-retentiveness in the brew. Ok, to be fair they arent especially bad, but they all follow a similar recipe and process, so arent especially daringly flavorful or OMG tasty either, what I mean is, okay they are drinkable but they arent winning any gold medals in my book, and I guess thats not the point. I do like that the beers arent overly carbonated, which helps to the idea of downing them quickly without having to stifle an onslaught of burpage. These are full bodied ales, not light beer lagers, so dont whine about them being flat if youre used to more foamy mass-produced junk from the major brands. Moving on.. The menu has all the comfort foods, burgers, fish and chips (salmon and chips are better IMHO) salads, etc., and Ill be back time and time again to check up on them, because I like the drive to get here and we are always seated quickly and enjoy ourselves in spite of any shortcomings the place may have.. Hey, if the food was tremendously good and brews were fantastic, this could easily be a five star destination, but catering to the palate of tourism and quality of mass ingredients as they may be, if you like your standard blonde, brown, amber, and IPA then youll be fine. In summary, I think the logic here must be that they want to try and cater to the general status quo -- rather than be more adventurous in food and beer -- so, they do well to make okay food and drink for the average clientele that pass through. its a good 3 - safe bet for them and probably why theyve stayed in business for so long, they figured out a formula that works. Works for me.
JO
John Johnson
How can anyone not enjoy a visit to the Half Moon Bay Brewing company? The Bay views alone will sweep you off of your feet! Its located in a light use coastal waterfront area enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Either stay in a nearby hotel and walk or drive as theres ample close parking. The Half Moon Brewing Company offers both a cozy indoor space along with inviting outdoor seating that you cannot help but enjoy daytime or nighttime. I opted for bar seating. Due to there being only one bartender and visiting during an odd hour rush, I waited a little longer than to be expected for my order to be taken. However, after that, service time was spot on and I was very well taken care of and enjoyed the friendly and informative personalities of the employees. I ordered their Calf-eine Coffee Milk Stout which was rich, creamy and roasty as the menu description indicated. In no time at all, my crispy artichoke hearts with bleu cheese dressing for dipping arrived. This was a generous serving of beer battered artichokes that were perfectly prepared. Yeah, I devoured them! Back to the beer menu. Full Swing, a west coast style IPA was next. I enjoyed this bitter, hoppy brew so much (and obviously so) that the bartender directed me to a cooler filled with take out bottles of their various craft beers. I greedily grabbed two big bottles of Full Swing IPA, paid my tab and exited with a big smile on my face.
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Ly Mac
After calling twice during the week to confirm that the restaurant was dog friendly and can accommodate our large group, they basically forced us to cancel our reservation an hour before arrival due to rain that day. To be fair, the 2 male staffs I spoke to during the weekday were very nice. The female staff that called me an hour before our reservation time, while we were already on our way there, acted as if she wanted us to cancel our reservation - telling us their patio wasnt open and they dont allow dogs in the restaurant. But we can sit outside in the rain and order their food to-go, they just wont provide any service since their patio was closed that day. I decided to call Flavor Restaurant instead (right by the HMB Brewing Company) and they were a lot more accommodating. I called the Brewing Company back to cancel our reservation and the same girl excitedly answered, "OK". Everything worked out in the end because the staffs at Flavor were AMAZING and brought out umbrellas and lit the fireplaces for us in their patio area - not to mention their food was delicious. So I guess, thanks rude girl at the Brewing Company, because you made us check out Flavor Restaurant and now were fans. Definitely recommend for visitors to Half Moon Bay to check out Flavor and just skip the other restaurants in the area.
CA
Carlos A Ramirez
We visited Half Moon Bay Brewing Company during our post- Christmas/ pre-New Year getaway on the 28th of December. We werent expecting that many people in the area. Not really digging the bathrooms right next to the entrance. The long line to the host caused the line to reach the bathrooms which created a bit of a traffic jam with people going in and out of the bathrooms. There was about a 35 minute wait to sit outside on the patio. We opted for inside, but the wait time wasnt any better. We headed for the bar area where we immediately found a table, sat down and ordered lunch. The beer selection is great. They have a number of local beers. It was happy hour and we ordered the fried artichoke hearts which were $4 off during happy hour. The artichoke hearts were served on a bed of cabbage and with ranch dressing. If fried foods are your thing Id recommend the artichoke hearts. The wife ordered a Tortilla Chicken Salad which I wasnt too impressed with. The chicken was pretty dry and the salad consisted of mostly iceberg lettuce. There was some avocado, but not much. I had the Pan Roasted Lingcod. It was served on a bed of Swiss chard and topped with greens and accompanied by fingerling potatoes. I would definitely recommend this entree. The meal was moist and tasty and was not fishy at all.
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A Private User
The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is a very pleasant restaurant and brewpub located north of Half Moon Bay in the small town of Princeton-by-the-Sea on the Pacific coast southwest of San Francisco (just south of the famous "Devils Slide". If you dont happen to live on the coast it is a little bit of effort to get here, but it is well worth it. The Half Moon Bay Brewing Company gets a large apres-beach crowd for dinner, for their locally-made beers, and to sit outside around several open fire pits and mingle. Then a band starts playing, and people start dancing on a modest dance floor next to the bar. A new crowd starts showing up specifically for the dancing and bar scene -- mostly locals, but also a few folks from the City or the peninsula cities. And the fun goes on till the band stops playing! The bands tend towards classic rock and blues, and they are usually pretty solid. The crowd tends towards middle aged. Heres our formula: Head out to the coast, arriving about 4 or 5pm. (This tends to beat the traffic, as most folks are coming back from the beach by then.) Sit either in the bar (kind of noisy) or outside (if the whether is cooperating) and order dinner. Dance till the band stops at 10 or 11pm, enjoying the company of the very friendly local crowd.
