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Avocado rolls! Avocado rolls! And homemade tasting beer? It doesn't get any better than this. Not that I know what 'homemade' beer tastes like, but I'm guessing it tastes as fantastic as this stuff does. And you can't go wrong with deep-fried avocados. I also recommend their sweet potatoe fries... fantastic!
I also recommend sitting out on the terrace- it's a great place to people-watch both outside AND inside the restaurant.
Downside... service is lacking, and can take... FOR. EVER. Don't go super-hungry or you'll be just about ready to start drinkin' from the taps in front of you at the bar. :)
FOOD: The Chef's Special Pasta (I always forget the real name of this dish) and the Ojai Sandwhich are my favorites!! It is also a plus that the pasta can come in either a small or large portion.
BEER: As a dark beer drinker there selection isn't my absolute favorite, but when I'm in a "lighter" mood they hav a great selection. If you're not so sure what you want you can order a taste-test of about 5 beers or so.
SERVICE: Has always been GREAT! The waiters/waitresses have always been very positive and cheerful. I second the comment from Russ about the proprietor - everyone there loves to share their favorites and impart their beer knowledge, etc.
Anytime I have friends/family visit this is one of "my spots" to take them to. We brought a group of Australian beer drinkers here two summers ago and they walked away with free merchandise to take back. The girls and I head here mid-week every once awhile to grab a much needed break. Also, the TVs are a plus - mainly for the sports fan.
Thank you ABC for the a great place to go in downtown Ventura!!
This place has some really bad service, average beer, and OK food. Our server was making out with some dude so I had to go to the bar to order. Even with 4 people at the bar it took about 7min to place an order.
The IPA we had was marginal at best, and not cold. It wasn't warm, but they may want to turn down the fridge. The onion rings are good and I would recommend those, but I'm pretty sure I won't be back.
We skipped the Anacapa Brewing Co beer booth at the California Beer Festival so we could go there for lunch & beer after the festival. We weren't disappointed. The beer is good, but a bit on the hoppy side for me. I had the Shrimp Po'Boy sandwich with fries to go with my brew. Honey chose a Bleu Cheese Burger with fries. The food was delicious. I especially loved the ciabata bread mine featured. Good bread can make a regular sandwich extra yummy.
The service was great for the amount of people that were shoved in here. The place was packed! Probably with a good amount of people who didn't make it into the Beer Festival. But our waitress never acted stressed or grumpy. Maybe it's the beach air... the atmosphere was relaxing and casual.
This place was great for a lot of reasons. Lets make a list:
1. The beer. If pale ales are your thing, then this is your place! I started with the Mirage Rye Pale Ale and never looked back. It was that good. Unfortunately they were out of their Oktoberfest Pale Ale, which they were very proud of.
2. Danny. We were served by the proprietor, Danny. He was friendly, informative and a damn good server as well. When someone is proud and excited about their product, it really enhances the whole experience.
3. The food. I ordered the fish and chips and my father in law had the pulled pork sandwich.The fish and chips were good. Kind of hard to screw that up. What caught my attention though was the quality of the cole slaw. It was fresh and delicious. Not the typical ,goopy, 3 day old slop that you normally get from chain restaurants. Danny told me that they make 3 batches a day. Nice.
4. The premises. The whole place had a very understated cool vibe too it, I don't know if it was the concrete bar or the brew kettles behind the bar. But it just felt comfortable.
If you are a fan of brewpubs, be sure to check this one out. You won't be disappointed.
Today was our 4th visit for lunch & beers over the past four weekends.
This place serves up respectable burgers, delicious pulled pork sandwiches, a wide variety of premium salads, and, of course, a variety of quality in-house brewed beers.
Toss in the stellar service, sports on TV, plus the comfortable breeze that blows through the restaurant and I'd say this is a joint worthy of a visit when in downtown Ventura.
Note: Parking can be in demand on Main Street, so take advantage of the free parking lot directly behind the restaurant.
The only thing that beats getting fried by the sun at a 3 hour graduation ceremony, being stuck in traffic on the drive home and traveling 10 miles in 60 minutes.
BOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Luckily my BIL has his finger on the pulse of brewing companies and suggested we stop in Ventura for some dinner at Anacapa Brewing Company. Beer + Food = Relief from the traffic blues.
My SIL tried the sampler and suggested I order the hef. She knows I love me some wheat beer. It was tasty! For dinner I ordered the ahi rolls from the appetizer menu. Essentially they were egg rolls with ahi tuna and avocado served with a tasty wasabi ranch dipping sauce. I was happy with my choice. It wasn't mind blowing but I enjoyed it. My eyes got big when I saw another appetizer on the menu- SWEET POTATO FRIES!
YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Score! Anacapa serves their SP fries with a honey mustard sauce that rocked my mouth with a bit of a kick!
My SIL got the scorcher burger cause she likes to burn her tongue off. It looked pretty tasty and the deep fried jalapenos looked like they would burn something else off, on the way out [if ya know what i mean].
Anacapa was a good dinner stop with friendly staff. We were even able to watch the Lakers win the championship, sort of. Note to owner: Please, invest is some bigger television screens, or supply patrons with binoculars.
I had the po-boy. Not too large a portion which was perfect for lunch. They were kid friendly which for us Is Great for us. Wife didn't order off the menu just told the guy what she wanted And they made it
Happen.
Wandering through Ventura looking for a place to eat and I find this Gem thanks to yelp.
Ending a day with the girls and our dogs in Ventura was pretty fun. The hard part was finding a place with a few pre-reqs. The Laker game, good salads and outside seating for the dogs! Thankfully Anacapa provided all three. Quick look through the menu and it reminds me of BJs. An eclectic mix of random things that just don't seem to fit side by side on a menu. Ordered up the Asiago cheese dip at the recommendation, I'm NOT sure why I keep doing this to myself (or my wife) seeing as I'm lactose intolerant. The girls LOVED it I was meh. For my meal I ordered the pretzel fried chicken. WOW! Fried chicken drowning in gravy, you can't go wrong, unless you're one of those crazy people who like to eat healthy. Everything we ordered was 'good'. Didn't get a chance to sample the brews because I was driving home. Maybe next time.
I've been to this place twice now, and have to say its Average. They serve average drinks with average food. So if you want an average night out where you can get an average beer and pizza this is your average place.
This review will not include beer, imagine!
Yes, it is a brewing company and I am sure the beer is fine, but let's get to the food, shall we?
Last minute decision to eat here, walking past and decided to pop in. Good choice!
I had the 12 ounce steak dinner, I asked for medium well and it was a little too pink for my usual liking, but that was remedied very quickly by our attentive server. The garlic mashed potatoes had a good garlic flavor without being overwhelming, however they were a bit on the lumpy side (plus side of that is you know they are REAL!). My dinner companion had the veggie pizza (she is a vegetarian) and although she liked it she regretted not asking for light cheese.
The service was good, (my diet coke was never allowed to be empty) and the ambiance was even better.
There is an outside patio, and it is pet friendly (good? bad? you decide).
We were in Ventura on a Sunday afternoon. We stopped in Anacapa to get brief respite from the heat.
We both ordered the Napa salad which is not with Napa cabbage (as I thought before reading the menu...) but it was a salad with pine nuts, tomatoes, cucumbers and it comes with two pieces of crustini.
The salads and two pints made for a great sunny, hot afternoon lunch.
The service was fast and friendly. I would stop back in next time i'm in Ventura.
Went here last weekend on a Friday night for beers. I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed by their beer. I had the IPA and the Velvet Red, and both were outstanding. In fact the IPA was so good, that I wanted to grab another, but was wanted to try more just to see how good the beer list was. Trust me, from what I tasted, you won't be disappointed.
The best part was we met the co-owner and got to hang out with her for a while. She even told us that she'd stay open for as long as we wanted as long as we entertained her. I don't exactly know what she meant by "entertained," ;) but we we got to hang out a while longer and had a great time, so I guess we were on the A-list.
Definitely will head back here on my next visit to Ventura.
Our friend has just moved to Ventura and we had just finished unloading the last of the boxes when the urge to replenish our liquids hit. We walked into Anacapa with no expectations for greatness and were quite impressed with the beer quality (I particularly enjoyed the taste of the brown ale and spruce tip ($4.43) that I was able to steal off my husband) and even more stuningly impressed by the mean margarita that they made (for $5.60, I'd order three- but you may want to have someone to carry you out).
The burgers are monsters and welcoming for hungry stomachs- I may have been a bit famished from the 100 boxes and three flights of stairs that we had to endure to help our buddy, but their schorcher burger ($10.75) may just have been my favorite burger ever! (jalapeno popper bits sent me over the edge!). The jetty garlic fries are also worth tasting.
This place almost makes me wish I were a Ventura local!
Decent brews, fast and friendly service, and a behemoth of a burger that rocked my socks off. (And rocked the bathroom off the morning after. Damned roasted chiles!)
Beers were surprisingly good. I shouldn't say that - it makes me sound like more of a beer snob than I actually am - but when I walk into a small brewpub that doesn't distribute, I tend to have low expectations. Their nut brown ale was solid, and their espresso stout was a little watery, but still enjoyable. And the wifey was all about the margaritas too.
Good bunch of locals hanging out inside, which helped give the place a really nice laid back vibe - along with the nice local artwork showcased on the walls. Definitely a worthy spot in Ventura.
they favor the bitter beer here. Hubby loved it, I loved the Hef.
Friendly wait staff. a nice place to visit and kid friendly. I reccomend it.
I have been drinking here for the last 7 year. Not only is the restaurant in the middle of gorgeous downtown Ventura but the beers here are excellent. The brewmaster always has at least 5 micro-brew beers available on tap. Try the IPA or the Santa Rosa Red both are guaranteed to quench your thirst.
If your hungry try the pesto-shrimp pizza, the jetty fries, or the fish tacos. All are excellent.
Anacapa Brewing Company will not disappoint!
Beer, beer, and more beer. I havent had the food here in the longest time. But the beer here is excellent. Three different brews placed in LA County Fair's commerical beer contest. They love their IPAs here, the hoppier the better. The chalk board lists current beers on tap with their alcohol content, taste description, and i.b.u. That's the international bittering units. Right now they have the Two Trees Double IPA. Alcohol content of 9.5% and ibu of 90 (where 40 is considered strong!). By the way, "bitter" is not the right term, more like hoppy (as in sorta sour, but in a good way).
Stopped by for lunch recently. Looks like most of the reviews are for the beer, not the food. The food was ok, the staff was nice, hence the 3 star rating.
Had a burger and a Cuban sandwich. Burger was a monstrous 1/2 pound burger with a nice charbroiled flavor. Advertised as having "secret sauce" yeah, in CA apparently the secret sauce everywhere is a variation of thousand island dressing. Choice of fries, fruit or coleslaw, chose the fries. Small pile of fries were ok, but nothing great. Bummer, I was craving some decent fries. Burger was huge for the price of around $10 and change, and the bun was nicely toasted.
Cuban sandwich was rather small and close to $11. It tasted good, the bun was toasted, but I prefer a traditional cuban sandwich, all smooshed on a grill. Got the coleslaw as the side, it was ok, but not great either.
Luckily we shared the 2 sandwiches otherwise I would have walked out hungry because of the smallish size of the Cuban (see photos, sorry, its blurry)
Our waitress was nice, hence the 3 stars. After we ordered sodas, I noticed they brew their own root beer and the waitress was nice enough to bring some over to taste. It was creamy, not very carbonated, but there was some spice in it, which I couldn't identify that just wasn't making me love it enough to order a whole glass, but I was glad they allowed us to taste it.
Based on food alone, the food wasn't good enough to bring us back, the good service brought it up to 3 stars, based on our food, 2 stars.
Thanks Yelp for helping the family score big at the Memorial Day sales at Deckers Factory Outlet (manufacturers of Ugg and Teva) and the Child Abuse and Neglect Thrift Store. After a successful shopping expedition it would have been a let-down to cap it off (and we definitely did need to cut short the spending spree) with a meal that didn't deliver value-wise too. Anacapa Brewing Co. did not disappoint - the brews that HG sampled seemed pretty legit, and the entree salads generous.
Since our weekend was actually centered in Oxnard, we'd spent a good part of it in front of the TV, so HG Jr. was inspired to order the Cuban sandwich after a Food Network piece on a Florida catering truck's version. The bite he allowed me reminded me of a Chinese flavor, but he gives it 4.5 stars.
I was about to give this place 3 stars overall because I had absolutely no memory of what I ate, even after checking their website. Then HG reminded me that I hadn't ordered anything! So better listen to the pub reviewers because even drunk they are less impaired than me.
Get the Asiago Cheese Dip. Get it now. Eat it all. Ponder getting more. Decide that's piggish. Sulk.
The beer bread that was served with the heavenly cheese dip was incredible. Dense, yet not heavy. Sweet, yet savory. It was simply YUM.
My husband LOVED his burger...I liked mine. I ordered the Buenaventura which has 1000 island (a little bland), avocado, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle (which I forgot to tell them to omit). He got the regular burger (Anacapa?) and I figured out what mine was lacking - HELLO, ONIONS!!!!!!!!!!! Onions would have definitely improved the semi-blandness of my burger.
However, the meat was excellent quality and the wheaty bun was not health-food wheaty, just whole-grain yumminess.
I ordered an Arnold Palmer to drink, and with the addition of lemonade, you shouldn't have to add sweetener to this bev. but I found myself reaching for the Equal.
Love the atmos. - great brick walls, exposed duct work, big ol' beer vats. Service was attentive and friendly. It's good, just not great.
The most surprising thing about Anacapa Brewing to me is that their chicken in mole is actually really good. Yeah, it's kind of a shocker. It's one of the better moles that I've ever had. A nice little hint of chocolate but not overly sweet and with just enough spice. It's a solid and surprising item on their menu. Other than that, the food is pretty average, wannabe upscale, microbrew pub fare.
The beer can be hit-or-miss. I really like their Two Trees IPA and I'm not usually an IPA fan. This is a beer drinker's beer. It's super hoppy and has 9.8% ABV but it's still very accessible for those of us that don't usually like our beer that hardcore. But the stout isn't that great and some of the others are just OK. The Santa Rosa Red is probably my next favorite of their beers.
If Anacapa Brewing existed in the Northwest where there are microbreweries every few blocks - or so it seems - Anacapa probably would be a three star establishment at best. But since it's a one of a kind in Ventura, I'm willing to give it a little bit of a break and up it's rating by a star. I'm feeling generous. Plus, I'm a little buzzed.
Love it! Great local place with a friendly and fun atmosphere and some wicked good beer. Try the Chocolate or Espresso Stout for an interesting and complex dark beer that isn't too bitter.
I also love that this place isn't too loud to have a conversation. The food was good. I had the blue cheese salad and my boyfriend ordered the pesto chicken pasta.
They also advertise special beer tasting/pairing events during the year.
We'd never been to Ventura and after trying to get into the Crab Shack, decided to find a place downtown. The wait at Anacapa wasn't too bad so we ate here.
The service was absolutely amazing! Jesse, the bartender was one of the best waiters I've ever had. The hostess was nice and they were all very attentive. When a dish was mixed up at another table, the owner came out, even though the patrons said it was okay. They got a free round. Cool.
But, I hate to say the beer wasn't that great. The IPA was very...weedy and bitter. The Amber was just okay, compared with Racoon Red at Rock Bottom. I did like the Chocolate Stout.
Overall I'd go here again in a heartbeat! Get the brownie!
In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that I won a free pitcher of the IPA in a Monday night football drawing. This was a nice spot. I liked the IPA and the Amber. The wings weren't the best I've had, but I enjoyed them. The game was in full view and the people were friendly (both the staff and the patrons). I would definitely go again.
I ended my day long stay in Ventura here at the Anacapa Brewing Co. Anyplace where the kitchen staff is playing Too Short and you can order 6.8% IPA is fine by me. KK, Dave and I had a perfect meal, the portions were just right and combined with the Chocolate Stouts and friendly wait staff I enjoyed the final quarter of the Laker game on one of the three 42" LCD screens in the place.
Great beer and nice atmosphere! I had the Two Trees IPA with 9.7% alcohol and 90 i.b.u. (international bittering units.) My complaint is usually that beer isn't hoppy enough...no complaints here. There is also a great selection of other beers for those less hop-obsessed.
Went here last night after not having gone for years. The atmosphere is nice, but the food and beer are rather humdrum.
Did not make it time to eat. But had a chance to try a few of the beers.. There seaonal IPA was awesome!!!! If you don't feel like driving to SB this is not a bad joint at all!!!
This place is so nice looking and looks so clean. It's a bar you would take your family to. They have creme brule here, but I did not get it. I ask you would you get creme brule from a bar? No. I ordered a beer and talked to the barender. They are nice here and that's a must for me. My friend and I really enjoyed this place. They serve food here and I saw quite a few people eating their food. Keep that in mind if you are craving a beer.
The atmosphere was good. Couldn't figure out what the old beer mugs were on the ceiling were doing.
The food was okay. Of course I was famished and inhaled a burger, but girlfriend found gristle chunks in her burger. The fries where more tastey than the burger.
Didn't drink , but they didn't seem to be pushing their beer much as if the employees knew there wasn't anything really special about it.
All togethere, it was just okay.
I really liked this place. I loved the atmosphere. The beer was great! I had the Hurricane Hefeweizen and my boyfriend had the Porter. For lunch, I ordered the fish tacos and he ordered the pulled BBQ pork sandwich. YUM! We had the creme brulee for dessert. Very good!!
The food is only so-so but the beer is quite good. If you're going to eat think appies. I will say the flourless chocolate cake is quite tasty.
The food was not that great. I had the porter. It was ok. Not great. Too hard to walk around in there. Always being mowed down by a server. A little too close for comfort.
As microbreweries go it's probably as good as it gets. The beers are rotated frequently and there's usually a great selection. The "Two Trees" double IPA (9.7% ABV) was umm... umm... good and is long gone but their current single IPA is excellent. On par with B.J.s brewery and Santa Barbara Brew Co this local downtown marvel has great beer with a good atmosphere. It's unfortunate that the quality and presentation of the food isn't better. Take for example Dargan's Pub just a few blocks away. Dargan's is an ok pub, good selection of beer on tap but go there and order the Alpine burger with a salad and you'll really be treated to visually pleasing and tasty platter. Lots of very green leafy salad and an excellent burger for $10.00. Why Anacapa Brewing Co doesn't make a simple but elegant looking item is beyond me. The prices between the two pubs are comparable but presentation is severely lacking at Anacapa. Same for their Popcorn Shrimp appetizer. Tasty I'm sure but plain in presentation. You know people "eat with their eyes". I would elevate 4 stars to 5 if the food matched the quality of the beer.
try the Ojai sandwich...it's amazing! the bread pudding was probably the best I've tried- it had raspberries and white chocolate. both are pretty rich, so maybe not a good idea to have both in one meal. i suffered from bitter beer face on one of the beers I ordered, but that's coming from someone who normally orders a bud light, so don't take my word on the quality of beers here.
Carpinteria, CA
Category: Pubs
Ventura, CA
Category: Latin American
Ventura, CA
Category: Nightlife
Ventura, CA
Category: Gay Bars
Ventura, CA
Category: Nightlife
I heart sweet potato fries. If you do too, check…
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