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I have been going to the Faultline Brewing Company for perhaps 15 years, ever since my first job in Silicon Valley. As a past home brewer and afficionado of Real Ale, I was a founding member of the Campaign for Real Ale in England in the early '70s (yeah, that ages me!) but I think that lends me a little credibility in my taste in beer. The Faultline brewery produces the best beer on the Penninsula. I give Gordon Biersch a lot of credit for promoting microbrewery beer, and for German-style beers they are very good. But the Faultline fulfills my need for a bitter beer, a pale ale or an IPA, amongst other great craft ales. I've never been disappointed over the years. The beers at this brewpub are made by someone who understands that beer doesn't have to be frozen and fizzy to be good - you'll find a complexity of tastes and a quality here that will match any European beer.
At the bar, I generally have the Ahi Tuna Rolls or my favourite which is a simple burger and fries, but scrumptious.
The main restaurant food is very good and I do agree not cheap. But I'll pay it for the ambiance, service, a good looking venue, great view and fantastic beer.
Come on folks, get this place filled up all the time and urge them to open weekends as well!
PS It must be over ten years ago when after about 5 pints I suggested what I thought was a brilliant advertisement line "Come to the Faultline - where the beer gives you the shakes!" Can't think why they didn't use it...
Brian P., I have to agree, since I had the exact same experience at the exact same time! (Thanks for taking your under-the-weather girlfriend out for a get-well-meal.)
The venue was really large and multi-tiered, so sound traveled. It was loud! And to my still-not-fully-recovered ears, impossible to hear.
We were seated close to the big glass windows, gorgeous but cold. I'm not sure much could be done about that.
Luckily my cold had no effect on my sense of smell or taste, so I am unfortunately able to report that the food was mediocre and not at all flavorful. I wish I was more of a beer drinker, as their beverage menu was impressive. I'm sure that is what truly keeps this place in good business.
Went on a Thursday evening around 7:45pm by myself and ate at the bar. The place was packed. Bar full and all tables taken, and I must say both the bar and seating areas are rather large. The buzz of life was in the air as the place was so busy. Crowd was business mainly, 30+ I'd say.
Bartender was friendly and quite attentive the whole time. Nice decor and some big flat screens above the bar.
Onto the beer:
Started with an IPA which came in at about 6.2% I believe. It was about average for a brewpub; not bad, certainly not great. I'd give it a B- if comparing all IPAs of the world.
I then tried their 'Holiday Strong' which was a winter warmer/ barleywine-esqe beer. It was 6.7% I believe. Rather average, I'd give this one a B- as well.
The menu was different for a brewpub. Looked over the menu 2-3 times and nothing really popped out at me. Ended up breaking it down to some German pork chop and sauerkraut dish and the Blackened Mahi they had on special. Asked the bartender what he'd recommend and he said the Mahi. He said the pork chops can be dry, so I appreciated his recommendation.
I must admit, the mahi was cooked to perfection and seasoned very well. The avacado sauce it was served with was pleasant and a nice sidekick to the spiciness of the fish. The veggies it was served on were overcooked and not as good.
Overall, the fish was superb, the IPA was pretty good. All this and a tip was $40 which is a bit steep, especially considering my mild satisfaction. I'll probably go back, but will expect to pay for it.
The beer here is better than BJs but the Happy Hour deals are not quite as good. The food is pretty much what you would expect for American pub fair and nothing is really great on the menu which is holding me back from rating it any higher.
The burger I had was great....it is a bit pricey, but was worth it. It is a very lively place especially during lunch....so you need to come early to beat the lunch crowd. I would definitely come back.
Another good dinner at "Building F"... That's right, I have been coming to this place for over 10 years, and at one time was calling this "Building F", as this was a place to frequent with my clients. Great place for some German style microbrews, good appetizers, lunch, and dinner. Had theTuna roll appetizer (rice was a little mushy), and Seafood Gumbo entree' for the first time tonight. It hit the spot on a cold and blustery night. A little cajun heat, and plenty of shrimp, scallops, and fish fillets. Had their IPA tonight - nice hoppy floral notes. Usually go for the Kolsch (summer ale) - refreshing. Definitely will be back again.
This is a decent place for a work meeting or after work dinner with colleagues. It was definitely pricey, but food was tastey enough, but definitely of the chain restaurant quality (the nicer ones). A good place to take clients for a casual meeting is what I'm sayin'.
I tried this place because I had a http://restaurant.com certificate...and I'm sure glad I got $25 off because it was definitely not worth it.
It is expensive for the quality of food you get in return. $15 for entree salads? Everything we ordered was below average, save your money and go elsewhere.
Also, the hostess was very rude to us: no smile...she didn't even say hi when we walked in the door.
Utter disappointment. Yet another wannabe joint in Silicon Valley that doesn't deliver on what one would expect. The food is like what you might find at terrible tourist traps on a beach boardwalk. The beer we had was awful. It started off OK, but the more I drank the worse it tasted. Fries are terrible, buns are terrible, chicken is oddly flavored. Why oh why are there so many places in this neck of the woods that are so mediocre? When a restaurant has homemade computer printouts hanging all over for a jewelery sale that happened 2 weeks ago, it's probably a sign of trouble ahead.
This is just for the food review, as I am not a beer drinker
-Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli with chicken -- not bad
- I also had some of their sausages, and it was disappointing
Service needs to be better.....
Beer and fish don't go together and this is why I am not a big fan of the Fautline. Beer and grill food works better like the Tied House concept.
This is a good mid to high end lunch place to be taken to by a salesman or your banker and a good Silicon Valley happy hour watering hole and that is about it.
We did not like the menu. There were no options for sandwiches or burgers although you could order a burger by request. Most of our group ordered burgers, and noticed they were more raw in the center. Yuck!
The server was not very friendly. This did not help matters.
The prices are way too high for what you get. $19! for pot roast???????!!!!!! Are you joking? All entrees ranged above $15, and the quality is NOT great for that. I know $15 was the lowest entree price because that was also the price of the SALAD! This was not an amazing salad by any means. The lettuce was cheap and so was the thin slice of chicken on top. Come on. This IS California home of creative salad & healthy food choices? What a crappy excuse for a salad!
We will not return. There are far better options in the area for beer & much better food.
Decor = Big place with a fountain in the backyard
Service = Barely passing
Food = Disappointed. There is not that much selections. I was also bummed that they don't have the basic stuff like Fish&Chips
Value = Food price is more on the pricy side.
Kid Friendly = They are alright, but you won't find much kids there.
Recommendation = Nothing that is awesome. FYI - we had their raviolis, mac nut crusted fish and their special of the day. All I can say is I won't come back to this place again.
Note - Did not drink that day, so I can't comment on their beer. bummer.
The beer was very good (best bitter and the cask conditioned IPA), the appetizers too (fried mushrooms especially). I enjoyed my entree (the tri tip), and had the luxury of all of this being "on the company", which was fortunate cos the food was expensive.
The ambience is south bay sterile, but it was a pleasant experience overall. Worth stopping in for a beer every once in awhile, but I wouldn't call it a hang out.
Faultline Brewery is an offical sponsor of the Silicon Valley Roller Girls.
Faultline has provided beer at our events since our inaugural '08 season. Jose (manager) is always pleasant to work with and tries to always cater to our needs. They donate the beer as to help us in our efforts get roller derby off the ground.
All of our customers are pleased with their beer selections. We have had nothing but compliments on the high quality beer pours we offer at our events. People often ask where they can get the beer and are happy to see local talent in the industry offered at our events.
I won't fault this place for the reputation of having cars broken into while parked in their parking lot. Although the decor is a little nicer and quieter than Gordon Biersch, I probably would rather prefer GB over this place. Their service was good and they were helpful in bringing samples of beer to taste when deciding on a brew. But geez...$25 for a steak at a microbrewery? Geez...that's more than Outback and at least at Outback I know that they are specialists so I wasn't going to risk it here.
Drinks and appetizers are the safest bets here. A entree sized chicken caesar or salmon caesar was pretty good too but otherwise, everything else can be avoided.
I love a place who greets you with signs warning "Go back to your car and secure your laptop".
Geez! Hire a guard, if it's truly this dangerous!
The food and ambiance are slightly above average. I spent many business lunches, here, and would say the salads are good and get here early, or you will not get a table. The Hostesses were always nice, and the beer is excellent.
I came here once with a co-worker a few years ago. I was shocked at the great view -- at least great by Sunnyvale standards. I can't remember now what my main dish was, but it came with a side of grilled stone fruit, which I absolutely *loved*. Since then, every summer I've been grilling a little stone fruit of my own at home.
Anyway I've been trying to take my boyfriend here for years, but it's always closed. We seem to have a hard time remembering that they close on the weekends. Since we had the day off of work yesterday (a Friday), we finally got to go for lunch! I was disappointed to see that the stone fruit is no longer on the menu, but I had a delicious seafood gumbo. All of the ingredients were fresh and cooked just right. My boyfriend had fish 'n chips which he said was very good. (We're both picky about seafood freshness and flavor) Actually the gumbo could have been spicier, but I added some Tabasco and it was fine.
Good news is they're now open on Saturday evenings so we will hopefully be able to make it back there soon! It's kind of out of the way but pairs nicely with a visit to the Baylands park or a shopping trip at Fry's or Sports Basement down the street.
Dinner with work. Short and simple.
Beer - Great beers and would go back
Food - Okay but the did I tell you about the beer.
Wait Staff - Great and friendly
Return - Yes, focus on the drinks but the food is good enough for a return visit.
Go for the beer and the friendly people, the food is good with beer.
Other than beer, their appetizers are awesome. I wish they were open on weekends. The place is crowded on Friday evenings and LOUD. Sitting outside by the pond is nice.
Great inhouse beer selection compared to Rock Bottom/BJ's/Coop. If you can't make up your mind and aren't picky about(or love) different types of beers, get the sampler. I was good to go after finishing off all of them.
Prices are a bit on the high side for entrees. And they're not that great for the price. I would just recommend just going to the bar and getting apps. I went to happy hour here once and the prices for beer and apps were pretty good.
Been here a bunch of times with work friends and for work events. The food is just better at lunch then at dinner. They seem to have more variety at much more decent prices.
The atmosphere is good, fun for lunch. Nice for dinner. Dinner is good, have been here a couple of times, but never the default place.
Lunch is where this thing is great. Great food, good prices. Only complaint, they are closed on the weekends. I mean what place closes on the weekend. Would have gotten 4 stars had I been able to go here for a nice weekend lunch since driving to Sunnyvale for lunch is not really an option.
Lunch with coworkers. They screwed up the orders (at least a few).
I ordered grilled prime tri-tips. Hmmm. Some greasy, some with a lot gristle. Mashed potatoes were like someone forgot mashing in the middle.
Will not go back and do not recommend the place.
It's a little weird seeing signs for not leaving your laptop, electronics, etc in the car...not a good feeling. Bleh
They only serve beer or wine. Bleh
The potato skins were more like halved potatoes with stuff on top. Bleh
It's a meat market, lots of men.
I attended a birthday celebration last Saturday at the Faultline and was impressed by the level of service, and the food and drink quality! Whenever my glass was empty, there was someone asking me if I wanted another drink (I paid for that the next day!). The food was great, especially the Ahi Tuna Tempura Rolls! I would highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. Oh, did I mention the wheat beer is so good???
Good beer, friendly waitresses. The place is very accomodating to groups. I've brought one here for the past couple of weeks and they've been great. Even remembering me by the second time. More importantly, when people were looking for our group, they were correctly directed to us. The Faultline didn't mind us posting a temporary sign for our group either.
The food is a little expensive and it isn't a huge menu. What you get is filling and tastes good. The service was a little slow with a huge group (20) but fast the next week with 4.
Parking is a bit of a challenge in early evening. The parking lot is large so you'll find a space. You'll just need to walk a bit. By later in the evening it thins out.
The outside area is very pretty and in Summer I highly recommend it. Inside is appealing to the eye though it can be fairly noisy.
Had a "work dinner" here the other night. The fried calamari was ok but not great. My entree was the pot roast. Actually was pretty good! the waiter did not steer me wrong on that one. My dinner guest had the gumbo. He enjoyed it but did not rave about it. They also serve a home brewed root beer (which is nice if you like root beers - - which I do). It was also good but not great. Prices are fair. Overall a pleasant meal with no major problems, but also nothing to write home about. Let's keep this place as a work dinner spot. Let's just say Gordon Biersch has nothing to worry about.
The food was a little over priced, but tasted very good. The vegetables were cooked just right. The Hefe beer was good. the live entertainment was also a nice bonus. We went on a st. nite and it was not crowded at all.
I mean, it was fine - nothing terribly special. Definitely a Silicon Valley establishment. They actually have a happy hour now - it started this week, literally. $3.50 pints and $$ off appetizers, so that should make people happy!
It was huge and can easily accomodate parties. We should know because there were like 5 parties going on around us while we tried to enjoy dinner and shout to each other across the table.
The food was ok, the beer was better.
Beautiful outdoor patio, with a view of the lake - what a pleasant surprise in the never-ending concrete suburbia of the South Bay.
Perfect for after work happy hours.
A brew pub not open on a Sunday evening?!! After 18 holes at Summit Pointe, was definitely bummed having led my foursome to this closed shop last Sun night (Labor Day Weekend.)
I met a colleague here for lunch. It was super busy and he did not make a reservation. The hostess was really nice and got us a table.
So it is American bar food, which is not the healthiest on earth. I had the fish tacos, which had a strange texture. My friend had the burger with onion rings, which he liked.
This place remains me of many work related meals that I've had here. It's not my favorite.
I make it to the Fault Line every time I am in Sunnyvale which is usually two to five times a year. It's close to corporate headquarters and is a nice place to drop in and have a beer or two before calling it a night. The bar area certainly has that feel of an "after work" drink spot. You can usually find someone sporting the company logo.
Having tried some of the other local brewpubs, I have to say the beer keeps bringing me back. I think the beer here is much better than the Tied House, BJ's, Gordon Biersch or Rock Bottom. I like the fact they often have a Belgian beer and I like their Belgian beers, especially the tripel. The IPA is good as well. To the dismay of some, there is only beer and wine - no full bar service for those that don't like malted or grape derived beverages.
As for the food, I agree with many others that it's a bit overpriced and not always great despite trying to be creative. But I find the salads reasonably priced and usually fairly tasty. There's a $9 burger for those that are concerned about prices and eat red meat.
The wait staff is hit or miss. There is one taller blonde waitress in the bar area that really is incredible - friendly and very attentive service. If she's in, sit in her section. Otherwise, I've had so-so luck with some waitresses leaving a menu and then going off-shift or just waiting for someone to realize your glass has been empty for 20 minutes.
But for me, it's all about the beer. So I can overlook some of the shortcomings because I think they have some of the best brewpub beer around the area.
This place is like a hidden gem of Sunnyvale, serves mostly people who works around there - very industrial.
Got dinner here last nite for a friends bday dinner. I love their mahi mahi and yes the IPA - sweeeet! Just like Sierra on tap!
Our sever is great, I asked the kitchen for a couple of candles and the other server took some from the cabinet and gave me matches, right there right then, that's a good service right there! There's not much peeps during Wednesday night, pretty calm for a brewery. But I always love the food. Oh except for the pot roast and too bad they ran out of corned beef last night, otherwise, well since I missed the other nights St. Patty's cbeef. But hey I always enjoyed this place.
Beer = good
Food = mediocre and overpriced
Been here mainly (always) on business, including a company xmas dinner.
The location is awesome, the lake and the big glass windows with the nice view, the outdoor patio, and a nice place to have a few drinks with co-workers or friends. It gets loud, and the food is just OK, but portions are huge. I usually get the French Dip sandwich, which is good. The crispy calamari appetizers were good also.
It's a brewing company though, so thats their forte.
We tried the sampling assortment of small glasses different beers, that was kinda neat, as I'm not a big beer person, but I think they're truly good at brewing beer.
Nice place, but rather expensive for what you get. Only "local" brewery around and good music on Fridays. No hard liquor, only beer.
Can be expensive, so watch yourself.
Went here today with a group from work, and since we were on our lunch hour, we couldn't indulge in the one thing you should order when you eat at a brewery; beer. Given this, I am reviewing solely based on the food, service, etc.. I am hopeful I will be able to update my review after I return here and throw back a few pints.
I was slightly taken back by the number of signs in the entry that warned against leaving laptops, cell phones, etc.. in your vehicle. I assume they have had some car break in problems here. They seem to be very accommodating to large groups, and our group was seated immediately. The service was decent given we were here during the lunch rush. The menu seemed a tad limited with a heavy focus (at least to me) on Seafood. You can also order your standard brewery fare as well. I stuck with the standard burger, and fries and it was very average. I will come back here again because I was to increase my rating after trying their brew.
Been to this place for business lunches usually; the guests seemed to enjoy except that "get real loud" part.
- Maybe a new menu selection for a change.
- Beer/ale is ok, better than some other micro brewery/pub restaurants in the area.
- Portions are large.
- I don't think you want to take your date here.
Had high hopes for this place but left disappointed. Not a big menu selection and from the food we did order it was "just okay" - nothing to write home about. My good friend was looking for a particular item on the menu, but apparently it's no longer offered. :-(
Waiters and hostess were friendly. Atmosphere is good with nice views, but a little cold. No problem finding a parking (did someone know something about this place that we didn't?).
The only thing that saved this place was the good time I had with friends. Then again, I could go elsewhere with those same friends.
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Wineries
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Pubs
Mountain View, CA
Category: Breweries
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: American (Traditional)
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Bars
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