Anacortes Brewery & Rockfish Grill

Anacortes Brewery & Rockfish GrillAnacortes Brewery & Rockfish Grill
Anacortes Brewery & Rockfish GrillAnacortes Brewery & Rockfish Grill
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

320 Commercial Ave.
Anacortes, Washington, 98221
United States

(360) 588-1720 | map
anacortesrockfish.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.68
Beers:
51
Ratings:
268
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.98
Reviews:
30
Ratings:
41
pDev:
10.8%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Donkster46:
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Rated by Donkster46 from Washington

4.5/5  rDev +13.1%

Aug 18, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of jmdrpi
Reviewed by jmdrpi from Pennsylvania

3.76/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
Ate lunch here and had a couple beers.
There is a bar, along with dinning area, along with seating outdoors in both the front and back. They have a wide variety of their beers on tap, plus some hard cider. Service is good, and the pizza we ordered was tasty.
Aug 10, 2017
 
Rated: 3.8 by gr8fulbeerhead from California

Jul 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by morebeergood from Massachusetts

Sep 22, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by AdamSkylar from Washington

Jun 05, 2016
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Reviewed by Moose90 from Washington

2.75/5  rDev -30.9%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Took a day trip to Anacortes and stopped in here for lunch.

V — Not great, a bit dark, long shot-gun style room with a bar along one side. Outdated appearance inside and a bit underwhelming.

Q — OK, food seemed to be of good quality, beers were clearly made with care.

S — Poor, not sure if we caught our server on a bad day, but we received really poor service.

Selection — Lots of fresh beer on tap, all with nice descriptions and easily understandable sizes and prices.

F — Food was good, seemed fresh and didn't take too long to prepare.
Jul 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.98 by Birdlegs from Washington

Jan 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.64 by italianstallion from Wisconsin

Dec 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by TheBungyo from Washington

Dec 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.12 by Tok from Florida

Oct 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by ADG2995 from Missouri

Oct 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by bumchilly25 from Canada (BC)

May 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by KStark from Canada (BC)

May 13, 2014
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Reviewed by vbre23 from California

3.65/5  rDev -8.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
Great place considering it is in a small town. Lots of friendly regulars. Really good Beer. Service is OK depending on who the bartender is. A bit pricey for a brewpub but its one of the only nice places in the town. Overall, great place and I will be back!
Oct 06, 2013
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Reviewed by Gaffattack from Washington

4.3/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Great place to go on a date in downtown. Right off the main street too. I had the Anacortes porter when I was there and it was really good. The food and service was on point and didn't take long at all. I was even able to sit outside on the patio and they had someone playing music out there to really set the tone. Highly recommend taking the lady here and it's not too expensive either.
Sep 09, 2013
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Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.88/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My wife and I stopped in at the Anacortes brewery during the arts festival this past weekend. The place was full, as it was a nice hot sunny day and the festival was packed with people.

The restaurant has a good, homey atmosphere and is hung with brewery and fish-related artwork and memorabilia. They had upwards of a dozen of their brews on tap, including one beer on a cask engine (which I unfortunately did not get to try). The beer I did have, however, was quite good, and I look forward to returning there to try their other selections.

Service was a bit slow, but as I noted it was extremely busy in there. They might have done well to schedule more staff during the festival, however.

The food was quite good indeed. I had the fish & chips and my wife had the fried oysters, all of which was good. I would definitely recommend this place, and I plan on returning the next time I am in Anacortes.
Aug 06, 2012
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Reviewed by dirtylou from Oklahoma

4.01/5  rDev +0.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
stopped in after lunch (adrift - about a block away, recommended). located on the main drag of "historic downtown anacortes".

anacortes is about 75 minutes north of seattle and is a really lovely town surrounded by mountains, the sound and the san juan islands. the sun was shining bright and it was truly a beautiful setting on a fall day.

the pub is a bit sterile in atmosphere, but it was mid-day on a Saturday. we nestled up at the bar for a few pints and caught a little football as there were a couple of basic tv's in the bar.

bartender was solid and offered up samples of a handful of styles - you could tell they get a lot of non-regulars as he had a previously rehearsed routine in order to help the customer. i settled on the cask IPA with simcoe - the best of the bunch i sampled.

awesome town, kind of a dull pub, but quality beer
Nov 08, 2011
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Reviewed by MilwaukeeCrusher from Wisconsin

4.86/5  rDev +22.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
I stopped here on my Northwestern odyssey only after deciding that my return east could wait a day. I was happy I did, as it was a Friday night with a live band and it had a good local vibe to the place. I was extremely impressed with their Belgian beers, amoungst the favorites of my trip while the other beers were also very solid, if not also exceptional. I did not have a chance to try the food, but it probably would not have been fair to evaluate after trying two whole samplers. I really liked this place and if I am ever in the area again, a stop here for me is definitely a must.
Oct 19, 2011
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Reviewed by Briken from Washington

3.93/5  rDev -1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
I've visited the Rockfish many times in the past but finally had a good experience worth writing about. In the past, I've had problems with surly bartenders not wanting to fill growlers and servers who were less then pleasant. The food has always been quite well done, great pub fare with a bit of a gourmet touch occasionally. The beer ranged from mediocre to good and there was not usually much of a selection, particularly to fill a growler. This has changed. Before they would only fill growlers with the red, amber and one other selection. Now they have six or seven and some additional selections on tap with experimental beers. Certainly a great place to go, especially to sit outside in the beer garden and enjoy a nice day in Anacortes.
Sep 07, 2011
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Reviewed by LazyL from Canada (BC)

3.95/5  rDev -0.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Stopped by after tasting their beers at the Anacortes Sea Days fair in May. From their beer garden tent a dark lager and an IPA that were quite good and with the promise of 16 others on tap prompted us to check out the rest of their line up. The Rock Fish Grill is well laid out with nice decor and a casual local atmosphere. The place is comfortable , the food is good and the beer is great. This has to be the best beer/watering hole in the area. They also have regular casks tapped. Worth checking out if your in this beautiful neck of the woods.
Jun 14, 2011
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Reviewed by loren01 from Washington

4.15/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Went here a while back for beers and dinner. I had heard great things about the Anacortes Beers before I went. The place was fairly dead when I went in but filled up real quick. Looks like they occasionally do music in the restaurant part of the place. Beer selection was great, I think I counted over 8 beers brewed there. I went with their Maibock and stuck with it for the evening...it was great. The menu was pretty extensive, I went with the pizza which was just alright. I wish I would have went with the fish and chips because they looked excellent. I would for sure recommend checking this place out if ever in the Anacortes area.
Sep 17, 2010
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Reviewed by jsbdives from Massachusetts

4.7/5  rDev +18.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
As a resident of Anacortes, I have to say, the Rockfish is awesome. I've had beer at many breweries in my life and this is my favorite brewpub in Washington.
This is a place for true beer enthusiasts. The selection of beer is incredible, although we keep coming back to the stout and the IPA. I always try what is on cask, and it is always good. Yeah! The brewers also get creative, there is currently a Black IPA on tap which is super tasty. Basically, there is a beer for everyone in this place.
Plus the folks that work hard here are friendly and seem to be smiling all the time. Good selection of food for true vegetarians (this means no fish). And whenever there is music, which is often, it is always excellent.
Support this brewery, it's a gem.
Jul 31, 2010
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Reviewed by BDJake from Washington

4.08/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Went here the night before Thanksgiving on a date night:

The vibe was pretty relaxed, but due to the live music I still had to lean over the table to talk to the old lady. Wait times weren't unreasonable, although it was pretty pcked for a Wednesday evening.

The two beers I tried, Broadsword and Noel, were awesome- but it was kind of a low point when the waitress told me that Noel was a brown ale when it was really a Munich Dunkel. I guess the bartenders are the only people at these places that know beer for shit.

The lineup was impressive, highlighted by the two I tried, complimenting the more standard rest of the lineup. Still, the only beer there that my date would've liked (and did) was their pilsener, since she pretty much drinks Bud Light and views Killian's Irish Red as "premium".

Food was awesome- her peppercorn steak was one of the best either of us have ever had, and the salmon burger I got was well-made with a really good sauce, not to mention sweet potato fries.

Beer prices were fair, which kind of offset how much the food ran up- but it's typical in Anacortes, which is viewed as a rich people town by us on the Rock. I'll definitely be back in the future until I've had every single beer there (can't do it all at once, I'd be broke and in no shape to drive all the way back into Oak Harbor lol).
Jan 11, 2010
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Reviewed by JTrona11 from Washington

4.33/5  rDev +8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
I don't get to Anacortes as often as I would like to, which means that I don't get to the Anacortes Brewery/Rockfish nearly as often as I'd to either. Anacortes the town is a great little day trip for us up here in the Northwestern part of the state. Anacortes the brewery is a great littlr brewery that has some distribution and deserves more.

The restaurant has a great, open, comfortable feeling. The quality of the beeer and food is top notch. Service is generally very good, sometimes excellent. The selection of both food and beer is wide enough to please everyone in your group. A must visit if you're in the area.
Dec 02, 2009
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Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
The Anacortes Brewery is located towards the end of the town's main street near the shipyards and a rope factory. You'll pass through the older part of downtown Anacortes to get there, absorbing its historic maritime charm en route. The restaurant is a cheery place with good lighting and a long wooden bar with a big mirror. A dozen taps include ten Anacortes beers, a cask (tapped on Fridays at 3pm) and two guest taps that recently were Chimay and an unexpected but welcome stout by Northern Lights of Spokane.

The Rockfish Grill features candlelit tables, comfortable wooden detailing, and plenty of art and carved rockfish on the walls. Acoustic buffers on the ceiling keep the sound mellow and enhance the live musical performances featured on Weds. and Saturday. Food emphasizes seafood, wood-fired pizza and other entrees, and standard barfare. Mine arrived promptly, courtesy of an attentive staff.

The 7-bbl brewery may be seen behind glass near the bar. Anacortes's regular beers include their pilsner, amber, porter, and IPA. Their other beers derive from a wide assortment of rotationals that include lagers, seasonal specialties and a mix of Belgian styles. Quality is decent, the one notable standout being the cask conditioned IPA. A small selection of bottled Belgian imports is also available. Worth a visit, especially as a lunch destination before catching a ferry to the San Juans.
Nov 26, 2009
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Reviewed by AllThingsNinja from Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My wife and I stopped in on our way to the ferrys. the restaurant/bar is situated nicely on Anacortes's main street. It has a rather bright interior, aside from the darker wood work around the bar. The crowd was a mix of young and old, local and tourist. It was pleasant, but not perfect.

Our beers were served in plastic cups (possibly because there was a street fest/art fair going on right out side). During our visit, the beer list was pretty focused on north west favorites - British beers and hefeweisen, with a good variety in IPA offerings. There were about 7 offerings on tap.

The food was typical pub food done well, with a bit more emphasis on sea food.
Aug 19, 2009
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Reviewed by shirsch from South Carolina

3.38/5  rDev -15.1%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
The atmosphere in this place is nothing special. Pretty standard bar and small restuarant combination. The food was also very standard bar food. I got a reuben sandwich with fries. They did have some awesome waffle fries that were as good as any I've ever had. I tried the beer sampler of all of the beers on tap that day. They had a decent IPA and a very nice Porter. Those were the only two beers that really stood out to me. I enjoyed my trip here, but I am not planning any special trips back at any time.
Jun 16, 2008
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Reviewed by dbalsock from Vermont

3.18/5  rDev -20.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4
I went in on a pretty slow afternoon it seems. The atmosphere was standard bar/restaurant, but the bar area seemed pretty nice to sit in. An added bonus to the atmosphere was the amount of craft beer conversation going on, with a lot of people there showing a lot of knowledge about local and international beer scenes. The quality of beer was not what I expected by reading the reviews and I have once again relearned the lesson about not ordering lagers from American brew-pubs. They had a lot of beers available for what looks like a not so large brewery. The food I tried was alright, but I didn't have enough to feel comfortable ranking it. I had the clam chowder and it was passable, but not anything special.
Jun 01, 2008
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Reviewed by Hortus from Washington

4.78/5  rDev +20.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
This is a place that puts it all together. Quality beer, food, a nice atmosphere...quality beer (oh, yeah, I already said that). The atmosphere is good, a clean place with neat art and posters on the walls. The bar is strait ahead as you walk in and there is restaurant seating on the left. Also has outdoor seating that would be great for drinking beer on a sunny day. Live music space in the rear.

The quality of beer is what I really appreciate about Anacortes. Anacortes entries have taken medals in the Seattle cask beer festival for good reason. They also have a very deep line-up. I did the tasting tray, six 4oz. samples for $7. They gave me the Pils, amber, IPA, porter and two of my choice. I chose the Belgian Sour and the Noel. There were several other choices as well. It was great to get a quality Belgian Sour ale that was fresh from the brewpub.

There service was good, friendly and attentive. This is a good sign considering it was busy when we where there.

I was also really happy with the food. The menu had many items from nachos and fish'n chips (looked like the real thing not Cosco frozen nasties) to salads and burgers (I had the salmon sandwich, good quality salmon steak) to full on steak and fish entrées. Prices were in line.

Bottom line is this is a great place with a deep selection of high quality beer and food in a good, non-pretentious atmosphere.
Apr 22, 2008
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Reviewed by dnichols from Washington

4.45/5  rDev +11.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
I stayed in Anacortes while visiting the 2008 tulip festival in nearby Mount Vernon. After a day running around the tulip fields I stopped in to the Anacortes Brewery for lunch (and a couple of beers). Later that night I returned for dinner and quite a few more pints.

For lunch I was seated at one of the window tables. I selected a Porter, one of four brews available year round. With lunch I selected a Noel Winter Ale (one of the 8 seasonal brews available...in all there were about 20 seasonals listed).

In addition to there own beers, there was a moderate selection of import beers (Rochefort 8, Duval, Chimay, Orvel, Westmalle, etc.) and a selection of northwest wines.

The service was outstanding. I enjoyed a house specialty lunch which consisted of breaded and deep fried oysters and waffle fries. There was a varied menu of reasonably priced items that featured seafood, pizza, and burgers.

When I returned for dinner I enjoyed a pizza (roasted garlic, sweet red peppers, onions, and pepperoni) and a Honey Ale (pale ale). I followed the Ale with a Marzen, a Klosterbier and a Belgian Ale (in the BPA style).

The bar crowd was friendly and there were several loyal patrons who spoke highly of the brewery and pub. In fact, one couple spoke to me for some time and bought me a beer and another patron shared suggestions for photo shoot locations in the area. The dinner crowed thinned and the Paul Green Band played from 9 till 11 pm. Blues and brews in a nice setting. I'll be back.
Apr 21, 2008
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Reviewed by TheName from Washington

4.08/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Stopped in after a long weekend on the islands. So easy to find and not out of the way at all if you're heading out to I-5 from the Anacortes ferry terminal.

Service was slow but picked up nicely for a Monday afternoon and everyone was very, very friendly. Beer selection was impressively broad covering stouts to a "sour" that was excellent but more of a saison to my palate; if you can't find a beer you want in that lineup you're doing it wrong. A schooner of the sour/saison and a pint of the very nice ESB went happily with a tasty pork sandwich. Every beer we tried was pretty much not only flawless but really good. Easy to see why the brewery's consistently pulling in the people's choice wins at Cask.

Really impressive, however, was the price for growlers. $4.50 for a fill is a pretty stand-up number for some outstanding beer. Definitely worth a trip if you're in town or need somewhere to head on a weekend afternoon.
Mar 25, 2008
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Reviewed by wingedeel from Indiana

4.3/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Really enjoyed my visit to Anacortes and the Rockfish Grill last weekend.

The place is right downtown, easy to find. Nice enough looking place. Lots of tables, and a pretty good sized bar.

The wife and I sat at the bar, and the service, and the other patrons, almost all locals, could not have been friendlier. We really had a fantastic time talking to everyone.

The beers we had were all very good to excellent. My wife stuck to the Belgian Sour, which I sampled and found to be quite good. Amongst others I had an ESB ( pretty good), a Winter Ale ( very good ), and best of all a Bourbon Barrel Aged Broadsword Scotch Ale ( fantastic, but pricey $4.75 for a schooner ). I dont recall exactly, but they probably had 8-9 different beers of their own on tap. No guest taps, but they did offer a nice selection of bottled Belgians.

Didnt try the food.

Anacortes is a nice little town. Cant wait to go back, and to visit again the Anacortes Brewery/Rockfish Grill.
Mar 13, 2008
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Reviewed by barleywinefiend from Washington

4/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My wife and I stopped in here Feb 05 on our way to Friday Harbor. We showed up about 20 minutes before they opened and the staff was inside getting ready, kept looking at us through the glass, and left us standing in the cold and could have cared less about us. They opened 1o minutes late. Annoying, yes. However, this was my only visit and I am not going to beat them down for this. Once we got inside and seated service was good. Food was pretty tasty as well. Anacrtes is a nice place and I find myself wishing I had gone back to the Rockfish more. I will say that the barleywine was top notch and one of the best I ever had. My wife loved it!!
Nov 24, 2007
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Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -8.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Anacortes Brewery and Rock Fish Grill is fairly standard fair for a brewpub/restaurant. The atmosphere is informal and laid back. The dining room is long and narrow with high ceilings and relatively plain decorations.

The Server was very pleasant and althought she didn't show up very quickly in the beginning, she made up for it through the meal by being attentive. Her knowledge of beers was limited to the evaluations offered by other customers. The beer was overall very good. The food was even better, but not spectacular, just typical pub grub with a small twist.

I would recommend this place if you are in this part of the world (about an hour north of Seattle). However, my preference still lies in La Conner at the La Conner Brewery (about 20 minutes south of here).
Sep 25, 2007
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Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.98/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
while the room is slightly cold atmospherically, the beer should warm you right up. a nicely diverse selection, which rotates regularly. personal favorites include the black lager, mai bock and ipa. as opposed to an earlier poster i am glad they don't give the beers cute little nicknames (which i suspect are mostly to drive up t-shirt sales), i know what beers i want and i don't want to waste a servers time. the quicker i order, the quicker i get my beer. as for service i have found it to be properly friendly,knowledgable and professional. worth going out of your way for.
Sep 24, 2007
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Reviewed by MikeFromMarsPA from Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
We got to Anacortes after a night in the islands, and stopped in here after the ferry trip, around 11:30am on a Friday. The place was pretty empty, so the service was fast and friendly. We had both the bartender and the assistant brewer behind the bar at that point, so the beer chat was plentiful. The food came quick and was great. Nothing insanely fantastic, but I doubt you'll go wrong.

There were nine beers of good variety on tap and an IPA on cask. The lager, pilsner and wheat were okay, but not our type of beer. I like my porters to be a little thicker and sweeter, but hey, everyone likes something different. The ones that really kicked ass in my mind were the Mai Oh Mai Bock and the Broadsword Strong Scottish Ale. The Scottish had just come on tap an hour previously and was a very limited batch, so it required a great 20-minute conversation with the brewer and a gift of an empty Dogfish growler before we convinced him to let us get a growler full of Scottish to take with us. It is exceptional beer so it was certainly worth the effort, so a big thanks to Kevin for the tour, the conversation, and for parting with your nectar.

Once again everyone on staff told us that there were other brewpubs in the area we needed to stop at on our trip. We'll certainly take their recommendations, but we will most certainly be coming back to this place, too.
Jul 14, 2007
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Reviewed by Longstaff from Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
Stopped in for lunch on a weekday on my way up to Vancouver. Located in a cute seaport/fishing town on the bay that I would like to explore a little more but did not get a chance.

Anacortes sign is hard to pick out on the street, but the Rockfish Grill was more spottable. Brewery is next door to the restaurant and is very small for the diverse selection of ales AND lagers.

When we entered, I did not think we were in the right place until I saw the beer list hanging above the bar. The atmosphere was like a weird small town type cafe with plain tables and chairs that gives it more of a diner feel than a brewpub. I imagined this place filling up with local blue hairs around 4pm each day and the place being empty by 9pm. Did not stay that late, so I don't know for sure.

Had an IPA which was very nice with lunch. Ordered the oyster coctail which was two big oysters shucked into a martini glass covered with coctail and horseradish sauces. Each oyster was huge and fresh - more than enough for an appetizer - and cheap at $3. Fish and chips were not that great since they tried to get fancy with the breading and the herbs overpowered the fish. Wifes salmon would have been good had they not tried to get too fancy (again) and add all kinds of spices and some mustardy type sauce. Menu was a good mix of eclectic items and straight ahead brewpub items. Seemed like they were trying too hard on some things though.

The bartender must have mentioned to one the brewers that there was someone with a Beer Advocate shirt on because one of the brewers came out to meet me and broke the ice by commenting on the shirt. This guy was very friendly and open, talked about beer, and gave me a couple of samples.

I've had the lager before at Redbones which is very good, but the dopplebock was quite rough. The IPA though, was quite delicious.
Jun 21, 2006
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Reviewed by benito from Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -18.3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4
After sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands for a week, this was a clear candidate (and winner) for the first stop for my buddy and I once we got back to the mainland. We had high hopes for a brewpub in a small harbor town like Anacortes, and what we found was a respectable, if unexceptional brewpub and restaurant.

Clarification: Rockfish is the restaurant that serves the Anacortes Brewery beers. As far as I could tell, this is the only place in town that serves the beer, so it's more or less like a two-in-one brewpub. The entire place is painted blue-and-yellow (is this Ann Arbor?) and decorated with autographed photos of folks whom I assumed to be local musicians that had performed at the pub. This felt a little kitschy, particularly given the opportunities to do-up the pub in the salty dog culture of a seaside town. The same goes for the beer names--all but one (Old Sebastes Barleywine) were just simply called IPA, Porter, Hefeweizen, etc. What a lack of imagination! IMO, it is incumbent upon local brewers, who presumably want local residents to drink their local beer, to pay homage to local culture. There was no anecdote in Anacortesian history that would have lent itself to naming their porter something other than "Porter"?

Enough on that. I tried five of the eleven beers on tap and found most of them to be passable and inoffensive, though severely lacking in flavor. The wit and hefeweizen in particular were short on body and spice, and the pilsener had a nice crisp body but lacked the classic floral aromatics.

The food was the best part of the package here: good seafood (a delicious sandwich and homemade chowder) at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, this won't be enough to persuade me to make a second visit.

If I'm ever in Anacortes again, I'll be on looking to explore a different local haunt, preferably one with gritty sailors and landlubbers both.
Jun 10, 2006
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Reviewed by canucklehead from Canada (BC)

4.45/5  rDev +11.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This is one friendly place where the owner and his staff really care about making you feel at home. The place is cosy and bright with a live band Wed and Sat. The night I was there a great bluegrass band played. The beers are almost all good with many styles available. Ask for a taster set to see what strikes your fancy. The food is tasty with quality ingredients used and a brick oven of the pizza. Service was fast and very friendly with lots of interaction with the bartender. I think that this one of the best brewpubs in the Puget Sound.
Jul 18, 2005
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Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

4/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Atmosphere – This is a cute brewpub that does a good job of bringing in the outside light, which is a proud accomplishment for any building in the upper northwest corner of the country. There is a thin double row of tables on the left as you come in and a nice, full bar to the right past the beer vats. The walls are adorned with old beer pictures, black and white photographs of famous people, and even a Bavarian flag by the door. It’s also smoke-free, which is a huge plus.

Quality – This is a gorgeous, older building (old for the PacNW). It was originally make in the early 1900’s then burned to the ground in the 1920’s. It was rebuilt using original wood from a building across the street built at the same time as the original. They have taken great pains to ensure that the “old school” craftsmanship still shines.

Service – The service was very good on my first visit here even though the place was packed. It got better as the day went on and included a free sample of Barley Wine, a breaking of the rules by filling growlers with it for myself and skyhand, and a nice, long visit by the brewmaster followed by more free samples of “special” beer.

Selection – They only carry the house beers, but they had quite a good selection of them to include the standard ales along with Belgians, Germans, and a few specialty brews.

Food – The flat bread appetizers are especially tasty and well-baked. They use fresh organic greens in their salads and the chicken sandwich was char-burnt just the way it should be.

Comments – This is an exciting brewery on the cutting edge of the beer community and creativity abounds here. Case in point: skyhand went home with a pint of chocolate stout ice cream. Yummy!
Feb 23, 2005
Anacortes Brewery & Rockfish Grill in Anacortes, WA
Brewery rating: 3.68 out of 5 with 268 ratings