Breakwater Brewing

Breakwater BrewingBreakwater Brewing
Breakwater BrewingBreakwater Brewing
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

101 N. Coast Hwy Ste C-140
C-140
Oceanside, California, 92054
United States

(760) 433-6064 | map
breakwaterbrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.59
Beers:
25
Ratings:
144
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.85
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
33
pDev:
16.62%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by mactrail:
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Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.81/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This is the most family style, local, downtown kind of place. Patrons are a delightful mix of geezers, kids, young adults, Marines, tourists. The lady bartenders and pizza guys were fun and cheerful. It's right on the main street through town a few blocks from the beach and not far off the Interstate.

This is a corner place with a long bar and lots of tables along the window side. Small outdoor area on the south side. Ten house brews on tap plus guest taps for a total of about 23. House styles are all over the place. Guest taps were generally quite interesting. There's also a cask tap.

Food is both reasonable and generously sized. Great salad with warm fresh bacon. Big pizza place, but they also have hot paninis and toasted sandwiches as well as appetizers and happy hour specials. This is a place I'll stop instead of Pizza Port next time I'm heading to San Clemente. Prices are even more reasonable considering it's coastal California.
Feb 13, 2014
More User Ratings:
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Reviewed by Terry-Taylor5 from California

3.85/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Great selection of beer, meads and sellers. Service was excellent, bartender had great food and beer suggestions.
Sandwich big enough to split.
DMJ was good, I can always do more hops
Sep 29, 2021
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Reviewed by tvee from California

4.4/5  rDev +14.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Feb 2020- After my first visit here in April I had to meet the Brew master Shawn after tasting his award winning 2018 GOLD Medalist RYE Dawn along with other Medal beers that are deserving this write-up. Well worth the visit and Pizza plus their brew specials is always a treat along with good customer services and attentive West Coast Vibes! I highly recommend this Brewery off I-5 in Oceanside.
May 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.51 by jcallover34 from California

Jul 22, 2017
 
Rated: 3.99 by Beachops from Florida

May 25, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by tfrog3030 from Texas

Aug 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.88 by HippieDave56 from Arizona

May 30, 2016
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Reviewed by Kylejames443 from California

4.5/5  rDev +16.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 5
awesome little spot in Oceanside California. Didn't think i would bee impressed with the beer being the snob i have thought myself to be! However this is a beer i can and will drink Monday through Friday, because we all know i drink whiskey on the weekends! Service is ok depending on the bartender you get! I've had both a little to confident to were it was annoying, and also the girl you wish was your neighbor just because she has the coolest vibes and awesome beer knowledge and customer service. definitely wouldnt hesitate to ask this neighbor for sugar! i will be back!!!!!!
Sep 06, 2015
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Reviewed by d3brewing from California

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
A nice local hangout. Good pizza and pretty good beers brewed on location. Decent guest taps as well. It's a great place to kick back, relax, hang with friends, people watch, drink a few beers, etc. And a great downtown location within walking distance from the beaches.
Ordering food is exactly like Pizza Port which is a PITA if it's busy but you get used to it.
Been coming here for years and will keep coming back.
Jun 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.18 by jer92084 from California

May 31, 2015
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Reviewed by Bonsall_Phil from California

2.85/5  rDev -26%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.25 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | food: 3
V: greeted at the door with a smile and greeting. Place was oddly empty on a Saturday that was busy everywhere else. So this did not inspire confidence in our selection.

Q: food was very average, nothing remarkable at all about the panini, pizza and sandwich selections.

Srv: orders are made at the bar and not at the table. Even though this place was very slow, person at the bar was noticeably bothered by our presence and frustrated that we had questions about how the food was prepared and what our options/ sides were. Our party of four all felt unwelcome, like we were disturbing the staff.

sel: they had lots of their own beers, many unique local offerings (a plus) and a few outside the area yah were appreciated. I started with a Bell's offering on tap that was good. My wife and best friend had the house pilsner (worst ever ) and a rye (good). Food is just sandwiches, paninis and pizzas. Food selection - sad ; beer selection : decent

Overall: left depressed. This was generally a miss in the upsurge San Diego market.
May 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.01 by Lunatic_Runner from California

Apr 18, 2015
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Reviewed by mschantz from Colorado

3.4/5  rDev -11.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5
Rather generic venue with decent selection of solid, if uninspired beers. Guessing they are catering to the large military presence in OS, which is understandable, but means some of the beers are geared towards less experienced palates.
Dec 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by double2chin from California

Dec 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Steve_Gonz from California

Aug 12, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by S_Weinstein95 from Arizona

Aug 01, 2014
Photo of aoampm
Reviewed by aoampm from Hawaii

4.04/5  rDev +4.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
This spot is awesome! I've only been in once but the bartender was perfect and really friendly and helpful. Very relaxed and laid back spot, there were frat boys, old couples, and just local oceanside people, but all of them were real friendly and helped me navigate the menu. Try the raspberry mead, its fucking incredible! its not very similar to a beer except that it is carbonated but oh my lord...first sip and I audibly let out a wow for the fellow patrons to hear.

Overall it is a must stop spot if you passing thru oceanside and are looking for some good vibes and some pretty goddamn decent beer.
Jul 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by GeoChase90 from California

Jul 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by cwreay90 from Texas

Jul 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by Deaner1308 from California

Jul 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by DVMin98 from North Carolina

Jun 09, 2014
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Reviewed by abrethanson from California

3.94/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
First stop on MYWIFE! and I's Anniversary Brew Tour. Lived in OC for almost 10 years and this is first time getting off the 5 and experiencing Oceanside. Feels like a tight knit little beach / surf town typical of San Diego with the obvious military influence.

A: Typical bar / grub /sports feel. Nice long bar with 4 TVs, sports memorabilia, and even had the arcade game next to bathrooms. Standard bar height tables scattered around. Linear space with tall windows looking onto the main street - felt airy and open. Location is in downtown Oceanside and easily accessibly from freeway and walkable to other local spots. Nothing special but descent place to grab a game, beer, and burger. We were there at 11am, but you could tell it has a "local" vibe with bartender's buddies stopping in for a beer.

Q&S: Had a couple handfuls of their own stuff on tap and a bunch of great local taps as well, including some smaller local breweries. Enjoyed a couple of their staples - Kali Kush Pale and IPA. Both were very good. Even had a cask of their IPA which was outstanding.

S: Bartender was friendly and a good chat. Homebrewer and knew his stuff even though he was not their brewer. Served us our tasters and gave us a couple "off the books."

F: Did not try - but it looked like delicious greasy bar food... I have a feeling they now their pizza since the owner worked at Pizza Port.

V: Outstanding - maybe a buck a taster with a couple freebies. The conversation about their beers and homebrewing was worth a good tip.

Overall: Definitely would like to come here again. Everything you could ask for in a local sports bar.
Nov 06, 2013
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Reviewed by NataLukas from Oregon

3.79/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.75
I almost didn't go into this establishment because the ambience was more like a pizza joint / sports bar. I'm glad I did though. I counted over 40 taps, 8 or so are Breakwater beers and the rest are a great selection of mostly local and regional beers. I had a cask IPA that was excellent. I also tried their Biere de Jour which is a blend of their Rasbiscuos mead, Honey ale and their Stout aged in a Brett oak barrel for 3 months. Very interesting! If your in Oceanside and want to try some great beers, Breakwater is a must.
Nov 04, 2013
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Reviewed by TaySuth from California

4.45/5  rDev +15.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Breakwater Brewery has a great selection of beers and delicious food. We have always been greeted by friendly employees who deliver great customer service. They have some great house brews and a fantastic selection of outside beers. Their pizza is delicious and unique from other local pizza places. I definitely recommend trying their Raspberry Hibiscus Mead. A cool note is that the head brewer also owns the local home brew supply store, Hydrobrew. We are currently making a clone recipe of their mead that the shop happily gave away the recipe for.
Jan 17, 2012
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Reviewed by buzzardman from California

1.65/5  rDev -57.1%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | food: 2
I had so much hope that this place would be good because the only other place like it is pizza port which is always so packed it's a hassle to go to. it is also only two miles from my house so I was stoked when I saw what they where putting at this location. unfortunately it seems to be owned by people just trying to make a buck on the current hype around micro brews. they have attempted to basically copy pizza port. same surfboards and skateboards on walls. surf, skate, dirtbikes on tv but they utterly fail with horrible service and horrible beer.

the service is horrible here and I really don't like having to place my order with a wanna be eminem who Im sure knows nothing about beer. everyone that works here borders on dirtbag status. also good luck getting any service after you've ordered your food and beer. seems like the people working are more interested in hanging out with their friends yelling and swearing at the tv then providing any kind of service. I brought my little girl here and will never come back because of the swearing. all I could hear was oh shit son did you see that f$#king dick shit that guy did over and over again. this was from the guy manning the taps with all his scumbag friends.

the food is basically just pizzas but they definitely cut as many corners as possible with the food just to make more money. it's pizza but I'd say any takeout pizza place is better.

then we come to the beer the whole reason i was excited about having a place like this close to me. I had a dmj ipa and I can honestly say it was the worst ipa I've ever had. it did not have much of a head did not hold any carbonation and the color was too dark for an ipa in my opinion. the taste was flat with no hoppy aroma. it tasted like beer flavored water. I've also had the dmj ipa at hill st cafe thinking maybe the first time it was just a bad batch but sadly no it still tasted like ass.

so after all this it just seems someone is out to make a buck while the hype around micro brews is as crazy as it currently is. I doubt this place will be around for a long period of time.
Oct 04, 2011
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Reviewed by aftopdog from California

4.83/5  rDev +25.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
This place has just about everything that one would expect from a local brew house. Out of the 36 beers on tap, 12 were of their own, 22 were micros from a wide range of other breweries and 2 were light domastic beers. The selection was great and had something for just about anyone's taste. The Kali Kush was very good with hints of sage and their DMJ is worth giving a try. The bar tenders seem to know the beers very well and are willing to give you taster if your not too sure of what to order. Their prices were average, but they do have daily specials. The food was tasty and served in a timely manner. The several large tv's are always showing sports even though you will not be able to hear the game due to the juke box, which was just find with me. Overall great place that I plan on visting again soon.
Apr 22, 2011
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Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -10.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
From extensive notes dated 17 July 2009.

A note of thanks to my cousin for putting me onto this place! This was a new addition to the San Diego Brewers' Guild map and Colby pointed it out to me the morning that I began my day trip.

It could not be more public transit friendly, situated on the west side corner of Coast Highway and Seagaze and a scant few blocks from the Oceanside Transit Center. The building was situated on a North/South layout with the entry on the south side of the building. The east wall was lined with standard restaurant tables and chairs in front of the windows overlooking Coast Highway. The north wall housed a line of two pinball machines flanking a video game. The west wall began with their kitchen, directly opposite the entry, followed by the relatively short, Formica-topped bar. The back bar was blonde wood and mirrors with the bank of taps to the left. All offerings (food and beer) were listed in colored chalk on blackboards above the back bar. Past the bar and filling in the area between the wall and the bar was a sea of standard restaurant tables and chairs. The decor was surfing-themed, but following Pizza Port (Carlsbad), it came off as spartan.

Beers: Nine (9) - Hill Street Honey; Point Break Porter; Simcoe Pale Ale; Hibiscus Hefeweizen; La Especial (house Amber); North Jetty IPA; Shore Break Imperial Pale Ale; Vladimir Stout; and Brussels Belgian Golden. Twenty-eight (28) guests.

Food: The emphasis was on grilled, baked, and toasted. A far cry from the East Coast diet of fried everything. In PA, I am considered a progressive, but here I was an auslander. Oh well, I like the midwest. I had a toasted cheese panini just to stay full. It was going to be a long day of drinking beer.
Jun 22, 2010
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Reviewed by SwillinBrew from California

4.13/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Came by here with IPAviator on our way to the Strong Ale Fest and i'm glad i did.

Very unassuming on the outside while the inside has that narrower long set up that's prevalent in the so cal beach areas like bars in Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, Huntington and Seal Beach. Somewhat sporty look with the laid back beach atmosphere... easy going and i found it comforting. The beers were listed on a large chalkboard with large mirrors behind the bar with some flat screens. The mirrors were cool to look at because you could people watch out the windows behind you. I dont know what it was but there was a consistent bevy of smoking hot beach babes walking by, WTF? Friggen excellent. There was about 7 other people at the bar and everyone was jovial and having a great time... the talk was happy and quite merry. Such a good mood permeated the place.

Breakwater is also 1 block north from the Oceanside train station, 1 minute walk.

We sat at the bar and there was about 10 house beers on tap and about 10 guest taps, actually there were more taps but i cant remember how many. I did the taster series and then did a shorty of sculpin. Of their house beers, the ones that really stood out were the Home grown Strong Ale, the Maverick DIPA and a doppel bock. (i wish i tried more but had limited time) I'll give some very general descriptions.

*The Homegrown Strong was reminiscent of a hopped up arrogant bastard that's also dry hopped. (I left with a growler of this). Called Homegrown because hops grown at the brewers house were used.
*The Maverick DIPA was very similar, from what I remember, to Pizza Ports Franks DIPA (hmmm, that brewer was... oh yeah). Was going to get a growler of this also but no growler fills on this one.
*Doppelbock - on the mildly sweeter side of toffee and toast, very good.

I'm trying to remember what all the guest taps were, but great lineup. They had Sculpin, FW Union Jack, Hop 15, and a bunch of other solid beers. I wish I could remember. They were beers that you seek out to try and not just filler (like the tap list at Hollingshead for lack of better words)

The service was excellent. Well, you'll have to decide how to rate the service when you get here. You basically order your food up at the counter and they'll call you so it's more serve yourself... how do you rate that?

That being said, our bartender took our order (super cool down to earth guy). He offered when i started to get up to order. Our food came quickly and we were checked on several times by the bartender and 2 gals that worked there. The bartender even gave us a jar of homemade pickelled peppers to eat, the brewer made them and they were tasty. Good spice.

I ordered the cheese panini and it was hot with delicious gooey cheese, but what i liked more was the potato salad. It had dill, chunks of bacon and a good dijon mustard tang to it. Awesome!

Myself and IPAviator vowed to come back here where we could make this our destination and give it an evenings worth of drinking that it deserves. (maybe we'll take the train). I left with a growler of the homegrown and i'm going back very soon to get it refilled.

Excellent place!!!
Dec 15, 2009
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Reviewed by barleywinefiend from Washington

2.2/5  rDev -42.9%
vibe: 1 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 3
So here I am on Memorial Day taking a weekend trip to SD with my wife so I decide to stop in Oceanside to see about Break Water. Boy was this a mistake of the worst kind.

Atmosphere- I walked in with my wife on Memorial Day about 2PM and sat at the bar. My wife and I were the first two stools on the end closest to the door. Waited 5 minutes for service and when she came over it was testy and short lived.

Quality- I dont know since they never gave me the chance and lied to my face and pretty much did not care.

Service- Besides the crappy service I mentioned when walking from the server who was white had a black pony tail, stood about 5'4 or so with an attitude. I asked for a taste of Vladamir Imp Stout and she told me they did not give a taster of that beer because it was a small batch so I said Ok. One minute later I watch her pour a taster of Vladamir for a female friend of an employee. She takes the taster to her, girl drinks and goes to sit with her guy friend/employee. I am furious because this server lied to my face, a patron. How sad! Another server asked me if we're being helped because the shady server ignores us. I tell the new server I am pissed off because we were lied to about the taster and she asks the shady server about and they say "Oh, he works here" and they saw nothing wrong with lying to a patron and then try to act like its no big deal. I will never go back here. Not only that, they turned their backs on me and discussed the shady deal right in front of me bheind the bar..HELLO. I am right here.
Sep 27, 2009
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Reviewed by bradybeer from California

3.68/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3
Visited here during a visit to my in-laws. Located in downtown Oceanside, this is a welcome addition to the non-existent beer scene in Oceanside. Walking in, the brewing equipment is to the left and the kitchen is straight ahead, with the bar and dinning to the right. Selection is pretty darn good-Pliny the Elder on Tap-nice. Several other micros including Oceanside Aleworks, and Alesmith. Some Macros, and other micros as well. Their selection was very good-a Brown Ale, Porter (solid), Hibiscus Wheat (good), Simcoe Pale Ale (excellent), Belgian Pale (Tripple?, also solid), and an Imperial Russian Stout (outstanding). Service was pretty good-and we ordered some apps which were OK-since we had pizza a few times on this trip we opted out of what I think they have centered their menu around.

My only negative feedback is that they are searching for an identity. Apart from this criticism, this is an excellent place to come for a solidly brewed beer-this is not Pizza Port in nearby Carlsbad-but they aren't trying to be-would visit again in a heartbeat next time I am in town.
Aug 08, 2009
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Reviewed by fatalbert23 from California

3.78/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3
I had the oppurtunity to visit this place shortly after they jumped through all the hoops of getting their brewing license and I gotta say I wasn't over impressed. The place looked like a made over wine bar. The bar itself had this way upclass with a big arch and mirror. Not really what I consider a brewery to look or feel like. The beers were ok but nothing more than a standard brewery's lineup of a couple pales, a hefe, ipa, stout, porter and a pretty tasty hibiscus wheat beer. Nothing to blow your mind however and the food was decent. The staff though were awesome and really cool making the trip there worth wild. In less there is going to be some sort of special brew night or something, I most likely won't make the trip over there as there is an abundance of brew pubs in the area
Aug 01, 2009
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Reviewed by Dogbrick from Ohio

3.83/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Breakwater Brewing is located not too far from the Oceanside in Oceanside, CA off I-5. It is on Hill Street about a block away from Mission Ave, and there is a lot of street parking available.

The brewpub (although a bar at the time of my visit - they do not have any of their own beers yet due to some kind of wrangling with the city according to the bartender) has a horizontal layout, with the bar running most of the length of it. There is some booth/table seating as well, and several flat screen TVs around. Their beer list is on a chalkboard behind the bar.

Breakwater has a pretty good selection of guest draughts, with taps representing Ballast Point, Mad River, Stone, Rogue, and Victory among others. I did not see a bottle list so I am not sure what is represented there.

Service was good on a weekday evening. The bartender who also works at Oggi's was familiar with their beers and made good recommendations.

I tried the BBQ Chicken pizza for dinner and it was very good.

All in all this place has potential, especially once they have their own brews available. Even so, despite the plain Jane atmosphere it is a good place to check out.
Nov 05, 2008
Breakwater Brewing in Oceanside, CA
Brewery rating: 3.59 out of 5 with 144 ratings