Venice Ale House

Venice Ale HouseVenice Ale House
Venice Ale HouseVenice Ale House
Bar

2 Rose Ave
Venice, California, 90291-2411
United States

(310) 314-8253 | map
venicealehouse.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.9
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
12
pDev:
12.05%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.25 by Richie_C_Johnson from Minnesota

Feb 16, 2018
Photo of Barnoloid
Reviewed by Barnoloid from Illinois

3.79/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
Stopped in here a couple of times whilst staying in Venice for a vacation. Went once in the daytime and once in the early evening. Busy and hopping both times. Vibe is fairly relaxed, very eclectic mix of people here. Service is solid, friendly wait staff and hostesses that all seem slammed and running every which way to make sure they keep everyone happy. Good selection of CA focused beers, with the most east brewery being Oskar Blues from what I could see. Food is good too - tasty burgers, fish sandwiches and enjoyable egg dishes for brunch.
Apr 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.93 by Sam-VW from England

Apr 09, 2015
 
 
Rated: 4.25 by Bnoise11 from California

Jun 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Bramsigman from California

Jun 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by werdnacross from California

May 13, 2014
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

4.03/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Vibe: This place is located right next to the Venice boardwalk and has views of palm trees and the ocean beyond a parking lot. There are stools at the bar and a few tables inside but just about everyone was sitting outside, which also offers opportunities for people watching.

Quality: Beers were served at the proper temperature using a variety of glassware, including snifters for high alcohol beers.

Service: Service at the tables outside was pretty good, but then slowed down as the place filled up. I also had a few drinks at the bar - the bartender I talked too was very friendly and knew a lot about the beer.

Selection: The place had over 30 beers on-tap mostly focusing on breweries from Western states and were listed on two chalkboards inside: one for "almost always on-tap" that included beers from Bootleggers, Brouwerij West, El Segundo, Lost Coast and the Venice Hi Hop (brewed by Lagunitas) and another list of rotational beers that included beers from Hangar 24 and Noble when I went. Beers were availabe in 16, 8 and 4-ounce pours. They offered flights of beers that were uniquely served on a skateboard.

Food: I tried the burger and it was pretty good. My friends raved about the salmon cakes as an appetizer and their salads.
Nov 01, 2013
Photo of SoCalBeerIdiot
Reviewed by SoCalBeerIdiot from California

3.84/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4
Right on the boardwalk. Went there two days in a row with my sister who was in town visiting. We sat outside on the patio both times. The inner, better-shaded portion of the patio is for dining patrons. If you're just having drinks they'll want you to sit in the front part. Not that it's a problem, just saying.

The draught selection was excellent for such a tiny location. Around 30 beers or so including some rotating handles. We shared a skate of 8 beers. The highlight for me was their house pale ale, Hi Hop XPA. I called them later and found out it's brewed for them by Lagunitas (nice!).

The service wasn't great either time but at least the waitresses were really nice. It was just constantly busy when we were there so I gave them a pass. The food looked good but we just had beers each time (other than a chips and guac).

I really liked this place and I'm definitely going back again. Don't miss it if you're in the area.
Sep 12, 2013
Photo of DoubleJ
Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

3.38/5  rDev -13.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
I knew that I would be drinking with Guilherme and his friend, but I didn't expect it to happen at Venice Beach. We were in Santa Monica and anticipated we would meet at one of the bars there (we would eventually return, but that's another BeerFly), but a few twists to a story and suddently we were driving down to Venice Beach. What does that mean? Well, I had never visited Venice Beach, and we were meeting at a bar with good taps. Another BeerFly tick, I wondered....

Parking is limited on the street, however we got lucky a found a spot on Rose that was within a stone's throw from the beach. The Venice Ale House is at the end of Rose and right along the boardwalk, and offers good views of the beach. There's some outdoor seating to go along the small interior, which feels more like a place to "hang out dood!" than for gastronomy, which is what the food and beer menus looked to be catering towards.

Thrity different taps to choose. Roughly two-thirds stays the same, the other thirds rotate, giving a little fresh life to the selection. No bottles, sorry. All the beers are American, and are represented by named like Oskar Blues, New Belgium, Alaskan, Lost Coast, Cismontane, Port/ Lost Abbey, Stone, Lagunitas, Speakeasy, North Coast, Eagle Rock, Brouwerij West, and Straind. The beers tasted fine, although the glassware offered is nothing really special; just shaker pints, New Belgium globes, and a Widmer pint. No small pours unless you do a sampler; even Double Daddy IIPA was served by the pint. Lots of $6 and $7 pours, with the ocassional $8, $9, and even a $10 pour.

While well staffed, everybody seemed to go in different directions, and away from us. It took tme to flag down somebody to serve us on each trip. Food is pretty good; I got hungry so I ordered a grilled cheese with bacon. Not bad. Choices are limited with the food, and quite honestly, aren't geared for my tastes. No worries, I'll just drink here shall I return.
Jul 09, 2012
Photo of AdamBear
Reviewed by AdamBear from Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Randomly went to this place as my group and i were walking along Venice Beach. It turned out to be a great place to stop for lunch and some GOOD beer.

Atmosphere: typical ritzy cafe along the Venice Beach area. nice outdoor eating area.

Selection: not a huge selection, but it is a very impressive selection. i got Alesmith Speedway Stout on draft which i was very excited about. I expect the list to be constantly rotating with some occasional rarities.

Service: friendly and patient.\

Value: a bit pricey indeed. Food was so expensive that all i could afford was a grilled cheese sandwich and my beer was $10...which upset me when i got the bill...should've asked, but i'm glad i got it.
Aug 20, 2011
Photo of bernie
Reviewed by bernie from California

3.01/5  rDev -22.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3.5
Venice Ale House is a pleasant addition to the Venice boardwalk for quality craft beers. I did not try the food. Visited twice this summer and both times sat in the bar area. Unfortunately I had the same server who for some reason treats you more like an inconvenience than a customer. Life is too short, avoid the bar area all together. Watching the servers outside I could see the service was far better. So, sit outside or about a half mile away is the Library Ale House, it’s a much friendlier place to enjoy a fine brew.
Jun 19, 2011
Venice Ale House in Venice, CA
Place rating: 3.9 out of 5 with 12 ratings