Steelhead Brewing Co.

 

This place was very busy for a Thursday evening sat near the bar had the Broadway Blond amber in color and full of flavor there are two bars a pool table ares with full service which was full of ppl having a good time good vibe food & attentive

 

 

 

Fine place, good bar, funny watching people who discover that they don't have Stella here

Go behind the velvet curtains to the pool hall, where they have a full tap list and really classy pool tables to rent. Great for groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steelhead Brewing in Burlingame, CA is humongous, just a massive place for a brewpub, complete with a back billiard room which had a bar and at least 5 pool tables, an outdoor patio, and a tremendous main room. The staff was very polite and the bartenders were really attentive and knowledgeable. Bonus points for having a very clean bathroom!

Decent looking menu, I had a very above average burger and great fries that came out quick. The 2 beers I had were a split decision as one was very good (the Bombay Bomber IPA) and the other (hefe) was basically average. There were 9 different beers on tap with most styles covered: 2 IPA's, 1 blonde, 1 kolsch, 1 hefe, 1 red, 1 stout and a few others for a nice variety.

Environment was loud and happening, it could be a family restaurant or a local hangout, and the place is so big that no one seems to care. Decor was nice with a brick foundation, big booths, tables with big backed chairs, 25 foot high ceilings and a very open and airy feel. Laid back and a good feel and vibe, I really liked this place and would come back.

Located not far from the main drag of hotels south of SFO.

Large interior dining area with decent sized bar. Beautiful high ceilings and exposed fixtures describe the interior. There is outside seating at the rear if the premise and a large billards room as well.

There were approximately 6 house beers on draft of varying styles. The quality was good, even for Northern California brewpub standards (think Russian River and Bear Republic).

The food was very good. I had the osso bucco with fall vegetables and it was suprisingly good. The wait staff was friendly and attentive.

This Steelhead is unrelated to the beer of the same name brewed by Mad River Brewing of Humboldt County, CA, so don't let your impression of those beers influence your opinion of this brewery, which is based in Eugene, OR, with locations in Burlingame and Irvine. Each location brews locally, and features their own brewmaster each with their own style. The brewer in Burlingame has hit his stride in the last few years, pumping out excellent IPAs and stouts, as well as odd strong ales of various styles. Yes of course there is a blonde lager for your wussy friend. The bar staff is, frankly, the very best on the Peninsula on most days. Table service depends on the crowd conditions. Food consistently good, best calamari you will find in these parts.

Strange that I grew up in Burlingame and have never ticked this place. Finally made the couple mile trek to Steelhead from my mom's place to check it out.

The building itself is really nice. Very high ceilings with an uncovered brick exterior and interior. Nicely decorated with a long bar and plenty of tables to sit and eat or drink.

I took a seat at the bar to start trying out the beers they had to offer, but didn't eat anything as I had just gone to lunch with my mom not long before. The bartender was quite nice and helpful. He recognized my unhealthy obsession with beer and gave me samples of the cask IPA and Winter Warmer which I found very nice.

The beers themselves were okay as a whole. Some were quite good while others were really meh. I didn't have any food, but it looked like it was pretty good. Sort of the upper end of brewpub food.

The prices weren't horrendous, but they are a bit high (that's sort of to be expected in Burlingame).

I actually wouldn't be opposed to coming back here, especially since I'm pretty much always in Burlingame when I come back to the Bay Area.

Two vists: 10/15/2010, 10/16/2010

Visited on two consecutive eveings whilst in town on business.

Atmosphere: A large open space with tons of room. It got somewhat noisey alter in the evening

Beer: I had the Bombay IPA on both occassions. I thought it was very good and frankly found it be one of the best smelling IPA's I have had recently

Food: I had the Steelhead wings which were very good and the Thai Chicken pizza which was also very good. The food was good but a bit pricey in my opinion

Service: Very good and the staff was very pleasant and attentive.

I've been going here for almost ten years now, and almost every time i wonder to myself why i'm back...
The food is seriously overpriced (and i rarely say that), the beers are lacking in any sort of passion, and it can get very crowded at peak times.
The food is passable for a divey brewery but Steelhead poses as a high end style place.
It has a few things going for it, it's got a decent yard area for outdoor seating and a huge pool room where you can rent tables by the hour, and last but not least they have one of the largest in-house brewed selections i've ever seen at about 9 or 10 different beers all made on the premises. Unfortunately none of those beers really make you want to come back, but for some odd reason i still do..

Steelhead in Burlingame is a large brewpub (part of a chain) in a yuppie town. The clientele is well-coifed. There are almost as many wine glasses as beer glasses on the tables and on the bar. The restaurant looks really nice though, with dark hard wood tables and even some tables with lounge chairs. There are TVs in the corners. There are some small tables by the bar, which seats about 10? In the back there is a corridor with two quiet tables. This leads to a billiards room with another bar. This back room gets pretty crowded on the weekend. Expect to wait for a table even on a Thursday night. I like this place to have a beer with food, but not so much for hanging out.

The service has been pretty good when I've been there. And since the last time I was there, the waittress was such a hottie, service gets a 5.0. She let my friend and me taste a few of the beers before settling on our pints.

Beer: the hefe-weizen is pretty mediocre. The pumpkin ale was strange. The brown ale is pretty good. Their flagship amber ale, now called Rhino Red, I think, is an excellent malty ale with just a small bite. They rotate between a bunch of dark ales. The Ghiradelli Chocolate Stout was great, but the Uncle Buck Stout was not as interesting. They had two cask-conditioned ales, their Bombay IPA and some pale ale. They also had an ESB that I wanted to try.

Food: They're not cheap. Entrees are $15 and up. Pretty filling though. Cajun penne and the Jambalaya are good choices. My favorite is the relatively cheap Station Burger. It's a standard 1/3 pound burger with salad or fries for like $7.95, and it goes great with their amber ale.
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I've been back several times, and I'm continually impressed by the excellent Bombay IPA on cask. 10/08 we had their pumpkin ale and it was fabulous -- my wife loved it. She also regularly gets the porter, which is pretty good. We've also enjoyed ourselves at the bar. This is probably as good as it gets in the peninsula, although I have to get down to Redwood City and try a few places. I've raised my scores to reflect this.

I'd visited the Steelhead Brewing Co. in Eugene, OR several years back so I decided to check out the Burlingame, CA location on a visit to SF.

It's in a large building with high ceilings and beautiful exposed brick. There's a good sized bar and lots of tables. The crowd seemed to be a mix of locals, people heading home from work, families and tourists.

They offer several beers that they brew themselves. I didn't see any guest beers. The selection seemed pretty standard for a brewpub. I went with the IPA and I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I missed the fact that they also had it on cask until it was too late.

I wasn't ready to eat but I took a quick look at the menu and it seemed a bit pricey.

While not exceptional, Steelhead is a good spot for a fresh brewed beer.

This place is a must visit if you like cask beer. Their cask bitter and IPA were both top-notch. The cold IPA is not bad but I had the cask and the tap side by side and definitely preferred the cask. I also am always grateful to have a cask bitter. I find all of their beer to be fresh tasting and well above average. They seem to do well in a variety of styles.

The atmosphere is nice with a very high ceiling. Both times that I've been here it has been crowded and lively. The servers are friendly and knew about the different beers.

One of the few brewpubs in the beer wasteland that is the peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose. Close to where I live, so I've been here many times.

Pleasant interior - big old tastefully retrofitted auto dealership. Lots of brick, vaulted ceilings, brewhouse nicely displayed behind the bar. Bar is long, but not too separate from the large, loud restaurant. Pool tables in back.

Food's a little pricey for what it is, but acceptable quality and selection for a brewpub.

The beer might be welcome in certain parts of the country, but is not on par with other Bay Area breweries. All ales, American and English style - no Belgian styles, no guest taps. Samplers are offered, and the brewer does rotate lots of seasonals - the barley wine is above average. They do have a couple of hand pumps alongside the taps, and almost invariably the cask offerings surpass the same beer on tap.

Bar tenders in general are not knowledgeable about the beer and don't pay much attention (it's a big area to cover, and management clearly doesn't value service as part of the offering). They'll provide tastes if you don't want to get a whole sampler before picking a pint.

Not a bad place to spend an hour, but near the bottom of the list in general for Bay Area beer attractions.

I've been to this place several times but am just now reviewing it.
Nice atmosphere of cathedral ceilings and lots of exposed brick with lots of tables and a long bar. There are booths, regular tables, and some tables with upholstered armchairs as well as a small patio. I was there during a slow period, and the service was excellent although the server didn't know a lot about the beers. Other trimes I've been there when the service was more harried. The beer selection is about 10 taps including seasonals, plus one beer on cask. All the beer I've ever had there has tasted fresh.The food is quite good, definitely a step above many pubs. I usually have some kind of real entree, but this time I was in the mood for Nachos, and they were pretty decent. All in all, not a destination spot, but if you are in the area or are flying out of SFO, this is a good option- its only about a 10 minute drive from the airport- unless traffic is bad.

This brewpub is literally walking distance from where I live, so I have stopped in here a few times. A huge dining/drinking area awaits you when you open the front door. They have about 8 beers on tap all the time, plus one of two additional on cask. I've had every one of the beers there and my favs are the IPA and the Oatmeal Stout. They have a sampler as well for around $8 so you can try all 8 in 4oz samples. If you come early you will avoid the huge crowds. If you come at night, even on a weekday, be prepared to wait for a table. The bartenders are very cool and one of them even gave me an additional 2 free samples of the beers on cask after I had completed my first 8. The food is top notch, but is also a bit pricey. The burgers are the selling point, plus they have lots of other different options. The only downfall here is that once it gets crowded, it's pretty much impossible to hold a conversation because of the noise. Otherwise, great food, better than average beer and even pool tables next door.

Very spacious dining area with a nice bar. However the gnats (flies) are all around the bar area and somewhat of a nuisance. The bar area is kind of laid back. Some tables and chairs out back where there is a small patio area.

Nice wooden tables and chairs, the bar looks like it is marble covered with a thin layer of enamel with wood siding. Brass tap nozzles all around exept for the two cask. Nice pool tables in a separate room with another bar. The kitchen is in the open in the dining area to the west of the bar and they have a real grill. Only downside to quality is the gnats.

Service was good and prompt.

Decent selection with two cask (handpump) options only one available today and there were gnats all around the handpump. The IPA was on cask and this was my favorite here, their Brown was also notable. The beers on tap were served a little on the cold side, were OK but bordered being to cold.

The salad I ordered with grilled chicken(?) was served cold with no sign of grill marks.

Pricey

This place has a great look to it. Lots of seating at booths and tables as well as a few tables around the bar. The biggest downfall to this place is that they only serve their own beers. While this is not uncommon for brewpubs, it would be nice if they had a better selection than just their few house taps. When I was there they had about 6 beers on tap including the Red, Anniversary Tripel, Bombay Bomber IPA, and a stout among others.

The service was not much better than average. Our waitress was more annoying than helpful and she kept asking us if we were going to order food when we were clearly sitting at a tall table around the bar meant only for drinks. Their beers are OK, but nothing to go crazy over. Their Bombbay Bomber was the best I tasted. They had the IPA in a cask-conditioned form and I thin they always try to have some cask conditioned beer around, which is nice. If you're in the Burlingame area, it's a great place for a pint, but I would not go out of my way for this place. Good, but not great.