A1A Aleworks has two great things going for it - their menu and their view of the harbor! Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, but seating is designed mostly for smaller parties. As a brewery they have a fine selection of barley pops and a stocked bar. The drinks are NOT watered down here. Everything on the menu is delicious and  you MUST get the artichoke appetizer! Many have said that all they needed for dinner was one of those. You won't be disappointed. During our most recent visit we had the privilege of having Ben wait on us. Very caring, professional and is an expert guide on menu selections and pairing of drinks.
Review Source:Is a dish so delicious that it's the same thing you order every time you go to a restaurant? Yes I order the lobster and shrimp key lime pasta EVERY TIME I go and it amazing. The service is always wonderful. Happy hour is always nice. The balcony view of the lion bridge is beautiful as well.
Review Source:I really wanted to love this place. What a cool location with a great view. The beer is great and that is the only reason for the third star. Â
The service left something to be desired. Throughout our meal, my husband and I wondered several times if we had been forgotten. Empty drinks, no water, no bread. And even after promises of bringing things, they came very slowly.
The food is alright. You will leave here thinking, that dish was good but it could have been great if... Â Then you will see your bill and wish you had spent the money somewhere more worth the cost.
Go have a beer here, but eat somewhere else. If you read this and go anyway, I'm betting you will agree with me.
I was pleasantly surprised. After reading some of the reviews, I worried that I'd be walking into a tourist trap. Given the nature of the people walking the streets (tourists, of which I was one), it seemed likely. But I wanted to try their beer.
The lower bar area is not large and the bar itself is even smaller. That's where I would have preferred to sit. But given the crowd, I was lucky to snag a table as someone was leaving - this about 6 PM on a muggy summer Friday. Interestingly, it cleared out somewhat during the period I was there.
I like IPA's and A1A's did not disappoint. It isn't a hop monster and has a good bit of body without being high gravity. Perfect. I probably should have asked for a flight, but as I said, I like IPA's.
The menu is fairly large and, frankly, has the look of one you'd find in a tourist trap. A little too polished and chain-like. Just an impression, mind you. Doesn't mean anything. I went with the blackened mahi-mahi special. This dish was just about flawless. Fish was nicely seasoned, seared without being cooked dry. Nice side of squash, served on rice. Good portion, too. By that, I mean enough to be filling but no more. YMMV on that, of course.
Excellent service.
Oh, and I tried a cup of the cheese soup because some Yelpers raved. OMG.
During a recent visit to town, my colleague highly recommended this location for dinner. I must say, the few from the second story balcony overlooking the 'Bridge of Lions' was very nice!
The let down...walking in through the bar area...I could choke on the strong smell of stale beer. Â Brought back flash backs from college. Â Not certain I would eat down there..?!?! Â We proceeded up stairs where they sat us very quickly. Â We sat next to a young group a 'girls' that were smoking like chimneys. Â Somewhat disappointing when the smoke is swirling all around you trying to eat.
For dinner..I had the chopped salad and prosciutto encrusted snapper. Â The chopped salad was quite good. Â The snapper was slightly dry with very little flavor (in my opinion). Â The waitress said 'it was her favority...' Â Maybe she was lacking taste buds?? Â Or, possibly the chef had a weak moment?? Â Not certain. Â BUT, for me, I will pass on this entree next time.
The third star added for the few, otherwise, I would have provided this location a two star score. Â
The ultimate question..would I return. Â The short answer, yes..the location is very nice.
My girlfriend and me stayed in St. Augustine one night on our trip up to... (nobody cares). Â We passed by this establishment while strolling around taking in the sites, and decided that since it was unusually frickin' hot out we would indeed like to partake in some libations.
We entered A1A Aleworks and immediately eyeballed the bar, which was unfortunately full. A hostess was quick to read our minds for our seat preferences and quickly informed us that there was another bar upstairs. Happily, we galloped up yonder. We arrived at the upstairs bar and there was indeed two seats open that we snagged up right away. It was quite quite busy, and many agitated looking senior citizens stood at the bar apparently waiting to close out their tabs. The bartender, Marc, informed us that he would be right with us in a moment, to which we replied that we were obviously in no hurry. This Marc fellow was working this upstairs bar solo, and over the next 10 minutes my girlfriend and me guesstimated that he must have made like 40-50 drinks for people. The guy was simply a ninja. Still though, we heard gripes and groans from agitated senior citizen tourists complaining about the wait time... even though he was visibly working his ass off in front of them.
After the madness calmed down we learned that it was end of happy hour, which sorta explained the mayhem. I ordered a sampler (consists of seven, 3-ounce glasses) of all their brews and was pleasantly delighted with them all, their "Strange Stout" being my favorite. We didn't have any food but eyeballing the menu they seemed to have some good sounding options.
Overall, these 5 stars mainly go to our bartender for his courageous ability to not punch obnoxiously stupid customers in the facehole.
Though this place is alright though and I'd definitely return.
Great food at a great price. We stop in every time we are in St. Augustine. This time had the Mahi special and it was nothing short of special! Burgers here are also great. There is a lot of seating so waiting time is low unless you want the balcony. The sweet tea is a mango tea that is out of this world.
Review Source:I came here with my boyfriend to grab a few drinks before dinner. We sat at the gorgeous copper bar and were greeted warmly and quickly by the bar tender. We decided on the beer sampler since they brew their own and I've got to say I was impressed. Even their IPA was delicious, and I am usually not a fan of any IPA. I decided to go with the cucumber gimlet and let me tell you, this was the best cocktail I have ever ordered at a bar. If I didn't live in Atlanta I would be here every weekend, cucumber gimlet in hand!
Review Source:Eating here was a must on my trip to St. Augustine. Â Amazing location with a great view! Â The food was pretty good on our visit. Â Cheese stuffed meatballs had a wonderful oak flavor. Â The lobster bisque was delicious and perfect for the cold rainy weather outside. Â We will defiantly go back on our next trip!
Review Source:Wow!
Took my MIL and family here for dinner, party of 8 on a Saturday night. The only negative was that I called around noon to make a reservation, they said they could put us down for 7, but when we got there we didn't get seated until almost 7:40.
This was SO minor though because the food was amazing. Everyone in our group thoroughly enjoyed their meal, this is definitely a place we will be back to when in town again!!!
Thank you for such delicious food, and great service!
I had one of the best meals I had in a while here at this restaurant. We had lunch there on a Tuesday afternoon.
What started out as a light lunch turned out to be an amazing smorgasboard. Our server, Casey, was amazing. Both my wife and I ordered the in-house root beer, which was some of the best I ever tasted. Casey kept all of the drinks filled and was incredibly warm and knowledgeable. Refills on the Ale Works rootbeer were, to my surprise, free. I think I broke a few health codes on that one.
As a last-second addition, I decided to try the lobster bisque, but Casey recommended I try the beer cheese soup so I did. I'm so glad I tried it; it was by far one of the best soups I've ever eaten-flavorful down to the last. I was disappointed I hadn't ordered a bowl.
I ordered the nachos with chicken and chorizo sausage as a main course. There were way too many nachos for one person to consume, but I won't say I didn't try! My wife ordered the crab cake sliders, and she couldn't even finish them but said they were wonderful. My father-in-law ordered the bread pudding and declared it "the second best" he had ever eaten--second only to New Orleans!--so that is high praise.
Prices were what I expected to pay, and I left happy and full. Wish I had more time in St. Augustine so I could come back again, but I highly recommend it.
Can't say enough good things about A1A Aleworks. Â They have a great beer list with beers they brew themselves. Â The Lighthouse Lager is great but my favorite is the A. Strange Stout, so good. Â Beer aside, the food is really good too. Â I've had their wings and one of the salads. Â both were exceptional. Â The only thing that is bad is they often close around 11PM since they are technically a restaurant. Â Don't expect a late night stop here. Â Great location in downtown St. Augustine!
Review Source:A1A Aleworks is in one of those buildings with ornate wrought iron work that remind you of the old South. Â You can't miss it - it's a yellow two story building right on the main plaza in historic St. Augustine.
We were seated on the second floor which has views of Matanza Bay and the Bridge of Lions. Sadly, the view was not that great from where we were seated. They have award winning beers like the Espresso Stout which sounds great. I opted for a dark Belgian. The bread basket here is just ok. As for food I ordered the shrimp and grits. The shrimp were pretty small. The dish was pretty tasty but I was unable to finish it because they serve large portions. There's also the fact that I ordered their famous ale and cheese soup. It was seriously good. My BF ordered the lobster mac and cheese which was pretty good also but the lobster was a bit too salty. The food could have been a bit more well prepared but it and the service make this place worthy of a visit if you are into American comfort food. The great selection of unique and award winning beers also help bring up the rating I gave this restaurant.
Our server, who looked like Russell Crow, was pretty cool and attentive. A big plus was his knowledge of the food and beers. The decor is pretty cool. There were many people at the bar when we got there and the ambience was pretty good. It must get seriously good at night. Considering the fact I am not very much into American comfort food this place is not bad at all!
I have been here numerous times, over the years. A fantastic, casual place to eat and drink in St. Augustine. I have never had anything bad here. The food is always top notch. You especially need to try the cheese soup. It is heavenly. My daughter and I stopped in, the last time we were in St. Augustine, just for the cheese soup.
Review Source:They brew their own beers and have an impressive wine & drink list. Â 15 appetizers to choose from, 8 salads, a couple of soups, and a seafood inspired menu that is wonderful. Â 6 desserts, too. Â I have been here twice and been impressed both times. Â The Ale and Cheese Soup is good.
Review Source:A friend of ours recommended this place and it is very cool as it is right across from the Bridge of Lions so it is a nice view if you get right next to the window. Â We ordered portabello sandwiches which were good, but we're not beer drinkers so I think if you liked beer, you might like this place more.
Review Source:Looking for a lunch spot while visiting St. Augustine, I decided to dine at the A1A Aleworks, because after all, Highway A1A is as Floridian as palm trees and alligators. Â The restaurant is centrally located near the Bridge of Lions. Â I was quickly seated by the bar and served promptly.
I had ordered a refreshing King Street Light Lager and a sesame tuna sandwich. Â The sesame tuna sandwich was tasty, yet nothing special, but a little less well done than my usual liking (but this is how the server recommended it) and a little more expensive than what I'd expect for lunch.
I rarely give bad reviews but I sat next to the bread station where the servers get the bread and slice it:
1. There was half a small bug in one of our waters.
2. The waitress held our unwrapped straws with bare hands and threw them in the drinks. Um, yuck.
3. When the beer taster glasses were brought the waitress had her fingers on the lips of the glasses. Um, no thanks.
- THE KICKER: we sat next to the bread area. EVERY server directly touched the bread at some point. One server grabbed the bread with paper, sliced the bread using paper and then ruined it by using her bare hands to finally put it in the basket. Um, really gross, no bread for me. Just a complete lack of disease protection from patron to patron.
- the food was mediocre average.
I will not return. I hope they change their bread serving policy to protect their future customers. I could not even pay attention to my food just thinking about all the germs being spread every time a new loaf was taken from the warmer.
Come in with low expectations and you'll be satisfied. There were 4 of us, two ordered the Kobe Beef Burger, one had the burger special, and the fourth ordered the honey Dijon chicken sandwich. Everything was frozen, not fresh. Paying $14 for a Kobe beef burger we were a little up set that it tasted and looked exactly like the burger special. We also had the limited time only beer which was a red ale, but was extremely watered down. Everything was rather inexpensive relative to other restaurants in the area, but I've had a Kobe beef burger other places, paid the same amount, and it was a million times better. Not worth the money.
Review Source:Oh, A1A Aleworks, thank you for being there for me when I stumbled into you at 1am in a drunken stupor. Your employees ushered me us upstairs (how the heck I made it up the stairs I'll never know) into the safety of a table (or booth, who knows, it's all hazy) overlooking A1A. During the day, I'm sure the view is great, but all I saw were twinkles of light over the water. Live music blaring from down below offered a nice distraction and ambiance as I tried to gain coherency.
I've heard great things about this place, so I proceed to order a strawberry mojito (I know, why did my boyfriend allow such a ludicrous thing to happen), which resulted in slurred speech and me not being able to focus on the friendly server as he tried to engage me in conversation. I think it was more for his entertainment, but I am laughing about it now. The mojito was good but they went a little overboard on the mint leaves (sorry for flicking those at the window, btw). But it was tasty. We then ordered the most memorable chicken quesadilla to date. Not sure what it was, the cheesiness, the tastiness, the ingredients, or the hunger. But it was G-O-O-D. I have a hard time remembering mediocre food I ate yesterday completely sober, so I'm sure this really was special.
Service was good, I did sober up enough to realize the experience was great, decor was great, and food was divine. We will be back on our next visit to St. Augustine. And maybe this time, I'll start the night here, instead of ending it here. And I promise I didn't drive like that. I walked (stumbled?) across the bridge of lions to our hotel room, where I drifted off to sleep dreaming of that chicken quesadilla that satisfied my hunger so.
This is a cool place to stop in and try out their beers but their food is just meh. Â The beer cheese soup is excellent and I wish I would have just gotten a bowl and called it dinner. Â I don't care for seafood, so I asked for a simple BLT. Â The bread was eh, the bacon burned, and it really wasn't anything to write home about.
Review Source:A place with a view.
I love the calamari with wasabi sauce here. Being into calamari. I'm use to getting served calamari with aioli sauce or marinara. Here they serve it with wasabi sauce and marinara(if requested). Their beer sampler is fun too. I have yet to sample their seasonal Lavendar beer. I heard it tastes "girly".
Avoid the place if it is too crowded. Second floor with a view of the water is divine. Â Great place to meet friends and have drinks.
We blew into town to celebrate my birthday and I had been to A1A Aleworks in the past. They have never let me down. We sat upstairs and got Jennifer (who was fresh from Ohio) as our waitress.
We immediately started with some Mojitos. I got the Dragonfruit/strawberry one, and my husband got the Pomegranate/Elderflower. Both were really strong, tasty, perfectly balanced..and pretty!
Being in St. Augustine you must eat some seafood. Its a rule. I wanted to try something new so I got the Smoked Salmon fish and chips, which is beer battered and served with fries and cole slaw. It was so crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The smoke flavor wasnt overpowering, and they do smoke it in house! The cole slaw was spicy which was surprising but oh so good. I would get it again, and again, and again.
My husband got the Crab BLT, which is a fresh blue crab salad with smoked bacon on Parmesan focaccia bread, with lettuce and tomato as well. The crab is so fresh and not overly creamy...like they tried to drown it in mayo..it still has chunks of crab throughout and with the bacon..it was heavenly.
We shared our plates, of course, ooohing and aahhhing how yummy everything was. we will be going back for sure.
Thank you aleworks for making my birthday lunch so perfect!
My husband does not enjoy the IPA/Hipster beer culture. He would rather sit back with a Coor's Lite and eat a steak.....by the end of the evening, Sam , our bartender , educated my husband.
We ate at the bar and Sam gave us a education in craft brews, ipa brews etc. We purchased a sampler for 6.00 that included 6 beers. In the end my husband had a Long Island Iced T, but he loved the beer cheese soup that Sam suggested. It was awesome and comes with bread so a great deal for 5.00. We split the seafood lime pasta, and that was good, kind of like Alfredo with shrimp and crab and a hint of lime. By listening to Sam we saved a lot of money and even purchased a shirt for 14.00, and my husband was able to watched the NFL games in the bar.
It's been quite a while since I made it down to A1A, though I have been back a couple times since my last review. And if parking wasn't such a bear, I might go more often. A friend of mine was celebrating her birthday and everybody was meeting up for dinner. They had made reservations for the balcony, which is really the only place worth sitting, in my opinion.
I settled on the shrimp & grits for dinner. There was so much going on in the dish with all the 'extras' that the simplicity of the dish was lost. Don't get me wrong, I love bacon. And while I'm not the biggest fan of mushrooms, I'm willing to try them. But when I order shrimp & grits, I hope for a dish that lets those two things shine. Neither of which happened in this dish.
Our table in the group was a table of five and did our best not to drive the waitress crazy. We were surprised at the fact that they actually took the time to separate our checks. We were all fully prepared with cash and weren't expecting them to accommodate us that way.
"A1A Ale was A-OK"
Great local to pop in on your stroll through St. Augustine. Good beer for sure. Both times I've been the food is average but the wait staff attentive. Fun, but loud, live music fills the place. Not ideal to watch a game like a typical bar. Just not too special over all.
A1A is a road, right? Well yes, but it is also a restaurant and bar! That can be confusing, but at least found it! My first night on vacation in St. A I ended up here with some friends for a drink. We started out the night with a glass of wine, which was very classy. The bartenders were nice and the server we had was really friendly! I love visiting vacation hot-spots because service is always great!
They had some live music as well as a very crowded bar area, it was difficult to chat with my friends, but we made it happen. We even made friends with others near us and had a great start to the night. As soon as our glasses were getting empty our server came over and offered another...why yes, I would like another!
We hung out in the bar area, but there is an upstairs area that I didn't get to discover much. I only made a trip up there to visit the restroom...which leads me to my only complaint of the night...I LOST MY RING!!! I remember taking it off to use the salt scrub in the bathroom, but I am pretty sure I forgot to put it back on. I went back to find it and it was GONE :( night ruined. I'm an idiot. Was the salt scrub really worth it? No, not really. I did call the next day to see if anyone turned it in, but nada. I assume someone else when in, saw it, and kept it. I'm so sad. Maybe, just maybe someone is reading this post and knows about the location of the right?!?! That would make my life so much better!!! Maybe someone you know has it or knows about it? Of course, I'm never that lucky. Is it to much to ask for you to message me if you do know about this ring? I'm asking....please.
Overall, the bar was great and the wine was good. I'm just very sad about the loss of my favorite pearl ring...RIP.
As the restaurant name indicates, the A1A Aleworks sits right on A1A in the heart of St. Augustine. Â We were mostly interested in finding someplace we could sit outside and that had a full bar (a little hard to find in St. A) and this place fit the bill. Â It is operated by the same large-ish company that manages the Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom Brewing Company brew pubs so I wasn't terribly surprised when everything was pretty much adequate. Â I had the house-made potato chips with blue cheese sauce (a personal weakness) and they were decent. Â I also had a couple of acceptable if not terribly memorable beers. Â Had it been less of a hot day I would have tried the beer soup that so many rave about.
The real stand out here is the view from the balcony. Â It is quite a pleasant place to sit on a fine spring afternoon in St. Augustine and sip beer and nosh on chips. Â I'd certainly come here to drink beer and watch the world go by again.
Two stars: 1 for the view and 1 for the soup. That's about it.
What a bad idea. My boyfriend and I were looking for a quick and casual lunch on a gorgeous day in St. Augustine. We've read the reviews for A1A, both good and bad, and decided to give it a shot. Mistake.
Highly dis-organized. We walked in the door and had no less than 5 employees walk past us - sometimes stopping to look at us then move on - without any idea of where to get a table. Finally, a couple walked in behind us, then around us and a gruff older gentleman finally shoved menus at them and barked to go upstairs for a table (still ignored us, though). We finally made it upstairs and someone finally acknowledged us and led us on a random trail through the restaurant looking for a table that was open. We scored one on the balcony thankfully, and the view was lovely, but that was a high point.
Craft beers? That doesn't always mean they're remarkable. My boyfriend loves stouts so he ordered their A Strange Stout. Thin, bland, and with barely any head. Just awful. He couldn't get more than a few sips in. Oh, and by the way, their servers need a better way to describe that stout than just saying "It's like Guinness!". No, it is not. Not all stouts are made equal. I had their Homemade Root Beer and it was like drinking straight syrup with a little bit of bubbles. Nothing special at all.
The beer cheese soup was the other high point of the visit. It deserves a star all by itself. It was lovely, I must hand it to them. Rich without being too thick. Savory and balanced in flavor. Quite delicious.
Our entrees, however, were pretty awful. I had the Blue Crab BLT half sandwich, and really feel they should have advertised that what I was getting was a mushy, mayo-saturated, fishy-smelling salad. It wasn't inedible, but not what I was expecting at all. It made my bread and veggies all soggy. Thank goodness for bacon is all I'm saying. My slaw wasn't bad, though, and kinda spicy in a good way.
My boyfriend ordered the "Sesame Tuna over a bed of crispy fried spinach". What he got was an uneven and inadequately-cooked piece of fish over a scattering of disintegrating green dust. This spinach was...weird...and thoroughly gross. We thought there had been a mistake, and our very kind server informed us the kitchen uses a special process to flash fry. It was, however, disgusting. Inedible. Our server offered to replace it with something else, but we were pretty much done with the whole experience.
Our actual server was very kind and did the best he could (though service seemed a little slow because he appeared to be only able to accomplish one thing at a time - like one drink at a time). The food, however, and the general organization of the place, really made the experience unfortunate. We had passed this place so many times, and finally wanted to try, and now we wished we hadn't. It is a real shame.
I'll maintain my four-star previous review for the restaurant/bar. Â I just want to add one thing to that review: their stout, called "A. Strange Stout" is truly excellent.
This review though, is for the catering services. Â As I mentioned in my previous review, A1A was the caterer for our wedding reception since we had our reception at the Bayview Room upstairs and across the hall.
They have a really large selection of menu options to choose from, and while I don't remember off the top of my head which hors d'oeuvres we selected, our entrées were a garlic-stuffed filet mignon and chicken marsala.  We got rave reviews for both of them, and nobody said a single bad thing about any of it.  I had the filet, and I loved it.  The staff was incredible, moving quickly among the tables but never being in the way. Everything went beautifully.
The coordinator Beth Hulburt was excellent, ensuring us early on that there would be no problem making separate meals for any vegetarians that might come. Â When we got a last-minute request from one of my friends to bring a guest, she promised that the guest would have a meal even though our final numbers were due in long before.
It was a great experience all around. Â Thanks again to everyone involved!
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