We have been here several times and have had several items on the menu. Â The Louisiana Fried chicken Salad is wonderful. Â I have had several other salads as well and love the Blue Cheese Salad (hold the onions) and the Thai Chicken Pasta. Â The beer flights are always good. Â This place ties with a favourite of ours in Carpenteria for beer tastings. Â WARNING. Â The beers tend to the British style of brewing. Â I happen to enjoy that style but many people don't understand different styles, or the bitters associated with British brewing.
They have a patio in front of the door that is dog friendly. We always try to sit where we can see people with their dogs sitting in the front. Â The people that bring the dogs are always friendly and treat their dogs like dogs instead of people. Â Needless to say; as a result the dogs are perfectly behaved. Â We often see the waitress bring water for the dogs when she brings water to their tables. Â We have considered bringing our Collies for one of our day trips, but the rest of Ventura is not as dog friendly.
My culinary goal is the search for the perfect chicken schnitzel and the perfect Fish and Chips. Â So far the best Fish and Chips I have had were in Piraeus, Â Greece. Â Last time we went I ordered their fish and chips since they don't offer schnitzel. Â It came to my table with the fish pieces all cooked together. Â Clumped. Raw and undercooked where they were stuck together. I was very disappointed the chef would allow such a thing to leave his kitchen. Â I was disappointed the waitress would deliver such a thing to a table. Was even sadder no attempt to remedy the situation was made. Â The search continues.
I had high hopes for this place due to the location but was not impressed. Â One star for good service and one for good food. Â We purchased a 5-beer sampler and only really liked one, the porter. Â We love craft beer but I don't think of myself as especially picky, I've NEVER been to a brewery and only liked one beer. Â Bummer. Â We had the wings, hot and delish as well as the asiago cheese dip which was rich but good. Â Since the appetizers were overpriced the beer not-so-good, we won't go back. Â I really wanted to like it more, but I'd rather go to BJ's and that's saying something.
Review Source:Ok, I'm easily amused but I really do love this place ~ wondering if they'd put brass nameplate on my favorite barstool ....
Relocated from Michigan which abounds in craft breweries, a fairly new concept only recently finding market niches in Ventura County  = breweries and beer shops suddenly springing up in SoCal ... but Anacapa is grand-daddy of 'em all ~ gal who manages bar been there 13 years and this place just doesn't turn staff over - suspect it is employee-owned because they're so competent & committed.
Fitting i bumbled in to Anacapa after meeting owner/manager while getting MRI's -- located smack in midst of  Ventura's beautiful walk-around Mission district, Anacapa a cool & quiet spot to snag lunch and sample the half-dozen or so beers on tap.
Brick, wood & huge vats on west wall behind bar w/ tables both inside and on small front veranda ... menu mostly burgers & pizza, nicely done -- don't eat mammals but find both their 9" veggie pizza and fish&chips very satisfying lunch plates, reasonably priced .
Am partial to dark beers and do look forward to their Porters & Stouts. Chalkboards over bar describe the half-dozen or so brews on tap, Â and staff all know food & brews very well, will intelligently describe/discuss what Anacapa does. // Â Yes they sell Growlers. Â Â
Can get a little crowded at peak lunch / dinner hour but afternoon ambiance generally quiet & conversational, typical Ventura mix of locals + visitors = nice place to hang out.
I had an awesome IPA (Pierpont IPA) and paired it with a "Towner" - a hot sandwich with layers of beef, mushrooms, and steak sauce. Â The combo of those two was awesome. Â We just stopped for lunch so I didn't get to try any additional beers (had to drive home!), but it looked like there was a solid selection. Â Next time I'm in Ventura I will definitely stop by for another pint.
Review Source:After walking around a bit, my bf and I stopped in here to grab a drink. We sat by the bar area and it wasn't too busy. We each got a beer. I always opt for a light-colored beer. I forgot the name of it but it was good, nice and light. My bf got a dark-colored beer and also forgot the name. It was alright to him. The bartenders were nice though and the atmosphere seemed chill.
Review Source:Love this place. New menu. Really paired down their burger menus to only 3 choices which is a bummer because I like the old menu.  The food here is always good. It is plentiful and a good value. Their beers are good and there is something for everyone here. I like the fried green beans with spicy sauce , very addicting!  The Scorcher burger is soooo good with fried jalapeños. No matter what you will find something here that is fresh and tastes great. Good casual atmosphere.
Review Source:We came here after an unsatisfying dinner at Capriccio's. We ordered some beer and a creme brulee for dessert.
The beer was good, and the creme brulee was very good! The top layer of sugar was not burnt crispy enough, but otherwise it tasted amazing! I would recommend it, it's great for sharing.
We went here on a early Sunday around noon and it was not busy. Service was great our server was very nice. The food was really good and the atmosphere was nice. I had a Veggie Pizza and it was good. My Husband loved the Asiago Cheese Dio itch Beer Bread. We liked this place and would go back. I would have given one more tar if thy had more Vegetarian choices.
Review Source:Great place to enjoy a meal if you're in Downtown Ventura. This restaurant is right on the Main St. and make their own beer in house. Pretty cool. You can even do beer tasting here. They have an outdoor area and a pretty big indoor one with a large bar and plenty of tables. We got a table further away from the entrance.
Their menu is New American cuisine, very diverse : pizzas, salads, hamburgers, sandwiches, pastas, seafood, etc. Â We stopped in for lunch and I had the Ojai sandwich and my husband the Newport one, both on ciabatta rolls. They were both really good, the Ojai has grilled chicken, pesto sauce, sun-dried tomato, Gouda and Mozzarella cheeses. The Newport has beer battered chicken tenders in wing sauce, with Mozzarella, it's very juicy and tasty. You can choose your side: coleslaw, fruit cup. We tried their seasoned fries, very good. Â
We tried their Amber beer (I think it was called Boont Amber Ale) on draft, not the darkest, but darker, very good, like Newcastle. They have funny names for their beers.
Service was good, prices reasonable. They have TVs in there, but luckily they were muted, they had some decent music playing in the background. It has a cool ambiance with the brick walls, the big, metal beer containers. Hip, fun place, if you visit or live in the area, check it out. Â As they say in there: "when in doubt, have another beer".
A group drove down south from the bay area and decided to drive to Ventura from Santa Barbara for the day. We had a great morning at the beach ( see The Jolly Oyster) and then decided to check out the down town and have  a beer.
The bad:
There were 12 of us and as we walked in the hostess seemed a little confused when we simply asked for a place to sit though there were plenty of tables. We found an area with 2 tables for 4 and 2 pub tables. We pulled the pub tables together to seat our group leaving space for the servers. The manager Destiny came over and scolded us and said we can't have the tables arranged like that because the servers can't pass by we had to move them back. We tried to explain that their was plenty of room to pass (which there was see pictures) but were moved the pub tables back and the rest of our group was split up sitting at the bar.
It was Destiny's attitude that put us off after all we are old enough to be her parents and should have been dealt with in a more adult manner.
The good:
The beer selection was pretty good (though I like ambers I found Santa Rosa red not bad though a little hoppy)
The appetizers we had were Onion rings, fried beans, popcorn shrimp were good  portions not to oily and tasty.
So Destiny's attitude in dealing with us cost a star. Would I go back , probably but not with more than a group of 4.
Anacapa Brewing is on my list of places to go in Ventura. Â I went there last night to grab some food and watch a bit of basketball with my roommate. Â We had the ahi tuna rolls and I HIGHLY recommend them to everyone. Â Wow, they were tasty! Â Especially with that wasabi sauce to dip them in..yum.
The rest of the dishes I've had hear have all been great as well. Â The sandwiches are tasty, and their 'Secret Chicken Past' is REALLY good and filling.
The only downside of the place, and it's a big one based upon the type of establishment, is their subpar brews. Â I've tried all the beers on their menu and none have really stood out as being exceptional. Â The Red is the best on the menu but even that isn't amazing. Â
All told, good atmosphere, great pub fare, and mediocre beers.
Anacapa is a cozy that's not too loud so it's a great place to catch up with friends. Â I ordered the salmon sandwich ($10.50) and the Santa Rosa Red ($4.50). Â The sandwich consists of salmon, avocado, bacon, lettuce between a ciabatta bun. Â Their "ciabatta" bun kinda threw me off since it was really fluffy and wasn't what I am normally use to but I actually like it better because of the soft texture. Â The Santa Rosa Red was alright, kinda too bitter for my taste.
Overall, great dining/drinking spot!
Took a chance on this place on Saturday before an excursion to the beach and we were definitely not disappointed! We had french fries to start that are sprinkled with parmesan cheese, garlic and rosemary YUM! Then we had the fish tacos and Louisiana Fried Chicken Salad; both were AMAZING! I even got a little brave and tried an apple cider beer and discovered a beer I will not only drink, but just might be a new favorite! If we find ourselves back in the neighborhood we will definitely be going back!
Review Source:I really really like this place. I am a micro brew fan. We were up looking at colleges and noted this place right next to where folks we were with wanted to go.
Sidenote - the place they wanted to go is called Busy bee, or bee, or something. Â We have a place in San Diego like this called Corvette diner - different - in SD they are ACTING like annoying rednecks - here , well you get my drift! Ick!
So we were "saved" by the brewery. Really awesome brew food. And good craft beer. I live in "brew central" north san diego county so I have a lot to choose from. The place has a really nice "vibe" to it and there was a cool and not annoying magician who came to the table and did some low key magic tricks. I grew up in the beach cities of orange county and this definately has that vibe of cool without trying too hard.
Great food, Great Beer, great decor. Thanks for a nice evening!
A cozy little brewery in the heart of downtown Ventura, the type of place where locals and strangers alike feel welcome and invited. There is a nice bar, with beer-focused bartenders and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.
The menu is just what you would want at a brewery - good, solid food with a focused approach.
The beers are good too, but having personable service to describe them makes all the difference! This was our first stop upon arriving in Ventura and it was an excellent lunch of fish and chips, homemade root beer and well, beer!
I hear about this place from a lot of my friends, seems to be a "go to" for entertaining.
I'm not a beer drinker, so that makes a difference, but it's a decent place. A bit out of my price range to eat there regularly but I'd definitely go back to treat someone. I'll update next time I eat here as I don't trust my memory enough to give more than a general impression!
I was excited to find a brew pub when I first moved to the area, but have so far been underwhelmed. The beer is ok. Out of the five I've tried, the Seasonator is the only one I'd be interested in revisiting. The others were pretty thin and flavorless. The food seems to be hit or miss. I've had the same appetizer three times (because I really liked it the first time) but have never quite enjoyed it a much as the first time. My friend agreed that you never can tell what kind of food or service you will walk into. And I don't mean to imply that the servers were ever unpleasant, just not consistently attentive. Especially on the slower nights it seemed they didn't spend a lot of time off the floor.
In short, I'd give the beer another chance and maybe order something small (the prices are a bit high for bar fare, in my opinion), but it wouldn't be my first choice. Sorry, Anacapa. I want to love you. I really do.
Hadn't been here since we moved back. Not much had changed in all the years - beers are okay, Santa Rosa Red being their best, but nothing to the level of Stone, Bear Republic, Russian River or other microbrews. Food remains standard - good, but nothing really compelling. Did not try the pizzas, but will get one next time. Fish tacos - grilled and fried, were average. My grilled fish kind of smelled, which was off-putting. Sauce was good; tacos were basically store-bought. Service was terrible, which was funny because we were 2 of 10 people in the place. It's too bad because we were excited when it opened, and happy to try it again. They need to spice up the food, especially in a city which seems to consist mainly of Thai and Indian restaurants.
Review Source:What could be a pretty great local eatery/brewery falls a little flat on both angles. I ordered their "house specialty" pulled pork BBQ sandwich and found the fries to be hot but a little too soft, and the sandwich (which could only be realistically consumed with fork and knife) seemed to have good meat, but it was way too smothered in an otherwise decent BBQ sauce.
As it was my first time here, I opted for the five-beer taster set. I was not impressed with any of them, though the Santa Rosa Red was tolerable enough to sip if I had to come back for another pint. While several of the beers are touted as "full-bodied," I found most of them to be mild, bordering on bland, and mostly indistinct from one another, save for the stout which had the cliche flavorings of a chocolaty and/or coffee-like additives that every local brew master naively thinks is clever and original.
The service was just that: serviceable, but far from passionate or particularly conversational with anyone other than among themselves.
All in all, my assessment is that the founder of this place had dinner with friends at a BJ's Restaurant and Brewery and thought, "I think I can pull this F&B concept off at my own independent joint at a prime piece of real estate I got on Main Street in Ventura." With its very reasonable prices, I'm sure the high-season tourists will feel duly impressed by the beer vats on display at the bar, but locals and true beer snobs like me will seek more original character elsewhere.
We were really going to treat ourselves to a fancy seafood dinner, but no such luck. My bf's dad's hunger level was quickly escalating to dangerous Code Red, so we hurriedly walked into Anacapa Brewing Co. and were seated right away by a friendly host. (Whew!)
It was nice to see that they did actually brew their beers. Since my bf is a huge dark beer fan, he ordered Benyhana Espresso Stout, which was dark and tasty (tasted just like coffee!).
My bf's dad orders a mushroom and Swiss burger, and my bf and I shared grilled fish tacos and Gorgonzola, Spinach & Sun-dried Tomato Pizza. I did not care for the pizza dough, but the fish tacos were delicious. The fish had nice char marks on it and tasted great with their homemade jalapeno cream sauce.
People working at the brew pub were nice and friendly, and our bellies were full when we walked out, which concludes our emergency dinner was pretty successful!
We walked in to Anacapa for an early dinner to no hostess for about 5 mins. Once we were finally seated the bartender came to take our drink order, we only got one of our drinks. After waiting an additional 20 mins and no one coming up to take our food order I walked up to the bar to just ask to pay for the drink. The only plus was the bartender said it was fine and "oh sorry about that." No one even noticed we left or had never been helped. Would have loved to find out about the food, but the service was too terrible.
Review Source:Main Street would definitely loose out if this place was not here. A micro brew in Ventura is, as far as I know, not easy to find. It's location makes it packed on weekends which may have led to some negative reviews, but its understandable. The rest of the restaurants on the street don't offer decent food and great beer. Pierpont IPA is delicious. In fact, any of there beers are good because it's not massed produced. If you'd rather have some terrible Sam Adams, go somewhere else. The Ojai sandwich is my favorite. Not a fan of pesto normally, but I make an acceptation for this every time. You have to get the sweet potato fries. They are great and so is the honey mustard that come with it. I don't think I've ever been in Ventura and at least not stopped here for a beer. Their staff is very friendly as well, no matter how packed.
Review Source:Anacapa Brewing Company is an old-school beer house located in the charming stretch of bars, restaurants and boutiques on Main Street in the "downtown" area of Ventura. The bar itself houses several behemoth steel vats of beer brewing Anacapa's signature suds as you sit and sip. The ambience is charming; the food is not.
The beers are well crafted. A Santa Rosa Red has the blush color of just-bathed Irish Setter with a mild flavor and velvety finish. Hop fans would lip-smack at the IPA and there's even a seasonal pumpkin-tinged ale on tap that's spicy and toasty for the holidays.
That's the good news.
When you move from the bar to the kitchen the results are mediocre at best. Several of their pizzas feature jar-flavored marinara sauce on dough too gooey to offset the handfuls of melted cheese with uninspired toppings like salty pepperoni and the typical pub staple Margherita style.
Of the unreasonably pricey entrees, the grilled Icelandic Cod tacos fare best with shredded cabbage and avocado. But don't be duped into the pretzel fried chicken which sounds intriguing, but is basically two overcooked, sawdust pieces of chicken hardly well fried with drizzled bites of something that I think was supposed to replicate a pretzel's texture. Couldn't be sure. The kitchen tries to cover the dryness with a cloying mushroom ragout that's basically a richer, gummier version of canned Campbell's mushroom soup. Oh and at nearly $17, you get the idea of the quality-to-value ratio of the place.
None of the sandwiches shined either. The BBQ pulled pork was a sloppy Joe mess with meat so slathered in sweet sauce that it could have been anything chewy underneath the gunk. The burgers are mostly what you'd expect without much imagination or flair for California's latest one-up-man's-ship on reinvention. One burger has melted Swiss and mushrooms; another grilled onions and cheddar and each priced near $11. All very middle of the road helped only slightly by light and crispy onion rings with a BBQ dipping sauce. Â
If you're passing through and just need a quick pint off the 101 coming through Ventura, Anacapa has a nice local bar ambience. Â But for a meal, this is wannabe gastro-pub style fare without the style.
Anacapa Brewing Company
472 East Main Street  Ventura, CA 93001
(805) 643-BEER
Beer and wine only.
Metered street parking or free parking in the back with only a handful of spaces devoted to this establishment.
the reason why I love brew pubs is for strong beer with good flavor, This place doesn't really have either, Beers were tasty but average.  Not  strong though, none of the beers were above 6.0. Â
The food I had was average at best, except the bread pudding it was FREAKING awesome.
The servers were very nice and attentive.
Visited downtown Ventura and Anacapa seemed like a cool place to grab a beer and some food. Nice ambiance, but my beer was room temperature. :/ It's supposed to be a brewing company? Ehh, that didn't sell me to get another one or order food. Sorry, not to be an abnoxious Yelp reviewer but I like my beer cold. It's not cask, sooooooo why is it room temp? Bar Rescue wouldn't be happy.
Review Source:Ahi tuna rolls are amazing! Â Not to be missed! And did I mention I LOVE the Pierpont IPA?
For lunch or dinner, I love having the Salmon Salad... healthy, tasky, cruchy, sweet... So good!
Visit enough, and know the wait staff well enough, you might be invited to join their mug club. Â Not only is it an honor, its a lot of fun having your name on your beer in town! Â Worth the wait!
A-OK. Â Our server was verry efficiant and nice. Â We sat outside as it seemed we got there a little late for the dinner crowd (about 8:30) and the loud music seemed to indicate that they were in full party mode. Â
I didn't love my beer - it was described as "sweet and sour" which, to be fair was a very accurate description, so that wasn't their fault. Â My husband did enjoy his beer and burger. Â I got one of the pastas which was good, but nothing to write home about. Â
I think this would be a 4-5 star happy hour place, and I really liked the inside.
This is a great spot to just chill with your friends or family, enjoy a wide selection of beers, and just have a fun time! They also allow dogs on their patio outside so if you feel like walking your dog around and want to rest and have a beer this is place to come!
The food was great and their menu has a lot of variety. Â They have everything from Oaxaca chicken mole to blackened halibut and anything in between! Â The food was really tasty! It wasn't greasy or icky looking like can sometimes happen at pubs so that was a relief. The service was awesome as well. I am not a beer connoisseur by any standard, and the waitress was very knowledgeable and helpful about the different beers and really helped me choose some good beers.
Overall it was a great experience, I will definitely be going back and buying one of their t-shirts!
Came here with a good friend of mine to celebrate the end a grueling semester. When we arrived we were immediately seated at the bar. They had a large selection of home brewed beers. Since I'm a big fan of the IPA I ordered it immediately. I am very careful to give high praise to home brewed IPAs, but they had an amazing IPA that went very well with our Buenaventura Rolls. The rolls were nice and crispy and the dipping sauce was excellent. They were so good I ordered another order of them rolls. By the way, try the rolls when you go! Since we came here after a grueling day of work my friend and I weren't hungry so I didn't try any of their dishes.
The parking is a pain the buttocks (can I say that?) If you park on the street you have to pay a meter and if you want to park in a lot you have to park a block away. The ambiance and the decor of the restaurant is reminiscent of Ventura.
I really loved the experience I had when I went to Anacapa Brewing and I recommend it to anyone looking for a home brewed beer.
Anacapa brewing co is a great place to come in for solid tasty brews, good food and atmosphere! The employees I have met are all very cool and attentive.
As far a food goes I have had quite a few different choices and they are all pretty good but the pizza is amazing!! What goes best with pizza??? That's right, beer and anacapa delivers the goods!
The atmosphere is inviting and screams brewpub. You have all the brew kettles, fermenters etc behind the bar and a very solid bar it is. I love the red brick here as well.
The only small complaint and this is my taste buds talking so others may not agree, but the beer can be a bit better in my humble opinion but it is still good and almost always up there in alcohol content.
If your in main stree Ventura, do yourself a favor and come in grab a sweet pizza and a pint of local brew!
I will give this place one star because of the service.
We waited inside for quite a while to get seated while an open, clean, and ready table outside was sitting in plain view with no one else waiting to be seated. Â Employees ran past us plenty of times without acknowledgment. Â We got our food in not too long of a wait, but our drinks were not refilled until after we'd finished eating.
The worst part came when I got home to re-check my receipts and they'd charged my card for $1 more than I'd written. Â My handwriting is perfectly fine and unmistakable, but I guess the waiters and waitress feel they can add money to tips they do not deserve. Â
I won't be going back here, though I did enjoy the fish tacos. Â Charging a card for more than is specified is just unacceptable.
Hands down my favorite restaurant in Ventura! Anacapa Brewing Co gets 5 stars across the board in the three areas nearest and dearest to my heart:
THE FOOD: The food is nothing short of spectacular. Â I am addicted to the black and blue chicken sandwich - the spices they use to blacken the chicken are out of this world. Â It's what I order 99% of the time. Â Last night, however, I tried the chicken stack and it's safe to say I have a new favorite: Tomato and basil, stacked with chicken, followed by gouda, then corn polenta, an onion ring on top. Â Super creative and full of flavor!
My fiancé's usual is the Ojai sandwich but sometimes he'll go for the pulled pork or the turkey and brie sandwich.  Last night he ordered the filet medallions which disappeared in minutes.
We love the asiago cheese dip with bread and veggies - it's always a crowd pleaser when we are with a larger group. Â
THE BEER: There is always something new to try! I've never been disappointed in an Anacapa brew.
THE SERVICE: Â I can spot a bad server from a mile away. Â The kind of waitress that will smile and be polite to your face but roll her eyes as she walks away. Â The waiter that acts like you are inconveniencing him by sitting in his section. Â I don't return to restaurants after experiencing bad service. Â Out of the 50+ times I have visited Anacapa I can honestly say I have never once had a bad server. Â Not even one that was slightly crabby LOL. Â They are always fun, friendly (the genuine kind of friendly) and professional.
I love coming here. Â Destiny is the best waitress. Â She offers great service and is also super friendly. Â They have a great blue cheese salad that I always get when I come in here and it's very tasty with just the right amount of everything on it. Â The host/hostesses are also friendly as well. Â I usually come here on my lunch break and never have to rush back to the office because the service is so fast.
I haven't had the beer here in a few years so I can't really say much about that. Â But the service and food are great. Â The menu selection is large and the prices are very reasonable. Â I definitely reccommend this place to people.
What a great place to stop for dinner while cruising downtown Ventura. Great pub decor with plenty of tvs with a friendly staff. Our waiter was quite knowledgable on the inhouse brews as well as the bottled brews they had.
Our group started with a few different appetizers; sweet potatoe fries, fried stuffed jalapenos, and fried green beans. The jalapenos and fries were good but the fried green beans were excellent. Great sauce combinations for dipping as well.
The menu was pretty extensive from burgers and steaks to seafood and pasta. Â Knowing brewhouse food, I ordered a bbq burger and my wife got the pulled pork sandwich. Â Both were very good. Â The burger was cooked to order perfectly and the pulled pork was tender and had great bbq zip. Â Everyone else at the table was pleased with their selections with the exception of the one person in our party who ordered a steak. Â She complained that the steak was butterflied and overcooked (served well done when she asked for medium).
Overall a great experience, good brewhouse ambiance, a private table for a group of eight without hassle or wait on black Friday night. Â Good service and better beer.
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