Given that Las Cruces doesn't have the beer scene that Albuquerque does, this place ain't so bad, but I think they could use some competition. Yes, I know there's some Mimbres Brewing or something of that nature also in Cruces, but I've heard it's hardly anything to write home about.
Despite my less than favorable intro, I'd say I do like the beers here.
I started with the barleywine which had some tough shoes to fill after I'd so recently enjoyed a number of good one, including La Cumbre's version. I found this one to be lacking in hop aroma and taste and to be generally undecided as what it was meant to be. It simply lacked any distinctive taste that could have and should have made it memorable.
I followed this with a fight that included the Rye IPA, Black IPA, Porter, and an ESB. I started with the ESB and found it to be quite good. It seemed highly sessionable---I didn't see ABV or IBUs posted anywhere, but then again I wasn't sitting at the bar--- and wasn't a hopbomb. I then moved to the Rye and found it to be just as peculiar as the barleywine. It was sweet to start and had a soda-like quality and taste that didn't please me any. In fact, the Rye was my least favorite.
The Black IPA had a good hoppy nose with that roasty, maltiness you'd expect both on the nose and in taste. I enjoyed it and probably wouldn't have minded another.
Finally, the porter was good and true to it's style. It too had the dark, roasty notes and a good, thick body. This certainly would make a good quaffer for winter months.
I didn't try the food though it looked decent, but if I return it would be to try more beers and see if these guys are consistent and worthy of a fourth or fifth star.
Service was awful. They were only half full but just continued to ignore us all night to pay attention to friends and regulars. Food was below average. My sweet potato fries tasted like soggy Ore Ida's and ended up making me sick. I hadn't eaten for 6 hours but 30 mins after eating just a few fries, I was horribly ill.
The decor and atmosphere was fun. But that's it. Just don't waste your time or money.
The brewery says that none of their beers suck, and I would agree, but none of them go above and beyond other microbreweries I've sampled throughout the South West. Â The brown ale was typical of a brown ale, and good, but otherwise unremarkable. Their Anniversary IPA was the same, hoppy, nice hop aroma, malty and sweet, but not anything unique. The ESB is perhaps a little better than others I've had with a unique nutty character. Â The barley wine is perhaps their best offering of the four I tried, having a smooth, buttery quality, very full bodied, though not as strong as other barley wines.
I'd have given this place 4 stars, but their food sucks, and their service is spotty. I sat at the bar on a Wed night, and the guy in charge kept forgetting to check on us. The atmosphere has a nice jive though, and I would come back, cause after all, the beer is still better than any of the major labels, and a great place to meet the younger, more hip people of Las Cruces.
cozy, relaxed outdoor patio and efficient servers. The three of us were satisfied with our menu items, green chile burger, green chile and grilled chicken sandwich, and chipotle grilled chicken sandwich. The jalapenos poppers were not excellent but passable. The beers were tasty on a warm evening. I will come back to this place next time I am in Las Cruces.
Review Source:Great roadhouse atmosphere and delicious food and beer! We tried a couple flights (taster trays) and I especially liked the Rye Pale Ale and the Imperial Stout. Sadly, they did not have an IPA on tap at the time of my visit, which, in my opinion, should be a staple at every brewery - I love hoppy beers! Awesome brewery, way more casual than the other one in town, highly recommended!
Review Source:One of the best green chile cheeseburgers we've ever had. The ber was darn good too, and the service was timely, attentive, and we had regular quality checks from the server. We saw a big ol' boy next to us get an order of Nachos and that thing looked like Mount Vesuvius! The music was good but just a little too Michael Jackson-centric. Great place!
Review Source:I initially found this place when my husband was here interviewing for a job. We went here right when we got into town since they had vegetarian food and beer. Two of our favorite things! I honestly think that I was more okay with the idea of moving to LC because my first experience of the town was at High Desert.
Since then, we have been back many times. It is probably the restaurant we have frequented the most in LC and I have to say I really like this place. It is a little dive-y, but that is part of its charm. They decorate the ceiling with a ton of postcards. The tables and chairs are a bit mismatched. They have cute little weaved rugs on the tables and the staff is always really nice.
Their veggie burger is probably one of the best that I have had. Makes it even better that it comes out on a deliciously toasted multi-grain bun and on top of that you can get a side of sweet potato fries. So good!
You can also order a behemoth plate of nachos. They have multiple sizes and I believe a suggested number of people that each size can feed. Definitely be mindful of that when you order it. Â That nachos were pretty good, but not spectacular. Definitely a good food to munch on with buddies.
They also have a variety of quesadillas there, including a lot of non-traditional quesadilla flavor combination. I haven't had any yet, but they all sound really great!
Their beer is pretty good although I can't say any of it stands out that much. However, I just moved from St. Louis which has a ton of microbrews and it is hard to compete with those. Â It is definitely the best place that I have found so far for beer in LC. I like their beers and their atmosphere way better than De La Vega (which from my understanding doesn't really make their own beer).
I definitely think that I will frequent High Desert many more times while I am living in LC.
Went here on a Sunday night with co-workers. Â Got to love a place where they have dog bowls in the outside patio and at least 2 different tables showed up with dogs. Â The beer was good, the green chile cheeseburger was good and one of the side options is tator tots which is just great. Â Drive slow when trying to find the place because you may miss it based on its fairly non-descript exterior. Â I went again for an early dinner on Saturday. Â The place was still busy and inside felt like a college bar, stale beer smell and all, though all ages were there. Â My green chile cheese chicken sandwich was good. Â I just wish the inside didn't smell so much like a college bar.
Review Source:This is my favorite bar, ever, period. It's over an hour away from where I live, but I've driven there with friends just for a beer and a bratworst, and El Paso isn't exactly lacking in good gastropubs and the like. The food is pretty excellent and the beer is really, really good. The atmosphere is really relaxing, too and I've spent hours there shooting the s**t with friends there. It's worth buying a growler to fill up while you're there, because a lot of the beers are seasonal and they might be out of something you like pretty quick. Some other things to keep in mind, the nachos are f***ing huge and unless they've gotten smaller since I last went, a medium order can easily feed 4 people so don't order the large unless you're not eating anything else and you're with a large group. There's also a gorgeous park like a 5 minute drive away that's nice to work off your buzz before getting back on the road, if you're coming from out of town. Love this place.
Review Source:High Desert is a favorite of mine whenever I come to Las Cruces. The beers are great, the food is fresh and fantastic, the staff and patrons are very friendly, and the ambience is welcoming and relaxing. The Fresh Hop IPA, Anniversary Ale, and the Black IPA, are my favorites. Their chile is spicy and delicious. And the view of the Organ Mountains from the seating outside is fantastic. High Desert is also conveniently located right across the street from my favorite my favorite Mexican restaurant, Nellie's Cafe. Â This place is not to be missed.
Review Source:This place is a nice change of pace from most of the chains and Mexican food restaurants you tend to find in Las Cruces. There is not a ton to do in this town, and my girlfriend and I were missing Tucson badly when we decided to check this place out. I'm glad we did.
The building is non-descript, but not a strip mall stucco joint which was appreciated. The patio was nice and spacious, and best of all, dog friendly. The servers were all awesome and incredibly friendly. They even brought water and a few strips of bacon for our basset hound (she's obviously a fan of this place) and everything was served promptly. I really don't know what most people expect from servers, but nobody was rude or inattentive AT ALL.
The food was just okay. Bar food's gonna bar food, so don't expect anything too exciting, but they do have a veggie burger and a decent veggie-friendly platter which is always nice (Tags: Vegan, Vegetarian, Moped, Fixed Gear).
Beer was good but unremarkable. It was cheap though, which I like. I had the anniversary IPA and it was fairly hoppy, but had sort of a metallic finish. They have a shit ton of options though, so I'd definitely like to try more.
All-in-all this is a good place. If you're from Arizona don't expect Four Peaks, it's kind of like a scaled down Barrio Brewing Co. in Tucson. Mellow vibes and nice servers, meh food and pretty good beer - not bad.
Our second visit to High Desert was actually better than our first visit. Â My wife got the same meal both times, Turkey, Bacon, Guacamole sandwich with sweet potato fries. Â I had the reuben on this visit - very good, with the garlic herb fries, which were good both times. Â Didn't try any of the brews yet. Â Maybe when thy have the Amber Lager, I will give it a try.
Review Source:One low point: High Desert Brewery belongs in Texas
... so I can become a regular.
Little hole in wall in an industrial park. We pulled in, looked around, and went back to pick up the dogs and bring them with us. "Dog friendly" is an understatement. Must have a dozen dogs there that day.
Atmosphere was laid back and friendly. We talked with all the tables around us, even the couple with the rescue dog who had to leave because of his aggressiveness.
The beer was good, if unexciting for a microbrewery.
What we tried off the menu was good and dirt cheap.
This would be my hangout if I leaved nearby. The food and beer aren't spectacular, but the atmosphere, the crowd, and the low prices make High Desert a winner.
I had lunch at High Desert today and it was my best experience there so far. Â On previous visits I had been turned off by the attitude of one of the female staff members. Â Today my friends and I sat outside and enjoyed a terrific pitcher of pilsner and a couple of burgers. Â We asked the waiter to help us choose a beer, he was right on. Â The food was good and our server was great, he was not in our face and took care good care of us. Â Maybe the trick is to sit outside........
Review Source:It was so nice to discover this little place among the throngs of national chain restaurants in Las Cruces. They are a microbrewery and even though I'm not a lover of beer, I enjoyed my one pint of IPA and Blonde Ale. Both were decent and I would definitely recommend the Blonde Ale.
As for food, it is typical pub fare mixed with the flavor of Las Cruces (just add green chilies). It does get a bit loud on weekends but if you are willing to embrace the atmosphere, I guarantee you will enjoy yourself.
TIP: If you want to have some fun with some perfect strangers, sit in the room just past the kitchen where there are two gigantic "u" shaped booths facing each other. It's a great way to start up a conversation with people you don't know yet.
Also, watch out or a Chihuahua will try and jump in your car as you leave.
When I hadn't been exposed to many micro-breweries, I thought this was great beer. 10 years and many beers (and pubs) down that road, I can honestly say every beer at High Desert tastes about the same: hoppy to the point of being unpleasantly reminiscent of pine-sol. This was probably really awesome beer when they first opened, but micro-brewing has changed so much for the better in the interval, I can't help but wonder if High Desert is like some kind of beer coelacanth. Or maybe it's like a Japanese soldier living in the jungles of whatever island he was stationed on, convinced that WWII is still going on. Anyway, when you have Chama, Santa Fe, and Marble all brewing in the state, you need to up the ante a bit beer-wise. I've heard from some friends of mine who brew their own at home that HiDes uses a handful of ingredients to make several different beers, which is cool, ingenuity-wise, but hard on the palate. (I don't know if this is true, but it sounds reasonable, given the evidence)
Some of the food is outstanding, but by and large it's all institutional food, whatever you can order off the freezer truck. I'm not looking for brilliance when I'm ordering something deep fried, but you expect a little bit of craft food along with the craft beer. The burgers and chicken sandwiches are good, but if you screw those things up, you really have no business being a restaurant. The nachos are pretty outstanding, and even if it is just making a messy stack of processed food on a tray, I defy you to make a mess this delicious at home. Still and all, kids, I can get a hamburger anywhere.
It gets super crowded, and the service is usually pretty good and way on top of things, so no worries there. They may not have time to be super attentive, but they get it done, especially considering how swamped they are most of the time. High Desert has a tendency to book good, if lesser known, out of town bands, which is a welcome reprieve from all the local cover bands. One proviso: You will probably have to wade through a sea of cheap cigarette smoke and unwashed people to get to the front door. Some people are into that, whatevs. Â You have to remember this with Las Cruces nightspots: there's not a lot to do here, all the bars start to look good after awhile. Still, if you don't mind drinking a beer at lunch, stop in on an afternoon when you can hear yourself think, eat a burger, and drink a beer. The staff is usually pretty cool, and there's worse ways to spend a lunch hour.
My favorite bar. Eclectic clientele, college kids and retired barflies, fantastic. Most of the bartenders that work there are the reason why I love it. There is one girl who I've seen working the day shift who acts a little salty but other then her everyone else makes the place fantastic. The beer is all stellar: peach wheat is perfect for summer and if they have holiday ale on draught get after that! Free pint in your birthday too!! And then the food... I've only strayed from their killer (and cheap) nachos a few times but I wasn't disappointed. The hummus and veggies wasn't awesome but the chile stew was fantastic (annnnd super spicy). But you can't go wrong if you get the nachos.
Review Source:The food is pretty standard pub fare. Â I was there twice on my business trip and had the green chile chicken sandwich (which was okay) and the chile cheese burger, which was quite good -- it didn't seem to be made from a frozen patty, and the lettuce was not the shredded crap that seems to be standard these days. Â The beer was good, but not uniformly so. Â I recommend buying a flight or just asking the bartender to taste before you buy.
There are a few other reviews on here which accuse the staff of racism. Â Frankly I did not see any evidence of that. Â There were plenty of darker-skinned folks eating and drinking in the restaurant. Â And the first night I was there, one of the waitstaff was wearing a middle-eastern-style tunic (sans pants) -- which makes me think they're a pretty tolerant bunch. Â
Don't be afraid of the negative reviews. Â Go in and see for yourself. Â The beer is $3 a glass and you have nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time.
The beer is good but the staff is just horrible. I mean HORRIBLE. Slamming pints at us, did not like to answer questions. When I walked around to have a look the waiter kept an eye on me and then asked if he could help me and I said I was just looking. He mumbled something and walked away. I asked a second staff member a question and she was annoyed by me asking a question. When I asked to speak to Donna, the waiter told me she was too busy to speak to me. Donna finally came to outskirts of our table but was hesitant to speak to us. When informed of her staff she said she was sorry and then just left.
First and only time I will go to this place, from reading the reviews I am beginning to gather some prejudice at this place. They can keep their beer and their attitudes. WARNING to other, especially darker skin bothers and sisters, beer lovers do not come here.
Bad Service and Bad business.
We visited while on vacation last month Sunday afternoon. We tried a foursome sampler. Â This is one ambitious little brewery, with lots of choices, I think there were almost a dozen to pik from. Bummed I was a smidge too early for the Porter. Â Of the four, the APA (which was our bartenders recommendation) was excellent. People coming in wanting growler refills seemed to request the APA the most.
The "small" nacho was HUGE and delicious, mushrooms were super tasty!
We sat at the bar, bartender did not start out very friendly, but not unfriendly either and provided good service...surprisingly he warmed up after he (a Buckeye) found out I was a Wolverine ;) Â We later realized he was at the end of his shift and by that time he smilin" and friendly.
A very neighborhood bar feeling, relaxed and inviting. Â Would definately return.
this place flat out sucked. Why?
I walked in there one night with four of my good friends and we stood around THE BAR for almost 10 minutes. NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, NO HELLO--WE DIDN'T GET SERVED. The bartender must have known we were there...since we were pretty much the only heads at the bar.
I'm not really sure what the reason was. We were all dressed casually, and we are ALL BEER AFICIONADOS. We walked in there for beer, and beer only.
This place is a pompous severe disappointment.
I actually wondered if it was because our skin was a little more browner than most in the place. I shook my head...it couldn't be. Its Las Cruces-- there's plenty of brown around the town. Hell, its only 45 min. away from EP, the brownest town in the nation!
Whatever.
The hell with this place.
Avoid this place like the plague.
Mostly, we love the waiter RUDY.
He turned us on to the brewery because there are tons of vegetarian options. The veggie burger is a bit spicy but still delicious. I've had the quesodilla, sweet pot fries, the hummas plate, and the fried ravioli as well and everything was great. The atmosphere is cool and relax and there is outdoor seating.
Good place all around. Â The beers were all pretty good, and you could tell they were relatively high ABV, probably 5-6%+. Â Came with a group during dinner time and there was a bit of a wait, but not bad and not unexpected.
I had the chili which was really, really good. Â Probably some of the best I've had. Â The cornbread that came with it? Â Sadly, tasted like bad Jiffy mix. Â Also had the Nachos, which come in sizes small, medium, large, and ludicrously large. Â Those were pretty good.
Wow. Â What a difference a few months makes! Â We have been going here on and off since moving here almost two years ago. Â Usually, service was ok, food good, beer good.
Our visit yesterday at 5PM was horrible. Â We were not greeted at the door, just dismissively told to seat ourselves by a very ticked off guy. Â We tried to find a clean table and couldn't. Â I went to stand by the bar where folks order their growlers to get a rag to clean the table, and was ignored until I flagged down the lady filling growlers. Â She knew I was there, just ignored me hoping someone else would step up, which seemed to be the MO for the crew -very disappointing! Â She grabbed a dripping wet, nasty looking sponge to clean the table and stormed back to where my wife was seated. Â When my wife said hello and asked how her day was going. Â The reply? Â Some unintelligble grumbling. Â My wife asked her if everything was ok, to which the waitress snapped "I answered you! Â I'm fine".
At this point I snapped. Â I told my wife we were going to somewhere that wanted our business. Â We promptly went to the Game, and had great service, good food, and good (Moose Drool!), though not brewed locally, beer.
We were both truly disappointed.  We like High Desert, and prefer to support local businesses.  Our past experiences were always satisfying if not great at High Desert.  It seemed like this crew working  yesterday was truly ready to just throw down with each other, and took it out on the customers...unsatisfactory!
We have not had this rude of treatment at a business here, and trust me, we have been treated as a bother as opposed to a wanted customer fairly regularly. Â In bigger cities, businesses that do this go out of business quickly, but when you're in a one microbrewery town, I guess you don't need to focus on good customer service.
Some businesses here could truly benefit from enhancing their customer service training and practices!
I grew up in Las Cruces and lived there until I was 26, (which equals 5 years of legal drinking). Â I remember how excited I felt that first time I walked into High Desert to buy my first legal drink. Over the next 5 years, I had many a brew here, and always considered it to be one fine brewery.
Well, when you only have a choice of one brewery (as this is LC's one and only), its not difficult for it to become your favorite. Certainly, its the best beer in town. But when compared to other New Mexico breweries, ie Chama River, Turtle Mountain, Marble; it comes up a little short. Â I mean, don't get me wrong...HD's IPA is pretty damn good (and surely I've drank enough of it to know!), and they have some other decent brews as well. Â They try to keep at least 8 on tap. But the aforementioned Albuquerque area breweries are at the very least right on par, and often exceed what HD has to offer. Â Their food is average pub food...not bad, but nothing special (though their nachos are ginormous).
I know and have known many of the staff at HD throughout the years, so its always been a friendly experience for me there. No problems on that front. However, HD has some odd practices, that after having moved to Albuquerque and found that NONE of the breweries here practice, has left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth (and not the hoppy kind). Â For one, they pre-fill their growlers and keep them stored in a fridge. You can see them right behind the bar. In all likelihood, when you buy one, it probably wasn't filled more than 24 hours prior, but that's about the window of time when a growler of beer starts to wane on its freshness. Personally, I prefer my growlers filled on the spot to ensure maximum freshness, and thus far, High Desert is the only brewery I've been to that has this peculiar practice.
Another thing: they won't fill any other growlers than the ones bearing their label. I know...they are the only brewery in Las Cruces, so no biggy, right? Â Well, what happens if I want fill my absolutely badass Stone Brewery growler at the Des? Â What if I already have growler and don't want to pay the extra $3 deposit on their piece of glass (their growlers have stick-on labels, and are CLEAR glass, which allows beer to become skunky from UV light exposure, and frankly, looks rather tacky). Well, I'm shit out of luck...management policy forbids them from doing so. Â And in any case, even if you bring in one of their growlers, they won't actually fill it for you...they'll just exchange it for one of their pre-filled ones. Â Again, this is the ONLY brewery I've been to which has this absolutely retarded policy.
I feel a little bad ragging on an establishment that I've enjoyed so much in the past, and truly, I have some cherished memories there (mostly because of the company I was with). But at that time, I didn't really know any better...it was all Las Cruces had (and still, sadly, has) to offer. I'll still drop in for a brew when I'm in town, but High Desert has definitely slid down a few notches in my opinion. Â I gave them 3 stars, but suspect at least half a star was for old-times sake.
It's got comfort food and booze... like most brewery-restaurants. The beer is pretty good and worth finding the place. Don't let the look of the place fool you. It looks a little seedy, but it's safe.
Service was on the slow side, but then that's typical for brew-pubs. Drink more alcohol and you'll be happy... just don't drink it too fast.
What a find! I was in Las Cruces for business and being the addicted Yelper that I am, I searched the community for a brewery and found this place. It's a hole in the wall kind of place but very interesting.
I had the Red Ale that was outstanding....well actually I had a couple. The Green chili cheese burger was to die for! The burger was accompanied with sweet potato fries which added a nice twist. All this yumminess for a whopping $16! What? That's crazy! I pay more than that for margaritas in DC.
Anyway, I highly recommend making the quick jaunt to the place.
After moving to Las Cruces from San Diego a few months ago, I can say this is the best thing I've found here. I'm a sucker for live music (which they've had the 3 times we've been there) and tasty beer. I'm not much of a meat eater though and was very happy to see a veggie platter on the menu, which was perfect to munch on while enjoying a couple beers.
The place has that hole-in-the-wall feel, and I think that's part of the appeal. Very laid back and seems to match the culture of LC pretty well.
Food was decent, the beer was actually pretty good and the staff was friendly enough.
But the place was disgustingly dirty. Â The smell was overpowering and made me notice all the other things that were run down. Â Missing floor tiles, holes in the wall, missing shelves, stained and drooping ceiling tiles, etc. Â There is a pattern here and I am guessing it continued into the kitchen and brewery. Â Not for the squeamish for sure.
And one personal nitpick, if you are a micro-brewery and are pouring a 14oz beer as a pint, you suck.
Overall, I rate this place as a one star in my mind and won't be returning. Â Thankfully I experienced the plethora of velvet Elvis paintings by the bathrooms.
It was only 8:30. I was only passing through, in need of a weekend brew.Flew through the doors to find a quiet pub filled with local buds.
By 9:00, an all-girl bluegrass band from Boulder started shaking things up, making things up, and making the crowd get rowdy. The only beer sold is brewed on the premises, loved by the waitresses, and consumed by everybody, in one big party.
By 10:00, the old folks were few, and the place was filled with quiet men, and pretty girls, each looking to meet their respective match.
In the short time there, I met the brewer, the band, and a handful of humans with stories to tell. The regulars are some of the best folk I've every met. The girls were some of the nicest I've ever met. The beer (I had the India Pale Ale, and the Extra Bitter) was some of the best I've ever drank.
If you're in town, be sure to stop by.
Not a beer drinker. Kinda divided on the food. The breaded mushrooms were disgusting. These were straight out of the box in the freezer. Seriously. It was so obvious that they bougjht these from the freezer section of Sam's Club. Disgusting.
However, the hamburgers are some of the best I have ever had. I love the mushroom swiss burger! Their green chile cheese burger was sad though, being one whole chile layed on top of the patty. One bite and the whole chile came off. Didn't have much flavor either. Perhaps if they would chop the chile and place it on or under the cheese.....
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