The BF and I ate here for lunch and enjoyed ourselves for the most part. I got the beer battered oysters, fish, and shrimp and liked it quite a bit. BF got the beer sampler. They were decent, but none of them really stood out. His shrimp poboy was pretty good too. The waiter was gone a lot and then he swiped the card twice and charged us for another check. We're still waiting to hear back about getting that fixed up. I would probably eat here again though.
Review Source:Ordered some appetizers over the phone, got helped quickly. The food was done when I arrived and they gave me extra ranches at no charge. Quick service, nice people. And the fried mushrooms, and fried pickles and cheese curds were really good. It was a tad pricey but not a big deal. The service was worth it.
Review Source:We ate here on our next to last night on Padre. Â It was recommended by the owner of the house we're renting. Â It started off poorly with the cokes the family ordered being flat. Â We switched to tea and then got on to the menu. Â Never seen a restaurant that charges $2.50 to split an order (seriously?).
We ordered fried pickles, a pizza ($14.75 for a 14" one toppping pizza), a bacon cheeseburger, and nachos. Â They were all "ok". Â Nothing to write home about but certainly not bad. Â The pizza was above average with great cheese flavor (just think the price was a bit steep for one topping and then to add $2.25 for each additional topping was excessive).
They came off as nickle and diming every little extra one might want when dining out. Â Dropping $60 for a pizza, burger, nachos, and fried pickles that weren't all that special left me wondering what the "local" felt was so special about PIBC.
Stopped here after a long drive to South Padre Island from San Antonio. Â Friday, 7 June. Â Because of rain and traffic jams caused by accidents, it took us a good 6hrs to get there. Â By the time we got checked into the condo and unloaded all our stuff, we were freakin' hungry. Â
Fried pickles: Â Good
Fried cheese curd: Â Wow! Â Very good!
Burger: Â Meh.
Beer: Â Good selection of their own stuff, but not nearly cold enough
Service: Â So-so. Â Missed a couple of things on the orders.
This is the first place my husband and I went after flying in and it was great. The burger was delicious and hit the spot. Staff was friendly. Bartender was great and helped me pick a drink that was delicious since I wasn't sure what I wanted (pineapple juice and absolut citron- so good!!). I hope we have a chance to go back here before our trip is over.
Review Source:My husband and I used to live on the island back in '95. We came to have lunch here last summer and I have to say the food was NOT what i remember. The burgers used to be in a fresh onion roll, big juicy patty and steak cut seasoned fries. The burger I had last summer looked worse then Whataburger and the fries were obviously from a frozen bag. I had originally asked for an oyster po boy and they told they were out of oysters. REALLY!!?? We're RIGHT by the ocean??? So I ordered the burger ,waiting with GREAT anticipation for the fat juicy burger I remember but was quickly disappointed. The beer was good and I attribute that to the brew master Mark. Was very disappointed and not even sure if I'll try it again.
Review Source:The fried artichokes were amazing for the appetizer. Had the Padre burger and it too was great. The wife had the spinach salad with grilled chicken and she really loved it. Had a brew and was very happy with it. The service was good but a little noisy in the restaurant. I give this a straight up 8 out of 10.
Review Source:Relatively speaking, PI Brewing Company is one of the nicer restaurants on the island. Â Obviously, they have unique local crafted beer. Â The food is a break from the limited menus elsewhere restricting customers to fried fish & shrimp. Â Here you can have pan broiled seafood, burgers, pizza and a slection of upscale American dishes. Â Some of the entrees are ~$25 a plate. Â So this place is a bit more expensive.
We were there during happy hour. Â They were offering a deal on appetiers, mini-pizzas and draft beer. Â The calamari were pretty good. Â Their ceviche is made from shrimp rather than fish. Â The pizza was ok. Â I didn't really like the speckled stout beer. Â
We had crab stuffed flounder too. Â It was good, but I like the seafood dishes at Daddy's better. Â
All in, all, PI Brewing is a good find. Â Try them out.
I stopped here for dinner a few days ago, great atmosphere and wonderful waitstaff.
For an appetizer we tried the fried pickles and cheese curds. Delish! The fried pickles are served the 'chip' style and with a remoulade sauce and ranch dressing. It was my first foray into cheese curds- and I'll admit I'm a fan.
I ordered the stuffed flounder with a side salad and fresh vegetables. The flounder was great! Fresh flounder stuffed with a crab cake and topped with a cream sauce. I'm not sure what the cream sauce was- it had a hint of lemon/butter but the consistency of a gravy. It was weird, but worked. The side salad- not my favorite. I ordered the balsamic vinaigrette. The dressing was chunky- most vinaigrettes are light. I didn't really care for the dressing for this reason. The vegetables were okay- not much flavor though.
I saw some other items on the menu I'd like to try, especially the beer flight.
Also- HH looks like a great option. They had a side menu that described Oysters on the half shell for .50 during hh. Great deal.
Just visited this spot yesterday while on vacation. We ordered the pick 3 happy hour menu, a 14in hand tossed pizza along with craft beers. All of it was delicious the beer bread and appetizers were very filling. Everyone raves about the pizza and we agreed it was probably some of the best on the island. All of that came to about $40.
Review Source:I've been a long time customer and generally enjoy this place. Â However, the service is hit or miss (probably more miss than hit). Â Customer Service has never been a strength of a lot of establishments in this part of South Texas and the South Padre Brewing Co. doesn't do much to change that. Â Don't get me wrong, I've had some great bartenders here but also some terrible ones that getting served was like pulling teeth.
The beer is on the middle to above avg. for craft beer and the food is typical bar fare. Â Pizza's are tasty.
Delicious beer and outstanding pizza.
This place is always packed but the pizza is worth it. You can quickly grab a seat at the bar and eat if there's just one or two of you-any more than that and it's impossible to have a conversation.
Their beer is fantastic. Get a flight to try them all. You can bring or buy a growler to fill with your favorite. There's even a growler happy hour from 3-5 everyday where you can refill a growler for only $6.50.
Because they make the beer on site, they also have the best tasting water. Small detail but some Texas water tastes pretty funky.
From Monday- Friday 2-6pm there's appetizer specials, pizza deals, and deals on pints and pitchers.
The service is a little spotty. The staff is friendly but you're usually left waiting because the place is so busy.
Couple people recommended this place so being a beer enthusiast I was pretty stoked. Did the sampler of beer which was good size compare to other breweries. The Tidal Wave was the best (wheat beer), the Blackberry tidal wave was interesting and refreshing. The others were average or below.
We ordered a few things, burger, brisket sandwich, calamari, crab cakes, onion rings, and chicken wings. Everything was just average.
I would still adventure to give the beer a try.
How this place ever got so many stars I'll never know, it was so gross. I had the "crab stuffed flounder" except it wasn't at all. It was a super oily crab cake with a thin scrap of "flounder" (or whatever that white fish actually was) over it doused in the worst white sauce (called shrimp sauce though it only had two small pieces of diced shrimp in it) I've ever had. I actually think the white sauce may be alfredo out of a jar, but when mixed with all the oil coming off the crab cake and the "flounder" it was so disgusting.
The veggies were bland, but when actually seasoned with some salt and pepper they were edible. The mashed potatoes were decent but with all the oil draining off the fish I only had a few bites from the center.
My boyfriend got the bacon wrapped shrimp - also bland. Served with fries that were soggy. mmm soggy greasy fries
On to the beer - it's just adequate. If you're the type that normally drinks Budweiser or Coors *shudder* then you'll love it. If you tend to drink craft brews or anything of quality, it's not so great.
Finally the service and ambiance - almost worth giving two stars, but it still wasn't that great. The guy was nice but I did have to flag him down. It was so extremely loud I could barely hear my boyfriend talking. While there are a bevy of things this place could fix coming from the kitchen, the first piece of decor change should be something to dampen the sound from ricocheting everywhere.
Best part was the stomachache I had all night :)
The beer here was very average.. the Poboy I ordered was covered in ketchup or something and the fried oysters were cooked so horribly.. aside from all of this the service was slow.
Now I could probably write the above statement 30 different ways and try to flesh out this review but I don't think it would change anything. The beer wasnt great ... the food was bad.
I'm so conflicted about this review. You see, I used to work here. And before we go all "that's a TOS violation" it was 12 years ago and I was a young'n also working at the Parade, one of the local free papers.
We were desperate for a place that didn't have an hour wait and the Brew Co only had a 20 minute wait. Had we known our dinner would take an hour and a half, we probably would have just stuck it out for the extra time at a place that actually had good food.
Since I'm not feeling very verbose, here's the down and sandy:
-- The service was abominable. "Oh you ordered chips and guacamole? I forgot"
-- Then the guacamole tasted like those faux avocados you get in bags at HEB
-- Our pizzas (which we ordered spec. bc we thought they were easy) took 48 minutes
-- The noise level was so obnoxious we were shouting at each other
-- Our beer was empty more than it was full
-- The bathrooms were filthy. Two stalls stuffed with TP and unusable.
-- The blonde ale tastes like lonestar.
If you're coming here, do happy hour and then avoid the mass crowds. It's not worth the hassle or the mental acrobatics.
Monday my husband had the crab stuffed flounder with shrimp sauce. I had the crabcakes and shrimp ceviche salsa. Beer sampler and food was excellent!
Server made great suggestions and we went back today for lunch.
Quail,bacon and mushroom pizza with tomato sauce was scrumptious with the wheat beer.
One of the best places on the island.
Love my micro and craft beer so I had to try.
Busy but clean place. Service was ok to average. Nothing great, but nothing bad either. Some were working hard and others not so much. Normal stuff.
I had the flight (sampler) of house beers. All were better than any big name in a can. Not bad at all. No real wow items that day but respectable.
Pizza was good too. We had Quail on ours (Who has quail as an option?) and we could pick the cheese and sauce.
I seem to be on a roll, not necessarily a good one either. Â Tonite we went to "The Brew Pub" for happy hour & a bite to eat with our friends. Â We were extremely pleased to see that they had .50 oysters & non-meat appetizers. Â They also have a nice menu selection, but we didn't want "dinner". Â
I hate to say that the oysters were the tiniest things I have ever seen. Â The cartiledge- like part that holds the oyster in the shell was bigger than the oysters, they were also not very clean & tasted salty. Â The appetizer platter of 4 boiled shrimp, 2 crab cakes & 3 crab stuffed mushrooms was not bad for the price, just overcooked. One of our friends ordered the nachos & they looked terrible. Â Miniscule pieces of meat, chips without cheese, etc, etc. Our other friend had the personal pizza and said it was just what she wanted & was good. So, 3 out of 4 plates were bad to mediocre - Â therefore a 2 rating. Â They must have more specials & tastier food after happy hour though because the place was filling up as we left. Â But then it IS still Winter Texan season & Spring Break!
Maybe we just chose the wrong menu items, but I personally believe that if an item is on the menu it should be tasty & well cooked no matter if it is a happy hour special or a $25 steak.
I appreciate how clean the joint is compared to many of the other restaurants on the island. I'm thrilled that no one mentioned cockroaches in their reviews. So to that, at least two stars, right?
As for the service: crapness. I'm usually not one to mention service, but we ordered two things in our 1.5 hours (yes, that long) and it was pretty much crappy. But... also not the type of joint I'd expect to be catered to highly and we did go at 6:00 p.m.
We ordered a beer sampler and a pizza. That's it. Took forever. And ever. I watched countless pizzas come out and they were super thick-crusted and luscious. Ours? Flat and thin-crust and we ordered it hand-tossed on purpose! My luck, but there was sausage on my half (as I'm a vegetarian) and big bubbles making it hollow on the inside. I was a little hungry when we left. Sucks. But again, the other pizzas around (and my husband's half) appeared to be excellent.
Our waitress was busy but the other waiters were definitely more efficient. More crappy luck.
The service was mediocre and my luck at pizza was a bummer, but the menu itself was fine and something we'd consider ordering from again-- if only I were willing to have a small dinner before my actual dinner. Hah.
As for the happy hour... I was impressed! Cheap beers and cheap appetizers. Wish I took a photo of the menu. Of course we arrived too late and didn't get the memo. We did, however, get $2 off our pizza by cutting out a coupon in one of those locals magazines (right in their lobby!!!).
Atmosphere and Cleanliness : Very Clean..Very Nice
Service: Excellent
Food: First adventure for fried fish since we gave up on Joes crab shack 5+ years ago...1st  Try for Cheese curds..what are these??..Good..Very Good..Fresh fish, crispy not a lot of extra batter..shrimp very tasty..Oysters not the best for me...not so crispy...Beer was great...wife had the Tidal Wave Wheat...and I had the the Speckled Trout Stout...
Worth the Adventure: Yes...very close to the Hotel we stayed at...But we do like Mexican as well...but the beer and a new Pint glass is a big Draw..
Hand crafted beer on a beach island? Who knew?
Not only that, the beers are good!
I do have to give the endless ding of one less star for too many TVs. This place was _covered_ in them.
I knew we were in the right place, on Friday night, because the place was packed -- unlike anywhere else on the island we had been. Sure, game 7 of the World Series was on, and a Texas team was playing, but I don't think that's the reason why.
Liz and I split the sampler of the 5 beers -- intending to follow up with pints of our personal favorites after, but for $5.50 we got five surprisingly big "samples" of the amber, pale, blond, wheat and stout and between that, the food portions and the warmth of the room, we ended up only having these tasters. I'm not a fan of pale ales, and this one was no exception, but the amber was fantastic. The blond was a quality representative of yellow beer, if you like yellow beer (which I do in weather above 90 degrees, which it was not on the last weekend in October) and the wheat was actually very nice. The only true disappointment was the stout which was oddly sour, but not in a good sour, Flemish ale kind of way, just odd. Not bad really, just... odd.
My basket of fish and chips was E.NORM.OUS. Two huge fillets, crispy and not at all greasy and a huge pile of thick cut fries, crunchy outside and starchy inside.
My only real complaint here was that it was really, REALLY warm in this place. I don't know if that's because when it drops to 50 degrees in October this far South the locals freak out and crank the heat, or if it is always this way. But as I got full of beer and food, it made me kind of flushed in a not so good way.
Our second meal in SPI and disappointed again, Â
For apps we got the calamari and the fried pickles and cheese curds. Â The calamari was just ok. Â The cheese curds were really good, but pickles were meh. Â The batter... Â not sure what it's called but it's that really smooth batter kind of like on fish and chips or tempura. Â Not good. Â Unfortunately for my hubby & Dad, they got fried seafood platters and they were in that same batter. Â Hubby ate only 2 bites; luckily the waitress took it off our bill.
My mom and I ordered the light beer and hubby got an amber one. Â None of us liked it... Hubby didn't finish his, but mom and I chugged it cuz you can't waste alcohol!
The only redeeming thing was their pizza, and why they get 2 stars instead of 1. Â It was really good, a great crust, sauce, and just the right amount of cheese. Â If I had a craving for some pizza, I would order it to go and take it back to the condo.
Really, Padre Island Brewing Company should forget the seafood and beer and change their name to Padre Island Pizza Company. Â That's the only thing really worth mentioning for the whole meal.
SPI= 0 and 2
While on vacation in June, the family and I ate here three times. Â We had a great experience with the wait staff, the menu offers something for everyone, and the beer speaks for itself.
Let's just get the nasty business out of the way and start with the misses:
*The burger: Â not exactly a miss unless you order it cooked beyond medium rare. Â If you order medium or well-done, expect a hockey puck.
*Veggie sandwich: Â it's limited to squash and zucchini, which is WAY overcooked and drenched in balsamic vinegar. Â This makes the sandwich soggy, and it falls apart when you try to pick it up to eat. Â Please, PIBC, add some large portobello's and roasted red peppers! Â A little eggplant would also be a nice touch. Â As it was when I ate it, though, it was not only 'meh' but it was 'blech'!
Now for the HITS, which in our experience, outweigh the misses by a longshot:
*Beer! Â My husband ordered what I refer to as "that yellow stuff that real beer drinkers don't touch". Â I had a sip and, to my surprise, it was actually kinda tasty! Â I ordered the Cinco de Mai-bock, which was my fave. Â Red, rich, not too heavy.
*Onion rings: Â when these suckers arrive at your table, you won't know whether to dive right in or run for the hills. Â They look like doughnuts and are about the size of my head. Â I don't know how they do it, but the batter is so delicious, and the onions don't slide out of them when you take a bite. Â If you order these, you'll most likely not even be able to make a dent in your dinner. Â But it'll be worth your while!
*Ribs: Â cooked to perfection, the sauce is tangy and sweet and not piled on too thick. Â There's a reason PIBC is known for ribs. Â Yum!
*Pizza: Â this was the biggest surprise of them all. Â I'm a pizza aficionado and have very little faith in pies cooked in a brewhouse on a beach in South Texas. Â I was wrong to doubt! Â The crust was thin but not fragile, and the toppings on our meat pie were ample but not greasy. Â Thumbs up!
The husband and I came here on our honeymoon, because...you know, microbrew and good bar food are more our style than a fancy dinner any day.
We both ordered the beer battered shrimp and garlic mashed potatoes. While the garlic mashed potatoes seemed a little less garlic-y than I was hoping for, the beer battered shrimp MORE than met my expectations! I was expected a basket of a ton of little fried shrimp...but I was suprised when there were 7 huge shrimp! The perfect amount!
So I should start with saying that when presented with locally made beer or macrobrews, I will almost always go with the little guy.
And this definitely was the case with Padre Island Brewing. Searching for dinner and drinks on the Island, I was initially drawn to this place, as there aren't too many microbrews in south Texas.
It was great to see the brewery there, and I am glad I went. But really, the beer is not spectacular. It is pretty standard pop-up microwbrewery fashion. They offered a pretty basic assortment of brews, covering the standard bases, but not offering anything that struck me as really unique.
That's fine though, because, as I said, it's the only option in the region, and the area overall is not exactly a beer capitol, short of some of the Mexican lagers made south of the border.
Food wise, though, I was a bit more impressed. The appetizer was fabulous. I had the fried cheese curds/ fried pickles plate and it was pretty impressive! It was a light beer-batter, that was smooth in consistency, but not over powering like many batters are.
For my main, I had the fried seafood (oysters, shrimp, fish) platter and it was decent too. The oysters and shrimp were my favorite, but the fish was a bit fishier than I would have preferred.
As far as atmosphere goes, everything is very clean and it has a laid-back, typical brewery feel. You are surrounded by dark wood, a solid bar with the copper kettles that hold the sweet nectar looking down at you from behind the bar.
Next time I am on the Island, I probably will go back, and think you should too. But, just don't expect it to be a brewery from Seattle or Detroit, otherwise you will be let down.
The beer is good - i got a sample of all 5 beers on tap - for - drumroll please - $5!!! Â
Woooo :)
I also got the pesto chicken salad sandwich. Â I didn't realize that it was chicken salad at first - and I also didn't taste a hint of pesto in the sandwich so ended up disappointed, but since I didn't pay close enough attn I ate it anyways . .. .
Their menu could use more descriptions / ingredient listing . .. . .
The burgers looked good that others ordered and the beer was great.
Padre Island Brewing Company is a Micro Brewer, with some good food. Â The beer was OK, my favorite was the Speckled Trout Stout and the Texas Long Board Lager. Â They have a sampler menu for all 5 beers. Â 5 4oz glasses of their micro brew for 5 bucks. Â That is a solid thumbs up in my book.
The food is your standard bar/pub food, pizza, sandwiches, burgers and wraps. Â The Brewery Company also adds some of the local seafood, shrimp, snapper, and flounder and it's actually pretty good. Â We started out with fried cheese curds and fried pickles. Â Fried cheese and pickles, there's nothing wrong with that. Â The family had a few menu items, I went with the grilled chicken club, the wife and the little one split the fried shrimp and they loved it. Â
Padre Island is lucky to have a micro brewery to call it's own, these days it's difficult to them open. Â Good Luck and I look forward to joining you on my next visit.
Here's the low down. Beer however delicious it was needed something it was basically the most mellow and light of any micro I have ever had. This included the Hef.. which was pretty hard to distinguish from the Blonde I was drinking. I personally liked the Blonde it was a solid basic and just a little too easy to drink.
The food was not really worth the visit.. i was not that impressed with my sandwich it wasn't horrible but it was certainly not high end food which is what I was led to believe because of the prices. So please skip the food and load up on the BEER.
Service was spot on .. but I was the only table in the place at the time.
We eat at Padre Island Brewing Company every time we visit the island. But, we go for one reason -- the Shrimp Wrap is delicious. It's a flour tortilla filled with large pieces of grilled shrimp, pico de gallo and fresh shreds of lettuce. It comes with a side of borracho beans. They have great happy hour food specials (ex: $.50 oysters).
We've ordered other items, but weren't very impressed with anything else. We've taken friends there just for the shrimp wrap and they agree - it's awesome.
Thank god for this place!
I was at the island all weekend-tuesday for Labor Day weekend and every place I went to had beers on tap like BUSCHE?? Bud light. Miller high life. I mean sorry if you take offense to that but I LOVE some good beer on TAP, not in a bottle, not in a can. NOOO thanks!
I found this place because it was by my hotel. The first night I drove by they were already closing, they close at about 1045pm. I came back on my last night and was seriously excited to hear they had red amber on tap. One of my favorite beers ever. We came to sit on the rooftop but since it was really slow they had it closed..bummer!!
I was going to leave but then I decided to stay and good thing I did! I went to the bar, was greeted by a nice bartender (I forgot his name, he wears glasses). My sister is far from being a beer drinking so she just sat there and sampled all the beers but I had a red amber and a pale ale. DEEELICIOUS! and the bartender was really talkative and totally understood my disapproval for SPI's choice of beers.
I wish I could have brought a growler of beer on the plane back to Austin! haha
All in all, I really enjoyed this place and I would soooooo come back! I love good beer! On tap! At a brewery! YES
This place was on the corner of the block we where staying on, saw the place everyday that week and FINALLY went there on one of our last days.
GREAT PIZZA. The service was pretty good, but they had some issues splitting the check up (our group was huge over 15 people). Nice outdoor patio to eat on when the weather is nice too.
I got the sampler plate of beers, very enjoyable. Cant remember my favorites since its been so long though.
It may have been my extreme hunger at the time, but I thought the pizza was great and reasonably priced considering the variety of toppings and sauces at your disposal.
I believe someone in my party had a sample plate of their brews, and I remember liking them OK (I was admittedly more focused on the task at hand - stuffing my face). This was a few years ago, so not sure what has changed.
I'll definitely come back the next time I'm in Padre.
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