Steins Beer Garden

Stein's is the newest addition to downtown Mountain View's beer scene. The food as a whole ranges from three to four stars (despite having a really good burger).  

Mac & Cheese - 2
Lamb Meatballs - 3
Baked Pretzels - 2
Truffle Parmesan Fries - 4
Mini Corn Dogs - 3
Burger (with egg and pork belly) - 5
Cruller Doughnuts - 2
Breakfast for Dinner - 4

However, what sets this place apart is the impressive variety usually unseen draft beers and a much more affordable happy hour (they are rather pricey on all fronts). As a fan of wits, Hitachino on tap was the highlight for me.

Tied House and SteakOut are probably what I would consider to be the closest alternatives to this place and both of them are slightly cheaper.

First thing you should know is that this is not a German beer garden, nor does it serve German food. It's an American beer garden serving New American cuisine. Most of their beers are American craft beers. The "Stein's" name is quite misleading.

Beer - 4 stars. They have about 30 beers on tap. They're mostly craft beers. You won't find any mainstream beers here. Some of the beers have ridiculously high ABV (10%+). They carry quite a bit of fruit beers, which I don't care for.

Food - 3 stars. I couldn't taste any truffle in the truffle fries. The Steins Burger was decent but not amazing. Since they're new, their execution is still in the works. My server wasn't that knowledgeable.

If you want German beers on tap, go to Steakout instead.

I would probably only get beer or a drink here, the food wasn't that good especially for happy hour (2 stars). I ordered the tuna salad and for almost $15, it was lacking in flavor. Literally, I felt that they just threw tuna on top of a salad. I didn't taste any dressiing at all. The lamb meatball tasted weird, I'll pass.