Humboldt Brews

There was a time in my life that deep space exploration ruled all that exists. I bleached my hair and crafted ideals that pampered chairman of lead Fortune 500 companies tongued the melted cheese off the napkins of this restaurants soiled napkins. Delicious onion rings have stained the innocence of all carbon based beings that set foot in this establishment. My grandfather once said wise words of wisdom… I can’t recall what it was.

Arrived and were quickly brought menus and had our drink order taken and specials were explained. Waitress forgot to take our order and had to be flagged down, to which she said, «I’m sorry, I thought I already took your order.» Husband ordered the special, but was informed, «we just ran out…» Perhaps if it hadn’t taken 15 – 20 min for our order to be recorded, the special would have still been available.
Food finally arrived and Hubby’s second choice (Strips n’ Chips) arrived burnt (I posted a pic). Daughter’s SW Chicken Wrap was tasty and my Fish tacos were good. The fries were dark and NOT good (maybe one batch of oil is bad?)
Waitress took off Hubby’s dinner and gave me the glass of wine I ordered «on-​the-​house». They also gave us a $ 10 gift certificate hoping that we will give them another chance. Nice effort by the staff to right the wrong… unfortunately we aren’t locals if we were, we would give it another chance.)

Humbrews has always been my «go to» place to grab a cold beer and a quick snack for a fair price.
It’s nothing fancy, they occasionally have decent live music, mediocre comedy or some other live events. The staff is fairly cool, service is generally quick and the food is good. The real reason I like it is that its off the plaza and has a calmer ambiance than the plaza bars. It’s considerably cleaner than the plaza bars and much quieter.
Overall a nice place to sit down and grab a bite and a brew with friends.
Recommended Appetizer: Pub fries with everything (cheese, spice, garlic, bacon & ranch)
Recommended Meal: The «Wing Dinger» burger

Great food and great service. Oh yeah, and great beer! Was able to get a table for four on a Saturday night right away, and was only a short while longer that the waitress came by to greet us. The beer selections are quite vast and she was extremely knowledgeable about all of them. She even brought a samples to try so we knew what exactly to order. The food was excellent — even if it wasn’t for the beer I would still come back for the food.

I really like the selection of beers, ciders, and meads you can get here. Also they offer a large sampling deal. The hot wings are the best to be found in Humboldt with the mild already having a kick. They also have a burger called the Wing Dinger that has an onion ring and hot sauce on top of the patty, finger licking good if you are into spicy. Prepare for a packed house if a big game is on and people to stay at their tables for most of the game. The wait staff is very good at asking if you need a beer refill or maybe another round of wings.

I have always been a big fan of this place but My last visit here was horrible. The waiter was so rude, the beer was flat and old tasting and they forgot part of our order. I guess they must have ran out of celery too, cause we didn’t get any with the 3 lbs of wings we ordered… Super bummed and won’t be returning anytime soon.

Service was very very good. Food just fair. Burgers are cooked very rare, so if that’s not to your liking, ask for well done.

For a brewpub, humbrews is my favorite in Humboldt county. Decent menu, good variety of brews, good community support, and a commitment to diverse entertainment offerings keeps me coming back.
The bartenders and wait staff are both generally helpful, social, and interested in your experience. If you have any trouble with your order, everyone is usually pretty receptive.
If this place gets a little more diversity Rollin on the menu and maybe some fresh blood on the taps… I’ll be stoked to hand them a 5 star

We went there at 9:30pm on a Thursday cause the website said they close at 11pm and they told us the kitchen is close, not a good business

My food was delicious, beer battered mushrooms and fish and chips. It was phenomenal. But my friend, whom I was with, had a terrible experience. She got the chicken wings and they were under cooked, and almost raw. It was gross and she didn’t feel well the rest of the night. The waiter was kind enough to take her meal off of the bill. Great place, just don’t order the wings!

Great venue! Love the food, but overpriced. If you want to see live music, this is the place. They always seem to get great talent. Staff works hard and is attentive. I just wish it didn’t cost so much…

My second time coming here today and after giving it a second chance, I won’t be back. I was hopeful this time around because working nearby this would be a great option but this experience was just as disappointing as my first. The food here is completely overpriced and basic. My first time here I ordered the brew bomb panini and it was just cold meat with a clump (and I mean a two inch thick wad) of garlic spread right in the center, nothing more. I tried a burger my second time which was a soggy mess with dry fries to complement. For nearly $ 20. Also not appealing to be walked away from and spend my lunch break trying to wait for the person who rang up my to go order to come back because I wanted a side of ranch, only to end up leaving. They may have a good beer selection but you can find that anywhere, and you can find better food and service elsewhere as well.

Family was visiting and dad wanted to watch college football so I took them to Humbrews knowing that’s pretty much the only place in town we could go to. I usually go with all my friends and always enjoy the shows. When we walked in, there were maybe three tables sat. Not busy at all! We asked about getting a tv turned onto the channel. And we’re given rude looks. We order beer and it took about 15 minutes to get them with no one else ordering at the bar. There are other little things that don’t matter but all in all,
they were not busy and treated us as if we were a burden to them.
I usually love going in and relaxing and have never had a problem. Having this happen while showing family around town is frustrating so I have decided unless there’s a show I HAVE to go to, I will not be back for a good while.

Great food with local ingredients and cold beer, what more could you ask for? The burgers are especially tasty with local grassfed beef and cooked to perfection every time I order! Even the tortilla chips are local and they have the best wing sauce in town. (If you like wings, stop in on a Wed for super cheap and yummy wings!) Of course I’m a harsh judge of service having been front and back of the house for 15 years and I have to say that here the service is friendly and they always keep my glass full. They are always busy, but they have never forgotten about me even when we’re a large group and have been consistently nice.
I also love going for dinner and a show. HumBrews has a fantastic venue and books all kinds of music from traveling acoustic bluegrass to big name Bay Area artists, to reggae, to funk, to country. It’s a one-​stop setup for any night, and especially Friday and Saturday nights; there’s not a better place to be in Humboldt.

Wow. Worst service ever! I can’t leave zero stars?
We saw the back of the «waitress» several times at nearby tables. It became almost a joke to see how long it would take her to get to us after the first guy left.
I suggest trying… Well, anywhere else.

Haven’t actually had the food, I’d just been there for drinks/​pool/​shows.
Beers are fine, they always have a decent selection. Pool’s fun, although the placement of the table is a bit odd and I’m always concerned that I’m going to hit a nearby diner with the cue.
The music venue was awful — I’ve avoided going to shows there since then. They pack way too many people into the room, the acoustics sound funky and it’s overall really uncomfortable. We left halfway through one of my favorite band’s shows, it was that bad.
Also, the floor’s oddly sticky.

Dear humbrews, you are the best bar in Arcata not on the plaza by virtue of being the ONLY bar (of five) in Arcata not on the plaza.
Surly service, expensive beer and mediocre food.
Terrible ambiance, a tiny pool table, and a perpetually sticky bar and tables.
It would be acceptable if your beer was cheap, but 4.50 $/​pint with no beverage happy hour? I only keep going because you are the ONLY bar in Arcata that isn’t right on the plaza.
The only reason you still exist is because Arcata has no other options. Fucking a.

Very rarely do I give 5 star reviews but this place was GREAT!!! A little loud but the atmosphere is what you would expect from a college town pub. Plus, it was a Friday night! They have a pool table and a few pinball machines as well.
Our server Sarah was awesome. She had a lot of tables but she was working really hard and was very nice!
I had a cherry hard cider to drink and it was delicious! Sweet but not too sweet.
And the food… The food was SO GOOD!!! The fries were some of the best restaurant fries I’ve ever had. Good flavor, not too soggy but not too crispy. They didn’t even need ketchup! I got the southwest chicken wrap to eat. I loved how each part of the wrap had its own flavor. The chicken, the black bean corn salsa, the cheese, the guac, even the tortilla would have been delicious on their own, but put them all together and it was so good!!!
If I ever end up back in Arcata, I would definitely come back to Humboldt Brews.

I had a burger but didn’t eat much of it. I had a few bites. My friend, on the other hand, looooooves the burgers here. I think when he gets his burgers, they tend to be more on the rare side so they’re more tender and juicy.
That’s what I wanted, too, because he had raved about the burgers here… but mine came out more well-​done and dry than I like.
Still, this is my friend’s absolute favorite place to get a burger in all of California… so I think my experience was a fluke! He always said good things about how these Humboldt grass-​fed burgers were higher quality.
If you’re looking for a casual bar atmosphere, burgers, and beers, this place is worth a shot.

Stick to the great Humboldt grass fed beef burgers or tasty hot wings if you hit up this place. I ventured off the path and ordered fried pickles which were a surprise once they were served. The fried pickles are huge dill pickles that are cut into 4 large spears, battered, and fried. Incredibly difficult to eat because the batter slips off the spear. Also, the fried batter tasted fishy (like the getting oil was old/​dirty).
Chicken strips and pub fries were my main dish. You get 3 smallish sized chicken pieces over a large need of fries. The chicken was breast meat but incredibly dry. The fries were soggy but hot and fresh. The basket is served with ranch and BBQ sauce; the sauce is sweet n tangy but very watered down.
Our bill was $ 38 (my son had a great Franklin burger!) so I used 3 $ 10 gift certificates to pay but when Robin, our server (& also the owner), ran my debit card, she made a mistake. She thought there were only 2 gift certificates and ran my card for an incorrect amount. The gift certificates are cardboard and very distinct but mistakes happen. I suggest to stick with the burgers, wings, and beer and to pay in cash/​gift certificates only.