Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Had a delicious dinner of Beer Braised Pork Chops; the Red Trolley we sampled paired fantastically with it. Great beer reccomendations and perfect service from Megan!

I don’t drink alcohol but I came for good food and I was satisfied!
I came on a Friday night, and they were able to seat us pretty quickly. We sat outside because inside was a little loud and crazy. Not crazy crazy, just a lot going on crazy. Anyways, we had a super nice server who was really friendly and helpful.
TIP: Ask for rolls! They didn’t offer, but I asked fi they had anything and they brought us some. They were sourdough and pretty good! Sneaky sneaky making you ask.
I ordered the Filet Mignon that came with broccoli and mashed potatoes.
The steak… SOLID. It was really good and it was a good portion size. I was super satisfied
The broccoli… definitely could have been cooked more. It also had a slightly weird taste and I wasn’t super into it. Surprisingly the potatoes were seriously good. I am not a huge mash potatoes person (Gasp I know) but these suckers were good and I ate them all no shame.
Overall, I was really happy with Karl Strauss! Good food, I think it was decent for the price, and the service was great.

I came here for a quick bite during lunch from work. It was so hot outside that day that it felt extremely nice to sit inside the restaurant. We were seated right away and greeted by the server who explained some new menu items along with of course their beer.
It was during work hours so we didn’t get to have any beer. I ordered the kbbq pupusas from the starters menu for my lunch and my friend ordered the Ahi salad.
Both came out fairly fast and were extremely delicious. The salad was pretty large so if you have an appetite it is sure to fill you up. The kbbq pupusa was just one single pupusa with chicken. It had a great concoction of flavors. It is definitely a perfect size to share and if you are having it as a meal it may fill you up to be just the right amount of full. If you are hungry I would suggest adding on an item or getting something larger.

Yesterday I went into Karl Strauss for the first time and had great experience! When we walked in we were greeted by two smiling host and they took us to their spacious patio. Within a minute our server Ana was there to go over the very unique beer list. She suggested her favorite beer and even gave us a sample before to make sure we liked it first. After the tasting the beer we decided on the Aurora IPA and it was delicious and Ana suggested the wings to start which were awesome! After we had our wings I had the shrimp and grits and my brother had the ahi salad. The food was fantastic and Ana brought out samples to pair with our food. We had a great experience from the beginning till the very end and will definitely be back soon.

What can I say i love this place. I came here for a second time and loved it so much I had to write another Unilocal!Red Trolley is by far the best beer on the planet. I had to take two growlers back home.
The service is always phenomenal, didn’t have to ask for anything. Calvin helped us this time around, and he was definitely a very helpful individual. My friend and I started off the the hummus and flatbread which was a little spicy but tasted fresh. Calvin recommended their delicious beer braised short ribs and paired them with a double chocolate bourbon stout… available for this month only! Finished off with the bread pudding, and rolled out so full and happy.

Great food, great atmosphere and our server, Josh, was ON TOP of it. Also, the beer is fantastinc. Josh brought us a few samples to show us what beers best paired with our menu choices. Thank you Josh!

What a cool place to hang out with friends! I came on Wednesday night 7pm (missed happy hour 3−6pm) and got sat in the nice little booth.
Our waitress was very knowledgeable of all the different beers and beer pairing with the food. we started with the appetizer of beer belly, which was cooked to perfection. It came with broccolini with a poached egg; it was delicious. The waitress paired it with the 27^th anniversary chocolate stout beer, a mini sample size one, nevertheless it brought out the flavor
Entrée:
1. Red ale pork chop– 2 thumbs up! Very juicy and tender. 2 huge pieces so my husband and I shared it.
2. Ribeye steak with truffle fries — my friend ordered it. Looked legit
3. Farmhouse burger– can’t go wrong with fried egg and lots of sautéed mushrooms — my other friend ordered it, looked awesome
We didn’t save room for dessert but have heard good things about the «beermisiu»

Love this place, easily one of my top 5 restaurants. Usually get the brined pork chops, but the Meatloaf is very tasty. So far I haven’t tried anything I didn’t like.

We came here for some drinks and apps and had a great time.
Splitting asada fries and brussel sprouts and a beer flight it was a great start to the evening.
Service was very nice and super fast, offering suggestions on the menu and beer, we felt very well taken care of.
Restaurant is clean and I like the vibe and décor, not too busy either.
They have a great menu with so many good options, I will have to come back and try more next time.
The brussel sprouts are my favorite menu item and the chimichurri on the fries also amazing and worth putting on everything!
Great stop in the area, especially if you like beer!

My experience isn’t from dining in. But in picked up some brussel sprouts and they we’re
! Thats all I can speak on for now. We shall go sit and then I can give more deeds. But if the sprouts are any inkling of the nature of flavor? Get ready for a butt-​splosion. Because you’ll be pooping happily out what you joyfully consumed. Tmi? Ha. Tis life!

Mind just blown! No more booze? Wow! Just beer, wine, and champagne! No more late night stops for a Bailey’s & Coffee and an Old Fashioned for us! If I owned Finbar’s I’d put out a big sign regarding cocktails and happy hour. I really feel for the bartenders!

To make this review simple, the food was decent but too complex.
The wait was and hour for food during lunch. It wasn’t even busy, with minimal apologies. We were a little neglected outside after they realized there was a problem and we weren’t the happiest of guests.
This issue isn’t something that could happen to you and your visit but was just our experience. Unfortunately we won’t be coming back.

It was alright. I came here on a Friday night and we were seated right away. We were hoping to just order some appetizers, but none really looked appealing. They had wings on the menu, but their wings were boneless (WHY?). We settled for sharing the rib-​eye instead, which came out with A1 sauce, and some fries. We also ordered some beer (Pale Ale), but it didn’t really stand out either.
+Service was good
+Lots of TVs for game days/​nights
–Food is very mediocre.
–Beer was mediocre as well. I would have expected more from a brewery.

Beers and flights! Their wreck alley imperial stout was full bodied and bold flavored. Will come back for some more brews.
You can customize your flight, ask your waiter/​waitress! (: Didn’t try the food, I just wanted to grab a drink.

With Karl Strauss located at Metro Pointe in Costa Mesa, it rarely crosses my mind as the first place I’d like to grab a beer from. I always had other phenomenal craft brews in mind, but this year, I found Karl Strauss to be a comfort zone to return to. There’s no pretentious beerists and it’s just a chill spot to hang out without feeling rushed out. I usually come through with my brother during the day, so I can’t really speak for the dinner experience.
My brother and I shared a few things. We typically eat a light meal whenever we come through, so here are just a few things we’ve tried off the shared plates and of course, beers.
Started our lunch with a few beers, an Endless Summer (Light) and Tower 10 IPA. The Endless Summer is a really light American Blonde Ale with clean malt flavors, subtle Cascade hop undertones and a crisp finish. On another visit, I tried the Windansea, which is a Hefeweizen brewed true to the Bavarian style. Using a centuries old strain of German weissbier yeast, the Windansea has trademarked flavors of banana and cloves with a smooth finish.
Tabouli Melon Salad. The tabouli salad is made with whole wheat taboouli with chopped cucumbers, tomato, onion and mint tossed in a raspberry hazelnut vinaigrette. It was also paired with an organic greens mix with crumbled goat cheese, toasted almonds, strawberries and melons.
Chili Lime Fries. Sweet potatoes fries dusted with chili powder and lime zest and served with a spicy ranch for dip. I personally enjoy the dry rub, which gives the sweet potato fries some dimension with sweetness, savory and spiced elements.
Meat & Cheese Board is pretty well rounded for a beer spot. With all Californian ingredients, the board consisted of: Zoe’s nitrate free Coppa Salume & Genovese Salumi, Point Reyes Blue, Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Fiscalini Aged Cheddar, fig chutney, candied pecans, sliced green apples and olive bread.
For the month of August, the featured pairing food item was Ale Steamed Mussels. Sustainably-​farmed Penn Cove black mussels in a lemongrass broth with Spanish chorizo, sweet peppers, garlic, ginger, onions, coconut milk and cilantro served with a side of grilled bread to pick up all the nuances of the broth. I was hoping for a much richer broth filled with zesty lemongrass, spicy chorizo and creamy coconut milk to bring the elements together, but it was lightly flavored with an ocean-​y taste. I’m guessing there was much more ale as the base than any other ingredient. The mussels, however, were cooked to perfection with plenty to share.
Although Karl Strauss may not be on my top 10 places to grab a beer, I really enjoy the patio seating during the summer to enjoy the beautiful weather. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the beers offered are pretty well-​rounded. With a few new selections on rotation, such as the Tank Tap and Brewer’s Choice, there’s always something new to try if you’re adventurous. You may want to inquire about it with your server before taking the plunge, just in case it’s not your style. And a more recent discovery, they do limited batch of cask brews every Thursday.
The things you find in your very own backyard!

Great Happy Hour especially for those beer lovers!
The Bar area is right when you enter, and the staff is very friendly with the customers. They took the time to help me pick my perfect beer — as I am still exploring the different types out there.
My server recommended boneless buffalo wings — can’t deny that was a very good choice. Everything total was less than fifteen dollars — pretty good deal!

I came here after a loving and relaxing day of painting. I was hungry and wanted something NOT so fast food-​ish and more of a restaurant and this was the closest place without having to get in the car and drive.
Karl Strauss was an ACTUAL person who worked over 70 years brewing beer. How amazing. I’ve seen this place for many years and NEVER came in. Not sure why but I finally decided to give it a try.
Since we were having a late lunch/​early dinner the place wasn’t at all crowded so we were seated right away. This place is pretty big with covered patio seating, a bar inside right SMACK in the middle of the restaurant and additional seating on either side of the bar. The thing that is NICE about this place is that they have large booth tables to accommodate large parties with is NICE if your coming with friends. None of that having to wait until several small tables are available for the employees to slide together and they don’t just do the typical beer/​bar foods but have an PRETTY NICE menu with a variety of foods to tantalize your taste buds with as well as a variety of BEERS and non-​alcoholic drinks.
We perused the menu and I had a hard time deciding what I wanted but ended up going with a BBQ chicken salad to keep it sort of light in case I got hungry later that evening. My co-​heart ordered a burger. He was VERY SPECIFIC that he didn’t want any fancy-​smancy burger just the meat on a bun with cheese. I think that is about as basic as you can get. We also decided to get an appetizer and the cauliflower popped off the page at us so we tried that.
I’m not a beer drinker so I got an Arnold Palmer and my GOTEB did as well plus we got 2 waters with lemon. I quickly noticed we were surrounded by Karl’s beet bottles that you can purchase and take home some of their beer to enjoy in the comforts of your 4 walls. Cute little old style bottles. They also had a few different kinds of 6 pack beer you could buy to take home as well. And they had some wine for those of you that like smashed grapes in a glass.
Our appetizer came out and I noticed that it had red paper flaks on it and was a bit nervous so I asked for a side of ranch to eat with the cauliflower to help because I ALREADY knew my mouth would be on fire. I server offered to take it back and have the red pepper flakes removed but we declined. They also put the red sauce on the side. OMG SUPER YUM, YUM, YUMMY! So flavorful but YES my mouth was ON FIRE! The ranch did help so in case you are NOT a spicy person like me get RANCH to help with the heat. VERY GOOD!
My salad was REALLY GOOD and the portion size was big. VERY FILLING! The chicken was cooked to perfection and NOT dry or over cooked! With me eating the spicy cauliflower I think I downed about 3 glasses of Arnold Palmer so I got full pretty quickly with a tummy full of liquid.
GOTEB enjoyed his burger. It had a toasted bun on top and Swiss cheese. He didn’t bother with the fries and got fruit which was in season and sweet. It came with a NICE size piece of lettuce, onions and pickles but he didn’t bother with that. I think he just wanted the meat.
Over all PRETTY GOOD! The service was GREAT, and ATTENTIVE but not over bearing. We NEVER had to flag anyone down for a refill considering I drinking quite a bit.