Rubicon Brewing

Although Rubicon Brewing still puts out quality beer, their midtown location has quietly slipped to lower and lower standards over the years. Part of the original brewery-​restaurant craze, Rubicon’s location near 20^th & Capitol still focuses on a large beer and wine bar with simple bar food and lots of televisions.
Combined brewery-​restaurants are like a sofa bed, it is hard to combine two concepts into a superior product. The food suffers here, especially with so many better options literally across the street. Nevertheless, the food is decent and the beer is still very good. Their outdoor patio is still great for people watching and plenty of televisions playing sports always is a hit.
Grab a beer, maybe some fries, and enjoy the afternoon!

We have been frequenting for years and LOVE the beer! BUT can only give one star because the transient they allow to sit on the patio and flip us off. This is unacceptable. Choose your paying customers…

I’ve been here twice now… close to work for me. Both times it was crowded, but managed to get a barstool. Got to taste several of their microbrews now and enjoyed them all. Friendly staff and great service each time… definitely will be back often.

If you haven’t had a burger here you have not lived. Every time I come here I’m never disappointed. The service is friendly and wonderful, it’s always a fun atmosphere. but the food– incredible. You’re sorely missing out if you don’t come here!!!

I have had Rubicon Brewing’s product on draught many times in Southern California. I was in the Sacramento area with friends, and we decided to visit this location.
I don’t know what I was expecting – maybe a fancier place, like (the former) River City Brewing. The look and feel of this site is much like a neighborhood brew pub – nothing too fancy. There is indoor and outdoor seating.
We visited on a Sunday afternoon, at about 4pm. It wasn’t too busy, and yet they seemed to be understaffed. The service wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly great either.
However, the primary purpose for the visit was the beer – and that was very good. In short, while the company is doing a good job in growing its distribution, don’t expect this place to be a showcase.

Consistent! I like consistency and they do it well. The beer is good, the food is consistently decent and staff is always helpful and friendly. The Rubicon is an institution downtown, and for good reason.

A++++++ for Monkey Knife Fight Ale! Great selection of beers here. We thought the food was reasonably priced and very good. I really enjoyed the location in the Midtown neighborhood of Downtown Sacramento. I will say that the beer battered onion rings are some of the best I’ve ever had!

Great food and brew! Not a beer person, so always looking for something I like. Malty, not hoopy. found SacSquarch Scottish ale… nummy…
Had a great burger, delish fried.

I was hesitant when we first walked through the door because of the smell (I found it to be unpleasant) but the place was packed and so I thought we’d go ahead and give it a try. There was nothing extraordinary about the place but the bartender was quick and friendly. We were there on a Tuesday night and they had $ 2.75 pints which turned my opinion of the place. The prices were good, the place was packed, but still nothing extraordinary. .. Just average.

Beer:
Pau Hana Wheat — don’t believe the description. There was no aromas of banana, pear, or spice. The beer was very bland with a slight tartness noted at the front. The beer tastes watered down.
Sac Squatch — made by Sac brewing. This tasted nothing like the scotch ale style they were going for. The caramel and smoky notes were non existent. The flavor tasted like a weak Irish red not a bold scotch ale.
Amber Ale — slight malt character with a nutty flavor and a slight hoppy bitterness to finish. A solid amber ale one of the better ones of the day from Rubicon.
Rubicon IPA — citrus aroma blended with the characteristic hoppy aroma of the IPA. Hints of grapefruit and light citrus with a piney flavor. Another solid beer by Rubicon. Best beer of the day.
Food:
We started with a flight of beers and the Chips and salsa. The menu says homemade for the chips and salsa but the salsa was definitely pace from a jar.
I ordered the midtown mess burger with fries and my wife ordered the original burger.
The midtown mess burger was cooked to my satisfaction. The fries are definitely on point and tasted great. The chili lacked seasoning as did the burger meat itself. Very lack luster kitchen performance they need to learn about salt and pepper in their food. The fries were the highlight of the meal.
Service by Jasmine was outstanding. Thank you so much.

We went on Wednesday night with our friends for the bottomless fish and chips. Very good.
The beer was good also. They also had a hamburger special which I would order next time.

Great brewpub in Sacramento. Skilled brewers that do both consistent brews and innovative new seasonals.
Salute to them for hosting the revival of the Sacramento Brewing Company line of beers for the 2016 brewfest. Magnificent!
PS: Pork sliders rock!

Let me start with the positive — really good food and great beer. But, $ 7 for not even a pint size glass is a bit steep. I had the peppered blue cheese burger with a turkey patty. It was actually awesome. Everything was really fresh. My husband had the BBQ tri tip sandwich special and said it was okay, but he is a BBQ fanatic, so he is very particular about his BBQ. He still ate it all!
We ordered an appetizer, but it didn’t come until after our meal, so I didn’t start with describing it first. We had the hot pretzel with beer cheese and it was amazing. I only wish it had been brought out when it should have been. And I did specify to the waitress that we wanted to «start» with the pretzel. It was brought out after our burgers and after a 30 min wait.
The food all came out very hot and fresh. So the food is great.
Why we wouldn’t come back is because the waitress was lousy. She was more interested in her friends at the bar than waiting her tables and there were only 3 tables! She forgot everything. Messed up the orders. It took over 10 minutes to get our first drinks. We had to ask for everything multiple times. She wasn’t even friendly until she realized she had made so many mistakes with our oder. To her credit, she was then apologetic and more attentive in the end.
In sum, great food, but lousy service and you are left feeling a little unwelcome since you aren’t a «regular «up at the bar.

Rubicon Brewing makes great beer! I really like the Rubicon IPA, Andromeda Galaxy Smash, and the Hopsauce XXIPA. They are all so hoppy and fresh tasting. Monkey Knife Fight Pale Ale is always a good choice as well, if you want a lighter brew.
Make sure you take advantage of their special on Tuesdays; they have selected pints for $ 2.75 all day! They have other great weekday specials, so check out their website.
The bartenders here are always extra friendly. My friend and I went this past New Year’s Eve and the bartender gave us late night happy hour discounts and free champagne! We were so surprised at how great the service was. That was our first visit to Rubicon Brewing and we have been back many times ever since.
Even though there are other many great microbreweries popping up in Sacramento, Rubicon Brewing is still worthy of multiple visits and holds up to the competition.

I LOVE Rubicon Brewing! I know that Sacramento is starting to explode with microbreweries and restaurants, but I think Rubicon has a great atmosphere, selection, food, and service.
They always have really interesting and new beers. The food portions are large, delicious, and well-​priced.
Plenty of seating inside and outside. Plus, I have yet to meet a server who wasn’t nice. They all seem to be having such a great time and loving their job. Whenever I’m in Sacramento, I’m trying to get to Rubicon.

You had me at Monkey Knife Fight. I mean, who wouldn’t want to try a beer called Monkey Knife Fight? So I gave it a whirl and I I have to admit, i’s pretty great, and I generally don’t like happy brews. In addition to this solid beer, there are plenty of other offerings including a Burton barrel aged and wee heavy scotch ale.
But that’s not all… the food is just as good as the beer. The mushroom swiss burger is one of the best around.
Service is usually prompt and friendly, and prices are typical for a trendy midtown pub. Give Rubicon a try, I think you’ll like it!

I sure do love me some Monkey knife fight! But besides that nothing really stood out to me.
The food is pretty good. Again nothing really to write home about but if you are downtown and looking for a solid experience I don’t think you can go wrong coming here. I do think there are other places that would get you more excited. None the less a solid brewery.

Have had some dicey service here off and on the past. Megan last night, however, was awesome. More often than not I’m treated decently.
Spend the extra buck fifty for the fresh spicy mustard and ignore that jar of Sierra Nevada mustard on the table. Worth the extra loot.
I’ve ALWAYS liked the beer here and the waffle fries are booming as well.

Here for the second time, but the first time I was with friends and I usually write my beer reviews when I go beer tasting solo.
When I arrived at 4:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night, it wasn’t crowded overall, but wasn’t empty either. You have to seat yourself, so I grabbed a table by the window. The bar area was full or else I might have considered sitting over there.
Beer tasting will cost you between $ 1.75−2.25 for a 5oz pour and you can select what you want. I usually like tasting glasses to be 4ozs since I can try more beer. Here is what I thought:
Liked:
1. Monkey Knife Fight
2. Rubicon IPA
3. Hopsauce — 8.2%!!
Indifferent:
1. Rosebud
Didn’t Like: None (yay!)
Didn’t Try:
1. «On the Grid» Cali Common
2. Uncle Ed’s Wheat
3. «The Antidote» Smash Ale with Galena Hops
4. Maggie Brown Ale
5. Dry Irish Stout
6. First Contact
I also ordered the Giant Soft Pretzel for $ 4.75 which was good.
I would come back if I was in the area and looking for a place to grab a beer and pretzel.

An impromptu «in– between» meal is what the cream of mushroom soup at the Rubicon is. This soup is super scrumptious as it is seasoned beautifully and not overwhelmed by too much cream as many cream style soups can be. Although the Rubicon is known in our community for its brews, I think you outta give this a try. This is a great meal for the light at heart… guaranteed that you will find comfort at this «locals only» hot spot!
Additional note:
The service here is excellent. The employees are extremely aware of their all guests. Without a doubt, whether you are here to dine, enjoy a pint, or simply hangout with a few friends after work, you’ll receive excellent service with a smile ;)