Palo Alto Brewing Company to open tasting room, restaurant | Peninsula Foodist | Elena Kadvany | Almanac Online |

Local Blogs

Peninsula Foodist

By Elena Kadvany

About this blog: Get the latest food news with the biweekly Peninsula Foodist newsletter.
We are constantly on the lookout for new and undiscovered meals, from Michelin-starred restaurants to tac...  (More)

View all posts from Elena Kadvany

Palo Alto Brewing Company to open tasting room, restaurant

Uploaded: Jan 25, 2016
UPDATE: The Tap Room soft opened on Wednesday, Feb. 3. An opening menu includes poutine, wings, grilled cheese and fried chicken sandwiches, beer floats and more.

Fans of Palo Alto Brewing Company, rejoice: Owner Kasim Syed is soon opening a tasting room and restaurant in downtown Palo Alto dedicated to the company’s brews.

Appropriately called The Tap Room, the new establishment will soft open sometime next week at 233 University Ave., the former home of Workshop Burger. An "innovation center" called BHuman briefly took over the space in 2015, but didn’t last, and Syed took over the space soon after.

Syed said he’s been looking for somewhere to open a more Palo Alto Brewing-focused establishment for several years. He also owns the Rose & Crown Pub a few blocks away on Emerson Street, but he said he "never really wanted to turn the Rose & Crown into a Palo Alto Brewing thing because it’s kind of its own thing."


Kasim Syed, owner of Palo Alto Brewing Company, stands with a pint of Cool Beanz porter at his bar, the Rose & Crown Pub, in Palo Alto in 2014. Photo by Veronica Weber.

The Tap Room will pour 10 to 12 Palo Alto Brewing beers, plus several guest beers on tap, cider for gluten-free customers and maybe even some cold-brew coffee on tap, Syed said Monday. The guest beers will highlight Bay Area breweries from all over -- East, North and South Bay, Syed said.

Food-wise, everything will be locally sourced, with a focus on bar food like wings, Syed said. There will also be salads, sandwiches and other sharable plates. Syed brought in a friend who was a general manager for Pizza My Heart, managing more than 20 locations, to run the food side of things. A “good chef in his own right,” he’s designing the menu, Syed said.

There will, of course, be dishes that draw on beer, like a brownie made with Palo Alto Brewing’s coconut porter, Syed said. The Tap Room will serve full lunch and dinner.

They’ve made some cosmetic upgrades to the University Avenue space to bring a "brewpub look" to it, Syed said: new painting, communal tables (like in a beer garden) and showcasing some of the equipment used in the brewing processes.

With communal rather than separate tables, "hopefully people sit down with somebody they don’t know and can chat about beer or food," Syed said.

Syed is looking to do a soft opening next week. Check back for an update.

Syed, a Palo Alto native, started as a Rose & Crown employee-turned-owner who years ago brought in his craft beers for bar regulars to taste. Six years ago, he started Palo Alto Brewing Co.
Democracy.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Kimber , a resident of Downtown North,
on Feb 4, 2016 at 2:25 pm

I am super excited about this opening! Palo Alto has needed a brewery or tap room of sorts. Can't wait to try it out! Now, to complete the perfect city, we just need some good Ramen!


Posted by Joel, a resident of Barron Park,
on Feb 5, 2016 at 12:06 pm

Great beers and good company makes for success. Congrats to Palo Alto brewing. Cheers!


Posted by Chris Cummings, a resident of Crescent Park,
on Feb 5, 2016 at 6:12 pm

Love it -- Cool Craft Beers and Walkable so no driving or uber needed!


Follow this blogger.
Sign up to be notified of new posts by this blogger.

Email:

SUBMIT

Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from Almanac Online sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

My Holiday Wish List for Menlo Park
By Dana Hendrickson | 1 comment | 3,265 views

Burning just one "old style" light bulb can cost $150 or more per year
By Sherry Listgarten | 12 comments | 3,093 views

Banning the public from PA City Hall
By Diana Diamond | 27 comments | 2,247 views

Pacifica’s first brewery closes its doors
By The Peninsula Foodist | 0 comments | 1,990 views

Holiday Fun in San Francisco- Take the Walking Tour for An Evening of Sparkle!
By Laura Stec | 8 comments | 1,710 views

 

Support local families in need

Your contribution to the Holiday Fund will go directly to nonprofits supporting local families and children in need. Last year, Almanac readers and foundations contributed over $300,000.

DONATE