Dad Watson’s Restaurant and Brewery (McMenamin’s)

September 19, 2008
Good sized place here with dark wood decor. On a corner lot with large windows looking out to a tree lined street. This location brews most of the ales for McM’s Seattle area locations. Parking is very tight around here, so this is more of a neighborhood or transit riders destination.

August 7, 2008
Hammerhead is a solid flagship APA, but this place is constantly concocting new brews, so you can expect something different every time you visit. OK pub food and happy hour. Unbeatable Fremont location with to fantastic porches. Free Wifi. What’s not to like?

September 5, 2007
I have been here several times. Every time it was a slow night. They have great beer and the grub is good too.

June 7, 2007
The place itself was beautiful, but super crowded and noisy, not the best of service (probably because of the crowd). I didn’t really stand out as a place I’d go back to, and it especially didn’t stand out as part of the McMenamin’s chain.

March 20, 2007 [ Updated March 21, 2007 ]
Twenty foot ceilings matched with large south-facing windows; when the sun comes out avoid sitting with your back to the bar! They seem to be perennially understaffed - the only way to get really good service is to show up before noon or after two on a weekday. They always seem to have 8 or so McMenamin brews on tap one of which is invariably a seasonal. They make an excellent cayenne / paprika "Voodoo" chicken sandwich but the salads are lackluster and the burgers are hit or miss. A good place for a moderately priced meal & beer. If you’re just looking for good beer in Fremont, go to Brouwer’s instead. McMenamin’s brews on tap: Ruby (Raspberry), Hammerhead Ale, Terminator Stout, IPA, "Wheat" (not sure which one - it looks like a hefe), Golden Ale, Troll Porter, and a seasonal. The IPA and Terminator Stout are also available on nitro tap.

March 8, 2007
20 taps. Double half-moon bar joined by 30’ of seating. Wood texture everywhere – like an over-sized Irish pub. They make a great Reuben Sandwich but the salad didn’t have a crisp vegetable in it… it looked like it’d been through the Ronco Dehydrator? The server was very generous with the 4oz samplers but the beers were hit and miss. The wheat beer was a definite miss, reminiscent of something on the Canadian prairies.

August 4, 2006
You have to love the McMenamin’s beers to get excited about the selection. I can always find something to drink here, but never anything I know I’ll ever crave. I never plan a trip to a McMenamin’s just for a beer I can’t wait to have again, though they’re good-to-very-good. The food is absolutely solid pub grub all the way through--burgs, sands, some pasta dishes, good apps, many fried things. Cool funky ambiance, even if it obviously was planned by a designer and didn’t just grow into hominess over time. I’m always happy to eat and drink here, though I rarely seek it out.

April 16, 2006
If you can avoid the Fremont-y weekends, this is a haven for some tasty suds and food.

May 26, 2005
Deserted at weekend lunchtime. Sweet smell of boiling wort outside the building. Inside, it’s obviously a Thai restaurant reincarnated as a brewpub. The floor, bar, and furniture are so scuffed and worn that they’re downright shabby. Nevertheless, it’s a comfortable place... kind of like your first college apartment with free curbside rococo-70s Americana furnishings. Six beers, all just okay. Mens’ room was dimly lit and about 95 degrees. Give it a whirl if you’re already in Fremont, otherwise not worth it.

March 7, 2004 [ Updated September 18, 2008 ]
The usual mix of Mcmenamins beers. The food was good, when you can get it. The service was absolutely terrible, and the place was only half full