My new favorite drinking spot in town! I discovered this place just a couple of weeks ago, and have already managed to bring a few out-of-towners by for a couple of local beers. The sampler is a good thing to start with, but I always get the IPA. Really delicious, as is the amber ale if you need something a bit lighter. It is kind of a weird ordering set up for first timers - either sit at the bar, or order from the cash register (you can still leave an open tab if you pick this option) and go sit at the tables inside or out. They will bring all beers and food out to you. I love the outdoor seating on wooden stumps, and it is dog friendly. I just wish they were open later! At least on Friday and Saturday, 9pm isn't late enough. Please? read more

I learned about this new craft brewery in the Santa Cruz area through Facebook. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery gave them a shout out in one of their posts, and so I liked the page. Tons of positive comments came streaming through my news feed, and I decided I needed to check them out some time. My chance occurred when the Princess need a lift back to school at the end of her spring break. We loaded up the car and started to head north, 7 hours later we were hungry, thirsty, and found ourselves at Discretion. We started by sharing the sampler. I have to tell you that every beer we tasted was a solid brew, really not a bad one in the bunch. Stand outs were the Rye IPA and the Pils, but anything you order will please. The brewer knows what he's doing. The food here is good, too. then menu is going to change based on seasonally available fresh, locally sources ingredients, so I won't dwell on specifics, What I will applaud them on is the use of beer in many of the menu items. Beer can be a difficult ingredient to work with in the kitchen, and so many brew pubs will only have token dishes made with trace amounts of beer. The chef here goes all-out. If I have one criticism or concern about this place, it's that the are starting out too small. What they are doing, they are doing so well, they are quickly going to out-grow their space. I predict long lines for a seat in the taproom , and tremendous demand for their beer. read more

The food is so good! Stopped by to grab a bite after a morning at the beach with the pups. They have a patio area with umbrellas for you and your doggies to relax and dine. I wasn't expecting the food to be as good as it was. We tried the cesar salad, potatoes, chorizo crostini and the pork belly sliders. The pickled onions, cucumbers and radishes that accompanied the crostini and sliders were delicious. The stand out, however, was the Cesar salad. I don't think I've ever tasted croutons like the ones on this salad EVER. They were perfectly buttery, crispy yet chewy at the same time. Epic. Amazing Cesar dressing with a perfect balance of anchovy and tang. Without a doubt, I will be back here next time I'm in the area. The chocolate cake was pretty damn good as well....(salivating at the memory) read more

Discretion is wonderful. Not a bad seat in the house. Dog and family friendly with amazing food and service. Make sure to get the pork belly and grits, i still dream about it. read more

If you're looking for a great environment, wonderful facilities, good beer, nice people, great food....you've come to the right place, ladies and gents! I'm not sure if they were short staffed the day we went (Friday night on Labor Day weekend), but it took them 45 minutes to get the food we ordered!!!!!! Prices aren't bad and they even have mini chairs for toddlers. It's in a great location as well, behind SC41 with plenty of parking spots! read more

I popped into discretion on a whim while driving down to Big Sur from the Bay Area. This ended up being my favorite brewery during my trip to the coast. I had a flight +1, and I enjoyed every single brew. So much that I had to get a few bottles to bring home with me. I ordered the chorizo, which came out so beautifully presented, I simply could not believe it was only $5. It had wonderful pickled veggies, crostini, and a smear of dijon. It was just what I needed for my little pit-stop. I hope to make it back out that way...that, or I hope they start to distribute to the Midwest! read more

A step above the typical "garage" brewery is an actual building with a bar, an inside eating area, and a patio. Like a restaurant. They serve food. Dogs and kids welcome. They had a good 12 beers on tap, the flight I had was 6 pours. The outdoor area has a cool log bench area in gravel. read more

Great local spot and they have really good beer...my soccer team goes here almost every Sunday after our games. Friendly staff who always make you feel welcome. The food is good but a little fancy and pricey for a brewery. They need a burger or another simple option on the menu for us barbarians ;) read more

Discretion Brewing - Chaos soccer club celebrating at our favorite SC Brewery!!!! - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

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OK. I must agree with the other reviewers, Uncle Dave's Rye IPA is the BOMB! Now, however, they have a food menu, and some of the items are outstanding. I personally LOVE the Caesar Salad with house made croutons. Incredible and the Hot Roasted nuts with Sea Salt and Rosemary was 'to-die-for.' Hubby had the Pork Sliders, delicious! To say the least, the tap room is beautiful, the patio area is divine and the service is outstanding! read more

Best of two worlds - great brews + great food from The Kitchen! Discretion Brewing became one of my favorites in town. Not only is their beer a dream but the snacks and small plates from their restaurant The Kitchen are insane! The menu changes every week and you won't be disappointed unless you fell in love with certain items like their Yukon potatoes ... and you have to wait until they make it back on the menu.... The taproom comes with an outdoor area and a kids corner with plenty of books to keep the offspring busy and entertained.... Snacks/small plates: $5-20. Beer: from $5 read more

Very nouveau hipster joint. I can say that now because I'm a parent in my mid-30s... this is definitely not your daddy's brewery. No fish and chips to be had on the menu and the beers are served in goblets, not predictable pint glasses. Having said that, hipsters do really good beer and really good food (and good coffee too, but that's for another joint). I love the way they do the taster here: you can choose any of your favorite 6 beers and they give you those for the taster for $9. I love this because I usually could live without tasting a brewery's stout or porter, so it allows a little flexibility within your choice. Bravo. The beers themselves were tasty and unique. We really liked 4 out of the 6 we chose, and that is an accomplishment after this many brewery visits. :) We also were planning to go our for Thai food (I know, we're SO lame), so we wanted a few light snacks to hold us up. We got the roasted nuts and pepper platter. Both were very good and very simple, with just some simple sea salt and fresh herbs for garnish. Such great beer accompaniments. The vibe is definitely crowded on a Saturday night, but they have a decent unheated patio with some very cool furniture. There were kids there, although we did not bring our kids and I'm glad that we didn't because the space is not well suited to kids running around. However, there WAS seating and it WAS loud, but some kids these days are in to that sort of thing. We will certainly be back! read more

Stopped in here a couple weeks ago to get out of the traffic on the highway - what a pleasant surprise! The tasting room is nice and bright, and there is a lovely outdoor patio (pooch friendly). We had our infant son with us, and he really enjoyed the tot's table with basket of books and toys to keep the little ones occupied. We tried the beer sampler, as well as the burrata and the sliders. Everything was prepared beautifully and delicious. Their rye IPA is really tasty, as was their stout. We'll be back, if ever in the Santa Cruz area. read more

Pretty relaxed atmosphere. We had to bus our table prior to sitting down- maybe that's the norm. This was our first time here. We didn't eat here, just wanted to check out the beers. Beers on tap were a bit average. The Session IPA isn't much to write home about. The strong ale was pretty sweet but not too boozy. Nothing seemed to really jump out at me as outstanding. Maybe, worth another shot. read more

This place has legit food !! I have not tried their beer because I am not a huge fan but I have tried their famous chicken n waffles, and two specials- the chilaquiles and seared scallops--- amazing!! Honestly, a little pricey for the portion size however, the ingredients and over all flavor is out of this world! Will def be coming back for those chicken n waffles! Perfect combination of savory and sweet :) read more

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I used to love coming to Discretion but the place has really gone downhill. The beer is good, but you can purchase it in local stores. The kitchen has fallen apart. The quality of the food has degraded significantly while the time to get the food has exploded. Today when taking my order about 1:30pm, I was warned that *popcorn* would take 35min. Seriously? For popcorn?!? We left, and given the prices and what we'd order that's more than $100 lost revenue because popcorn takes 35 min for them to make. I hope they take some steps to fix this issue. If you're busy enough that popcorn takes 35min, hire some more staff. read more

Like the beers, especially the mild brown. The sampler is a good deal and is wonderfully served in a cupcake pan. Yes, they have glasses. But, the idea of slurping booze from a cupcake pan is quite the image. I'll have to try it some time. Not that I have a problem or anything.... Back to the review. The pilsner was quite tasty also. The wife and I did not eat and found the selection to be a bit on the expensive side. The seating at the bar was good and overall the space was tasteful and appeared to be larger than it was. An excellent place to quaff a few. read more

My boyfriend and I love going places and looking for new breweries to check out, well on our recent trip to Capatola/Santa Cruz we found this hidden gem, and since we had time to kill before dinner we thought it would be a great idea to grab a flight. The flights here are very reasonable. Its about 1$ per 4oz and we got 6 4oz tasters and we were very happy with our selection. My boyfriend is a huge IPA fan so we made sure we got all of those, along with a red and the stout is on nitro and you should always get a stout when its on nitro. Quite frankly you should always get any beer that is on nitro. Along with our flight we decided to get something to snack on, so we grabbed their sausage and pickled veggies plate, and it was seriously delicious. The pickled onions themselves were pickled to perfection and I am not a huge fan of onions myself but these were just amazing. There is a lot to love about this place, the prices are reasonable and the food is delicious, so regardless of you being a beer drinker or not the kitchen will definitely please everyone in your group. Also sit outside, its always beautiful in Santa Cruz. read more

If you like waiting while someone tries every beer on the menu it's great. Waited for a while and the bartender never offered any assistance while she spoon fed samples to one person for 10 minutes so we left. read more

I'm not an avid beer drinker. But, I do enjoy sampling the good stuff, where it's made, now and again. And, I am happy that a Brewing Co. finally moved into this side of town. The decor is no-frills industrial, and the atmosphere layed-back. You order at the counter and they bring you your food. Seating and tables are casual, not quite "dining" tables. The beer was decent. The Good Faith Strong Ale (~9% alcohol) being my favorite. And the food was great quality, but in smallish portions. So, I wouldn't recommend coming here for a large dinner, but a beer with a few yummy bites would be perfect. We (3 adults, 1 child) got the fish bites, penne pasta, lamb shank sliders, sausage, and oysters. Sound like alot? Then, we also ordered the clams, because we could use a little more. We also ordered the house-flavored soda (vanilla/black pepper) sold in a kid-sized cup for the kid. Happy to see this place in my hood! read more

We moved to Santa Cruz less than two months ago, and we've already been here 7 or 8 times - the food is that good! The menu changes often, so we've ordered different things each time (meat and vegetarian dishes), but every single time, the food has been excellent in quality and presentation...better than any sit down restaurant we've been to in the area. At Discretion, you pick up your own food and utensils at the kitchen's serving window, which is why I guess it's not categorized as a restaurant, but I think "Gastropub" is the best category for this place. Regardless, I still leave a tip for the bartenders and kitchen staff because they deserve it. As for the beer, I recently traveled to Prague where I got to drink the best and cheapest beer I ever had (the Czech invented pilsner) and the pils at Discretion is very good in comparison...not great, but very good. read more

This beers looks are deceiving. I asked for a lite in flavor beer and when she poured this I was worried I wouldn't like it, but boy was I wrong. The flavor is so lite and right up my alley. The serves and food was amazing as well. My boyfriend got a stout beer which he loved. We will defiantly be coming back read more

Discretion Brewing - Light in flavor - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

Great beer, great food, great staff, great ambiance... need I say more. This place rocks, try it! read more

Discretion Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

Hello, May I live here? Between the beer, the food, the outdoor seating, and the super nice folks working here, I just want to live here. Plus, this is our go-to child-free date spot (as in we don't bring our kids, but there are plenty of kids here), so I associate this place with serious relaxation. A few suggestions for improvement: 1. tweak the food system, because it's not easy to order appetizers/snacks plus a meal, because it all comes out at once; 2. maybe replace the wood stools because every dog pees on them. Love, Beth read more

Came here on a Friday afternoon. The first girl who came to the counter was nice (taller with tattoos on her arms) but someone distracted her and she went to finish helping them. the next girl with messy blonde hair & clogs popped up. I had started filling out their flight form and asked her what her favorite beer is. Her response "Depends on my mood" she then asks me what kinds I like. So I tell her, she rolls her eyes laughs and says they don't have any of those... then takes off to the other end of the bar. WOW super rude. When she comes back I just hand her the slip, pay. then find a seat. This was our first time here and I enjoy asking the employees for recommendations, they work here and should suggest things! I ordered "snack" Spanish chorizo mustard, pickles, pickled onions, crostini with sesame seeds (toasted which was a plus). This 'snack' was quite big and totally worth the $5. Glancing around the place, everyones' food looked great. ......the pours were not that great. Mostly they were warm, flat, and all tasted the same despite being lights and darks. They also lacked a fragrance. For $14 for a flight & snack it was inexpensive. We didn't finish our flight and just left. read more

Saturdays: crowded for sure Beers: Had the flight and walked out (meaning we tried every beer), so you can make your assumptions Food: Only tried the Porter Cupcake. This might be the best cupcake I've ever had and I may come back just for this. read more

Santos does amazing work in the kitchen. It's a little slow but the quality if the food is excellent. The beers are tasty too. read more

Discretion Brewing - A sampler - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

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Very tiny spot that is very busy and for good reason, the food here is the real star of the show. The beer is great don't get me wrong but once you try some food offerings you will forget all about the beer. The pork shoulder I had was melt in your mouth and paired alongside the beer perfectly. The staff were very friendly and helpful despite the enormous crowd that was packed inside the tiny slightly industrial but modern building. All around this place is amazing and a must stop in the Santa Cruz area for beer and food. read more

I remember years ago driving by this place that was basically a deserted wherehouse type structure behind the car wash and near Cafe Cruz. Oh how we needed a new craft brewery in SC. We did a lot of drive by's as they struggled to get thru the local permitting process. Lucky for us they didn't give up. Today this place is hands down the best spot on the area to grab some awesome fresh cold brew (new ones always arriving) and an amazing meal as well. The food is of the quality of white table cloth but without the silliness. Love the food, beer, people, and the outdoor area is great mid day. Can you guys make it larger? Apparently The word is getting out and we need more room This is a must do if visiting and a must do over if local. Dave is starting to pull in some pretty cool APIs (other than Uncle Dave's) so you need to show up to get it. Have you tried Ugo Nevo? That beer even turned my wife into an IPA fan See you there. read more

I liked this place form the moment I walked in the door. I had checked out a couple of other brewpubs in the Santa Cruz area but didn't really like them for a variety of reasons. This place just has that certain something that gives a good first impression. But to get a five star rating, they have to have more than a good first impression. I wasn't disappointed. the service was great.... these folks (Jay was my beertender) really know their stuff. Being an IPA fan, I chose the Uncle Dave's Rye IPA, and let me tell ya... it was good! Their best seller I'm told. Can't vouch for their food, as I had already eaten, but the beer, service and atmosphere are all very impressive. The place has a good vibe. read more

Tough to review a brewery for its beers since there are such diverse tastes within the brewniverse. Had the Foggy Forsest west coast style ipa (well balanced hoppy), the 11th Conversation hibicois wit (a tart wheat Belgian), Micky Malone dry irish stout on nitro (soft chocolate undertone) and took 2 bottles of Uncle Daves Rye IPA home. Id give the beers a 4 star overall. However, the bump to 5 stars is due to the Kitchen at Discretion is such a nice departure from the normal gastropub fare, it was amazing, looked great on the plate (or slab), wonderful use of flavor and textures on the heirloom panzanella. Menu changes daily. Some items are a little bit more pricy compared to typical gastropub fare, but well worth it. Key lime pie was delicious. Service- We were there 45 minutes before closing, service was fine. We never felt rushed as sometimes happens when you arrive to eat near closing time. read more

Discretion Brewing - Pulled pork sliders and the heirloom panzanella. - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

I came for the beer which was great #uncledaves but the food was amazing; the goat cheese beignets are a must! ! Fresh unique flavors.

Excellent food and award-winning beer selection. We really enjoyed the sweet potato cakes and the Tripel. Chill and kid-friendly gastopub tucked away off 41st. A true gem. read more

Discretion Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

We love Discretion! The beer is always great and the outdoor seating is dog-friendly. We like to go here with friends to relax after a hard day's work. read more

While I love all the Discretion brews and the food is very good, I was very taken aback by the way they handle the orders. You stand in line to order food and beer before you even sit down. When you're done, they tell you that they only take credit cards. So you had the credit card over and while standing in line the waitress loudly asks you if you want to leave a tip; stating that the options are 20%, 25%, etc. or a dollar amount. It seems like the concept of leaving a tip has been completely lost today as you are expected to leave a generous tip before you even have a chance to evaluate the service or the quality of food. I ordered the spicy chicken sandwich which was good but overpriced and not even a pickle or chips on the side. Also, the beer was served in plastic cups which is a real turn off for a $7 12 oz brew. I will think twice before coming back here. read more

Great beer, great vibe. Couldn't get food cuz of two large parties ahead of us. Would return to check out the food though. Smelled delicious. read more

The food is excellent. I had a risotto dish the other evening. Risotto is a dish that easily marks a kitchen as either skilled, or a bunch of hacks. It's simple, and common, to turn out a mushy, bland concoction, that tastes like someone poured a can of cream of mushroom soup over some rice. It takes a practiced kitchen to deliver a risotto that's al dente, hot, and tasty. I ordered the risotto with the pork belly. It was astonishing. Just a creative, wonderful dish. We ordered the cornbread, as an appetizer. It was flavorful, hot, and light. The butter & honey was a perfect accompaniment. I'll definitely visit again. read more

They have really good beer and the atmosphere is really nice! I had the popcorn and I really like the seasoning they put on it. I want to try more of their food. read more

The ambiance is nice, indoor and outdoor seating. There is heated outdoor seating as well. There are dogs allowed in the outdoor patio area. There are options for food as well as plenty of beers. The brownie with ice cream and lavender honey was delicious! Would visit again when I'm in the area. read more

The food is soooo amazing. Very unique and innovative combinations of ingredients and flavors. I've been here many times and the food never disappoints. Very fresh ingredients also. Pretty good value The beer? Meh.... it's ok. Great to wash food down with but I wouldn't come for the beer alone Nice atmosphere also here read more

So good, risotto w Pork belly- paired w hibiscus wit beer. Place would be better w table service but loved it anyway... read more

Discretion Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Soquel, California

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