A wonderful addition to the Berkeley brew pub scene. We now have a rare combination of the best East Bay brewery at the best East Bay brewpub location. The beers: always amazing. The food: delicious smash burgers highlight a full, excellent brewpub menu. The ambiance: can't be beat. While the courtyard continues to be charming, it now has a sense of welcome and warmth thanks to the Headlands family (both literally, with a dedicated, passionate owner, and figuratively with the talented Headlands team). read more

The kid to adult ratio is almost 50/50. This is a family spot. So if you're coming to get away, unwind and socialize with your friends with 4 year olds everywhere then this is the perfect spot for you! Beverages offered are great with plenty of options and variety! We only ordered the pretzel and beer cheese and it was good. We asked for some mustard and were charged - eh. I liked that you can scan a code at your seat and they serve you. That was cool. I might come on a weekday next time, order more food and see the vibe then. I'm not against kids (I'm a mother) but this place was almost like romper room with alcohol. read more

Great and friendly staff. The michoacano sandwich is awesome. Beer is serviceable. Love the new improvements to the space!

Was very sad to hear of Westbrae Biergarten closing as it's been a neighborhood favorite of mine for years. Was pleased to stop into the new Headlands iteration of the Biergarten and find that not much has changed and if it has it seems to be even better. Great beer selection and great food. Great for parents with young kids who wanna have a beer in the sun while their children play and great for buddies to grab a stein while bar hopping, love the place. read more

Great family and dog spot. Good beer and food. Tucked in a nice neighborhood. All the locals know about it. Wondering if it will be perused by out of towners. Check it out regardless. read more

Excellent service, friendly stuff , food is great, beers are excellent for all type of palates, everything in a very nice environment.

Love this place! Outside, comfy and the wait staff is super friendly. Minerva always takes great care of me and my friends; she always remembers us by name. Food is yummy and great selection of beer and cider. It's become a regular place to go! read more

Yo My server Miguel really went above and beyond during service. His beer suggestion was outstanding! As I am a huge fan of light beers, his suggestion of the party wave lager really hit home with the refreshing taste and crispness that my wife and I enjoyed. Now boy could I tell you, Miguel's suggestion for the Michoacano sandwich was definitely a good call. It was so juicy and hefty for a Sando! We ate it up too quickly. Thankfully we got the churros! And it came with a caramel dipping sauce! That sh** was so fu**ing delicious. I could only suggest getting these items! And especially be helped by such a suave individual like, Miguel!!! read more

Have loved hanging out here since they opened about 5 weeks ago. Super friendly staff, tasty food, and generally a good vibe. They even have a kids' "play pen" which is so nice to have when you are hanging out with friends and need an area for your kids to have fun and be safe. read more

Food was great with the limited opening menu, I had a fantastic smash burger and my husband the Cuban sandwich. Food came out quickly and hot. Beer was fantastic and you have the option to order beer via the table qr code which was convenient. Definitely will be back! read more

This is effectively Westbrae Biergarten reopening under new and improved management. I was a regular at Westbrae Biergarten from its opening in 2014 until the pandemic started in 2020. Westbrae Biergarten never recovered from the pandemic and had become an uninviting shell of its former self once it was allowed to reopen. The original Headland Brewing location is in Lafayette. This is an outdoor taproom beer garden and restaurant operated by the brewery company. All the seating is outdoors. There are sun shades over about half the tables. And there are heat lamps to warm the larger tables. The draft beer list is half beers from Headlands and half beers from other breweries (or other kinds of drinks). The restaurant makes fries, smash burgers, sandwiches, and salads. The burger I ate was good. The menu expanded between June and August 2024, so don't trust the old menu photos you see in other reviews. My criticisms of the beer garden are 1) it is very popular and crowded so the wait for more beer can become pretty long and it can be difficult to find a place to sit, and 2) the draft beer list is mediocre with about half the IPAs being hazy. Upon reopening Westbrae Biergarten as Headland Brewing this place has been consistently packed every time I've visited or passed by. I cannot overemphasize how popular and busy this place is. The previous owners or operators of Westbrae Biergarten must have been unfathomably incompetent at running a business to have gone out of business considering how immediately successful Headland Brewing is. The Brazilian sandwich guy who previously had a food truck at Westbrae Biergarten has apparently moved across the street. read more

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I am so excited about this place! They kept the child friendly and chill down to earth attitude that we loved from westbrae. Plus they added QR code ordering from your table so you don't need to get in line for drinks anymore. Their staff is amazing and so friendly, shoutout to Joey and DJ for the most incredibly kind and amazing service, people like this make the place! Their burgers are as good as their beers too! Honestly, I get them to go for lunch sometimes, they are so good, not just like an afterthought to the beer but a completely delicious standalone item. I also love that they have a veggie platter it's the perfect portion and snack. read more

Went here the other day for the first time and found my new favorite beer garden. DJ took my order and was super helpful, recommended the smash burger and the blackberry solar sour, after I told him what type of brews I'm into. The food and drinks were sensational. The place was also very clean with lots of seating. Definitely going to come back with my wife for date night. read more

Very friendly and helpful staff, truly scrumptious and fresh tasting g food (I had the corn chowder soup and avocado/bell pepper melt). Family and dog friendly atmosphere. And delicious Humboldt Cherry cider! read more

Visited Headlands Brewery on Gilman in Berkeley. Very friendly staff. Joey, the manager was extremely friendly. Ambiance is very beautiful, comfortable & friendly. I ordered vegetarian burger, French fries, churros & lemonade. Everything was very very good. A very welcome addition to Berkeley food & drink scene. read more

So excited to have the beer garden open again! This is the best place to spend a sunny afternoon - even better now with new food/drink options. The food is delicious and fresh - especially the salads, so good! And all the staff working here seem friendly and happy. They've made so many improvements to the old space without taking away the charm or simplicity. read more

Amazing beer garden with great food like smash burgers and healthy sandwiches as well as high quality ales and lagers on tap from Headlands and other local breweries (good wines on tap too). The venue is good size with a variety of seating options such as classic Bavarian Beirgarten tables + lawn chairs + Adirondacks + bench seating around fire pits. There's also a big kids play area and a really nice centralized water feature that's surrounded by beautiful plants and one of my favorite types of trees, a weeping willow! If you enjoy neighborhoo beer gardens, I highly recommend this local gem. read more

Came recently for a happy hour with coworkers. We'd regularly visited Westbrae and we're happy to have the space open again. It's refreshed and new with fake grass, new stone tile and lawn chairs. There were lots of kids and dogs there and the space worked great for that. The food was good and the drink menu was great. It was getting pretty crowded by the time we left (7 pm on a Thursday), with a line out onto the sidewalk and no empty tables. The QR code ordering for beverages was really convenient, knowing how long the line can get. I am excited to see what it's like once this new management finds their groove. read more

The food was amazing and the place is really great. The people were incredibly nice and supportive and I recommend anyone who gets the chance to go to Headlands! Super good venue with the fire pit and its nice and warm. read more

Great food! Service was amazing!!! The atmosphere was chill after having a long work day.

I visited there for the first time this week and had a great experience. Miguel recommended the Deluxe Smash Burger and paired it with the Point Bonita Pilsner. Absolutely amazing. Definitely coming back with friends!!! read more

The beer warrants a stop and, on a sunny day, it's a good place to hang out in the sun with the benefit of umbrellas as shade

Headlands Berkeley slaps! Had a great smash burger for lunch today! Smashburger deluxe (with lettuce and tomatoes). So delicious! Partnered that with a delicious Pilsner. And the service here is always awesome! read more

The place and ambiance is nice and chill. The smash burger was smacking!! The Gallinaso was also amazing. Really good selection of beers, it's really good to have a place like this in the EastBay. Also the customer service was top-tier, really helpful and prompt. Make sure to ask for Miguel, he gave us really recommendations. read more

Headlands Brewing is a great place to enjoy the outside and have amazing food and beverage .The Staff are all so friendly and attentive . In particular was Minerva . She was so friendly , helpful, welcoming and knows her beer and the food menu. We love to go when Minerva is working cause she makes our time there even better !!! Always smiling and happy and taking such good care of us. read more

What a fabulous family friendly vibe! The food is yummy, the beer is great and the Biergarten is even more welcoming now that Headlands has taken over. Go out of your way to check this place out, you'll be happy you did! read more

Food was awesome, beer was great and the service felt more like you were hanging out with your family - very welcoming. Great place for the kids to play too. read more

So I would likely have given a lower score however it is their soft opening and everyone was very nice. The previous owner retired and moved back to Brazil. Looks like quite a few team members are back working here. That's good! Also upgrades to this outdoor space are really nice. The drinks selection is reasonable. However when it came to the food it was uninspired and tasted like high school cafeteria fare. Again it's a soft opening so perhaps the menu will be changed. I really hope so. We go the tuna sandwich and the bread seemed a bit stale. They fries were generic frozen with no flavor. The side salad was decent. I hope they read this and work on the menu. read more

Nice atmosphere for a lazy afternoon. Good beer. Good food. Tables a comfortable seating around a fire pit. I'll have to come back on the evening for a beer and conversation around the pit. read more

I just had the most delicious and healthy salad and lemonade here. This is a real find. The outdoor space is beautiful and enjoyed the lunch immensely. I highly recommend!!! read more

Not sure what happened, but this place has turned into a zoo. When it was the Brazilian beer garden, it was always busy but never so packed. What a bummer. read more

I brought my 3 kids to this fantastic beer garden and we all had a great experience. We loved our smash burgers and I especially enjoyed the house salad (it has garbanzo beans!). I also had to buy 2 soft pretzels because my kids enjoyed the first one so much. The beer selection is also solid. I personally think Headlands is brewing some very tasty suds. I really liked the helles lager and the kolsch. My kids enjoyed some house made lemonades and my husband gushed about the west coast IPA (he's not a hazy guy anymore ;^D). Our family highly recommends this spot for families and also for young singles who seemed to gravitate to the 3 fire pits during our visit. We live in Oakland but we'll be back soon and often. read more

We had a fantastic experience here! The setting is lovely, the beer selections are excellent, and the food options are terrific too. A great place to hang out casually with friends or host an event. Staff are super friendly and care about high-quality service. You can't go wrong here! read more

So great to see this beer garden in Berkeley - absolutely one of the best places to take family & friends for food and drink. I've been coming here for years and great to see the revitalized menu and seating areas courtesy of Headlands! read more

The food was delicious and the service was amazing. Everyone was super nice. I enjoyed my time.

went in for the first time during october fest. miguel recomended fest beer and the sausage platter specials, and they were excelent recomendations. atmosphere was great and service was amazing. i will be back!!! read more

OK, similar ambience to the old Westbrae Biergarten though a little more uniform and beige, alas. That probably couldn't be helped as the old place had so much time and wear and tear etc. And they've kept the kids area! There is much to be happy about in having this neighborhood space back. And the beer is still great with plenty of options (though no longer the diverse list you could get before). The people at the taps were super and very friendly. The real achilles heel here (and it is a profound disappointment) is the menu. What happened? It's as if they got catering from the Staten Island Ferry or IKEA - and actually, on reflection, the menu design gives that vibe too. The burgers are really plain, and the even more plain fries are salty sure, but this is a sad reminder of how great the old menu actually was - with their different spicy options. It all used to seem like real food, which sadly is no longer the case. I hope this is just a temporary bandaid as they get running, and feel crappy to give a low star review, but the whole thing just made me miss the old establishment. We will come back for beer, probably. read more