Steins Beer Garden Bubbles Up in Mountain View

Steins
895 Villa St., Mountain View
Web: steinsbeergarden.com
Phone: (650) 963-9568
Status: Opened yesterday

Downtown Mountain View has a massive new beer destination: Steins, from owner Ted Kim and chef Colby Reade, opened its doors last night with a big ribbon-cutting featuring Mountain View mayor John Ink, and did over 1,000 covers in the first evening, proof that Mountain View's hordes of moneyed young tech workers definitely present a niche to be filled in the area. The enormous 300-seat space (with a 12,000-square-foot interior) features custom communal tables in addition to two- and four-tops, while the 4,000-square-foot patio is perfect for outdoor beer-garden shenanigans.

Reade's menu is heavy on American comfort fare like soft pretzels, short-rib sliders, fried chicken and waffle sandwiches, burgers, and grilled cheese with tomato bisque. A handful of larger plates include roasted game hen with polenta and grilled black sea bass with lentils, and prices are reasonable, with nothing topping $20. Check out the opening menu here.

On the beer side, Steins features 30 taps, with a heavy emphasis on West Coast breweries like Lost Abbey, Stone, North Coast, and Linden Street, as well as some Belgian, Japanese, and German brews; taps will rotate seasonally. There's also a full bar with light cocktails like a beer-garden cooler and a pisco punch, and a selection of California and New Zealand wines. We're guessing that this is going to become one of the bigger after-work drinks hangouts in the area, if the local engineers can be pried away from the gratis kegerators that usually already come with the territory. Opening hours are Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-11 pm, and Friday-Saturday, 11 am-11:30 pm.
· Steins Beer Garden Headed to Mountain View [~ ESF ~]