Starr Brothers Brewing Company — Restaurant in Albuquerque

I give this place a solid 3 stars. One star for having waitresses and waiters that try their best to provide decent service. One star for the environment. They have a great patio and have the best energy and love for local soccer teams. You just have to show up early to get a seat because it becomes standing room only very quickly during watch parties. The third star ties into the environment. The companies support for the soccer scene is unmatched by any other brewery or bar in New Mexico.

They lose one star for food and management. I've given this location multiple chances, the same for any place I visit because we all have our off days. Unfortunately this place let me down 3 out of 4 times.

The first time we were asked to leave because they couldn't serve anyone not at a table but apparently is not a problem with other guests when there is standing room only.

The second time our group was prepared and showed up early. We got a table and ordered our food. Unfortunately, I ordered a carne adovada burrito that came out cold like it was served right out of a refrigerator. The server told me the kitchen does make the carne adovada before service starts and then stores it in the refrigerator. I just didn't end up eating as I was cautious of getting sick from partially heated up food.

The third time we came hours before a NM United match to watch a UFC event broadcasted on the same ESPN+ subscription required to broadcast the NM United match. The server then told us the internet was having issues and we would not be able to watch the event. Then about 5 minutes later the manager came and told us they do not have ESPN+. I then became concerned with their ability to broadcast the NM United match and shared this info with some friends. Then after some phone calls from friends and a reply from a person associated with the brewery we were told that these excuses were lies and that the internet is not an issue and that the brewery has a subscription to ESPN+. By the time the truth came out I had already streamed the UFC event (free to anyone with an ESPN+ subscription) on my phone and was getting prepared to watch the NM United match. The issue that irritated me the most was that the management was willing to lie instead of telling us a legitimate reason for not broadcasting a free event on ESPN+.

After being lied to about their ability to broadcast events then being lied to about their standing room only serving policy and then being served cold food I couldn't rate this place more than 3 stars. Although they do support soccer, have unmatched energy during watch parties, and their servers work hard dispite seeming to always being short handed. Which is why they still deserve 3...

Update 2020: We learned that the owner is anti-mask (and science)...and that significantly worries us about their health practices. So, we do not have any plans to return to this brew pub until covid-19 is no longer a problem. We have downgraded by one star given their unfortunate response to public health mandates.

The post made on the owners' Facebook page (now deleted) is also worrying (reported on KRQE website): "After Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she has stopped all dine-in services at restaurants and breweries because of a spike in COVID-19 cases, the owner of Starr Brothers Brewing Company in Albuquerque lashed out on his personal Facebook page.

The post has since been deleted but a screen shot was sent to KRQE News 13 and it said:

This is an open plea to US Attorney General William Barr. We as business owners, specifically restaurant owners, are subject to a tyrannical Governor here in the State of New Mexico. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared war on the hospitality industry in New Mexico. We have no protection from this issue. There is no science to back her ludicrous decisions. We are not the problem but she continues to TARGET us. I encourage all NM restaurant owners to immediately stop paying ANYONE!! DO NOT pay your vendors, do not pay your bills, do not pay your taxes… certainly don’t pay any State of NM taxes!! Share the pain with everyone! Make a photocopy of your invoices and send them to our poor excuse of a Governor! Band together business owners!

Mr. Barr!!! We need help here!! We have a rogue Governor who’s ruining lives!!! HELP!!!!!

If you care about local business, jobs and just people in this state please share!!!! We can’t lie down and stand for this!!!

Business owner, Father, Veteran, Patriot"

Original: Fun, friendly and lively environment in a hip, industrial setting. This is definitely a neighborhood brew pub on the NE side of town that has taken off. Whether you like beer, you like sports, you like good food, or you just want a local place to take the kids on a Sunday afternoon, this is the place. Beer is well above average, and most menu items are very good. (Caveats: can get chilly during off-peak times, tempura vegetables are not recommended). It's our regular go-to and we give it a...

Edit: We ended up going on a Thursday evening, when the UNM Women's Soccer team was there, and the manager, Kyle, ended up waiting our table. He was exceptional on his service. I hope others can follow in his footsteps. Downside, the kitchen ran slow that night due to radio interviews in the kitchen? It was odd. Otherwise we'll see if everything improves and give it another shot or two.

To start on a positive note, the burgers here are one of the best in town. The beer is mediocre. But the service is what I'm disappointed in the most. My significant other an I have been here a few times, and it was on 'slower' nights. The service was decent, but nothing to rave about during those nights. We took a chance after reading past reviews on their service, and unfortunately, it has not improved. On Friday night at 7:00pm, they were relatively busy, and we decided to take our dog to the patio and enjoy dinner. When circling the parking lot, we noticed there was one table open on the patio and hoped for the best that it would still be open once we walked up - it sure was, and it still wasn't cleaned. We sat down and within twenty minutes, two servers had circled the area, another table next to us had to stop a waiter to take their order as she mentioned "we still haven't put our order in", and we were not even acknowledged (with water, a simple hello, or even the table being cleaned). How do two servers miss two brand new faces and with a new dog on the patio, as well as not address a table at all? The service hasn't improved. We did tell the floor manager so hopefully (highly doubtful) something will change at this...