Bear Cave Brewing — Restaurant in Hopkins

With established breweries like LTD and Unmapped so close you better have something special to offer. Bear Cave doesn’t. The only positive is their outdoor space.

The beer is just OK, but my issue is the expectation of gratuity. If you’ve never been here the premise is you get a wrist band and then it’s self serve. You have to stand in line for a long period of time to get a band and associate it with your credit card. Just the process of doing the transaction and not the waiting in line is twice as long as any other brewery to order, pour, and charge you for the beer.

When you’re done, they have drop boxes for the wrist bands, but if you drop them it’s an automatic 20% gratuity added. The bands are for beer only (food is a separate transaction processed on your phone) so literally for the staff to do nothing but wash and restock glasses… You can return your band to the check-in counter and choose how much to tip, but you have to go to the end of the line where everyone is getting a band (which, as previously stated, is a dreadfully slow process for them).

You would think that with the idea of self-serve beer, that would allow them to add more staff to do the check-in process, but it appears they use this as just a way to save on labor costs. I only saw one person doing check-ins and one person restocking glasses and otherwise standing around.

It has the best and largest patio I have seen of any in the west metro, and the upstairs deck adds to the already amazing outdoor space. However, with a south facing patio, a little more shade could be added. They had 5 umbrellas and a mostly ineffective pergola at the time I went. The interior space on the lower level is horrible for parties larger than 4 to just drop in. It’s not designed for adaptability. I can’t speak for the upstairs area as I didn’t go up. Honestly, I didn’t know there was an upstairs until I came here to post a review.

All in all, It’s a good idea that is being poorly executed. If you’re going for outdoor atmosphere I’d recommend it. If you’re going for beer, I’d suggest getting a better beer at LTD or Unmapped and bring it home. It’s still self-serve and you’ll have...

I found this spot to be mediocre. It definitely has a great atmosphere with plenty of tables, including multiple patios, but that's where my accolades stop.

I walked inside and went straight upstairs to meet friends on the patio. I didn't realize you need to get your "drink card" on the main floor, but thankfully a nice employee upstairs was able to start my tab and get me a drink card. Having someone greeting people at the front would be helpful.

Considering all the drink taps available I didn't find anything that I would drink again. I started with the Bear Cave strawberry seltzer -- it was DISGUSTING. I've tried many seltzers and we all agreed it didn't taste good. It seemed like the majority of the beer options were IPAs or Stouts which didn't appeal to me. The lighter/fruity options were mid.

The taps flow fast and turn off even more quickly -- I couldn't get a full pour due to significant heady pours (possibly operator error). The tap area was significantly small and people were constantly walking behind me. I was trying to create a flight (loved the flight holders) but everytime I turned around someone was right behind me. I was afraid i would drop a glass.

The food menu is limited and mediocre with limited appetizers available. We ordered the chips and dip (my favorite dish -- the dip was really tasty), the dry garlic parmesean bread aka half a sauce free cheese pizza that needed a side of marinara, the margie pizza and market pizza. Considering their slogan is "come for the beer stay for the food" there was nothing impressive about the $15-20 pizzas. Since you order via QR code we were unable to ask for a side of marinara because it's not on the menu.

Something they can't control that SUCKED was the parking situation -- multiple street closures nearby limited street parking options and made it very difficult to find a spot. Thankfully street parking is free.

I'll probably...

While the parking is a bit of a nightmare, this place is easy to find. The entrance is a bit crammed since it takes a moment for people to get set up with the payment system and go on their way.

Once inside, I here are three levels to the place and a rooftop and ground level patio! So while it is seat-yourself, there are plenty of tables.

The ordering system for food is neat since it's all by phone. You scan a QR code for the menu and order and pay from there. Service is fast since it's brick oven pizza, it cooks real quick.

Pizza (obviously) and salads are the menu items. The pizzas we had were a plain cheese, and then a cheese pizza with SE fancier cheeses. The menu was kind of confusing and didn't really explain well what was on each dish. That's how we ended up with two cheese pizzas, albeit two different ones.

The pizzas are the star here and tastes really amazing. The salad we had was little weird (honey glazed crickets anyone?) And while it was really good, we'd have liked more "stuff" in it as it felt like the salad was mostly arugula and dressing.

Beer is a rotating selection of guest taps as well as Bear Cave's own beers. Their own hazy IPA and india pale lager were amazing. Since it's pour your own and pay by the ounce, you can try as much or as little as you like. They also have a great selection of harz seltzer, a couple of wines, and even some NA options.

We really liked this place. The atmosphere was great, fast paced and open but also felt a little intimate, either way very friendly. The food is really good but as far as it goes I would just stick...