Fieldwork San Mateo — Restaurant in San Mateo

Good beer, although it does rotate almost too frequently which can be frustrating. We moved here from the east coast and discovered this place close to us. We love the fact that your outside, there is lots of tables, and heat lamps for chilly nights. Beer is priced reasonably. The sours here are pretty tasty usually, I like the darker beers (morning time, Mexican hot chocolate), and the hazy IPAs. Aside from those they usually have some English style ales, and other IPA selections. Food selection is minimal, I really wish they would expand. Roam burgers just moved in across the way so that’s huge.

Now we have been here, maybe 5-6 times and never had an issue with service. Although slow sometimes due to the fact you can’t order at the bar, I never felt strong enough to complain. Came here on a Saturday night in December with friends who were visiting from out of town. We told the, how much we loved it here and after the RUDE service we received, our friends were very confused.

5 of us sat at a table and decide we would share a flight before ordering to make sure everyone e got one they liked. The waiter who came over seemed preoccupied (not that busy), told me the “way I wrote my flight card was too confusing”... sorry I had friends that both wanted to taste the same beer. So we order and then another server brings over the one beer my boyfriend ordered, not before completely spilling all over my friend and I’s arm. We asked for napkins since YOU JUST SPILLED ON US and didn’t even notice or apologize. Large puddle on the table also...he then makes sure to tell us “next time you can get your own napkins at the bar” awful customer service. Next guy SLAMS our flight down and doesn’t say which beer is which. Then hesitant to stay and give them our business, we ordered another one simply because there arent many other places to go out in San Mateo (even in a Saturday). You could the. Tell they were over compensating and trying to be overly nice, or fake however you see it we were already not happy with the service. There was a group of people celebrating a birthday next to us and they seemed a little put off by the service also.

CLOSING TIME: so online says closes at 10. We got there around 7:30/8 no problem right? Wrong. At 8:50/9pm they ran around loudly stacking benches so people would not come in and sit. Turned off the fires and heat lamps and announced final call. Never have I been to a bar that did last call AN HOUR before close. Ridiculous there were still lots of people here enjoying their beers. They claimed it was because of winter hours and it was “dying down”... the birthday party next to us was not amused either. Not sure which group of staff was working, but they should bring the other staff/summer people back because these people made one of our favorite beer places unenjoyable.

Lengthy review but had to share...beer gets 4/5 stars, while the service...

Ok. I don't usually give poor ratings but tonight something happened that was so infuriating - I have to bring it up.

Background: a friend and I had 3 rounds of drinks, so consider us well paying customers. The place is amazing. The vibe is cool. The beer is excellent. The service is awesome. But here is when it went down hill:

It was 11 pm on a Wednesday night. We didn't notice we stayed to talk 1 hour past closing. Like I said - everything was great thus far.

We got up to leave and needed to use the restroom (3 rounds of beer...). We walked toward where the 3 servers were sitting and one of the guys asked me "can I help you?" I explained that we're looking for the bathroom. He pointed to the structure behind us and I politely thanked him and we walked over. The bathrooms were locked. We asked him if he could open them up for us and he said that he couldn't because they closed an hour ago. We asked politely again if he could open them up for just a few seconds, and he refused.

What a horrible move done by a person that understands little about customer service (light hair guy with glasses). A) he shouldn't have sent us to the bathrooms knowing fully well that they were locked; B) he could have let us in, given that he and 2 other servers were still there hanging out and having drinks.

This is not a way to treat...

I never thought I was a “beer person” until I tried Fieldwork’s beer. My favorite is their sour kettle ale “parfait” series, which are always super refreshing and smooth - perfect for a warm summer day. (The Orange Parfait tastes like melted creamsicle!) This beer garden location is a great spot to meet up with friends for happy hour, and features bench-style seating, and a system where you can order food from ROAM burger (located across the street) and have it be brought to you while you’re enjoying your drinks.

In COVID times: Fieldworks offers online ordering, where you can reserve certain beers for pick up or local delivery (check their location’s site to see what their “local delivery” area is). I’ve been using this feature a lot lately, because it’s so convenient, and you can arrange for your beer for pick up same-day. Pro tip: if you follow @fieldworkbrewing_sanmateo on Instagram, you can see which new beer selections are available and reserve a crowler or 4-packs online (to pick up/deliver) before they run out.

Note: If you are craving their beer and live outside of the “local delivery” area, you can still have beer delivered to you via a separate route. Either way, you will be able to get their beers...