Dunbar Brewing

We stopped in for a beer on the way home and stayed for three! What an awesome spot! Very warm and friendly staff and patrons. Fun wall fridge of beer, many of which are hard to find at local markets. Dunbar’s own brews on tap were my absolute favorite. The peppermint stout is a must have and I’m already bummed it’s only a seasonal treat. Nice bar, comfortable patio, all around great experience! Keep it up Dunbar! You’re a great success!

We stopped here on a beer tour and it was, by far, my favorite stop. Chris, the owner, was such a cool guy and was patient with all my beer questions. I found his place to be fun, welcoming, and warm! Also loved Janelle. She was great at keeping up with all 15 of us who came bombarding in. Yummy yummy beer. Great place!

Absolutely the best microbrew selection in North County. And you can’t beat the comfortable outdoor (and dog-​friendly) patio. Great customer service. The beer-​tenders here really know their stuff. And if nothing on tap catches your fancy, there is a massive selection of bottled microbrews available in a cold case. (Hey riders… there’s plenty of motorcycle parking right in front so you can show off your wheels.)

Best selection of beer. Every week you can find new beers on tab. The beer fridge is like Disneyland for adults. Best place for beer in the hood.

I love this place! My boyfriend introduced me to it about a year ago and I fell in love. When it’s busy it can be a pain to get service or a seat but can’t complain because the beer is damn good! For Christmas we got the SANTAS LITTLE HELPER and boy did that make Christmas Dinner complete! I love the selection of beers you can take home!

Amazed to find a top notch beer bar in a tiny town. About 20 great brews on tap, from lagers to barleywine, and a refrigerator section curated for the connoisseur. Rivals the best beer bars and still feels like a comfy local joint.

What a great find! We were so pleased to find this craft brewery in such a small town! We actually stayed in the city of Santa Margarita (which is TINY) so we were shocked to find this place in town. Good selection. Great customer service. Definitely 5 star worthy.

Friendly knowledgable bartenders with a great rotation of beers on tap and if you don’t find something on tap the refrigerator is sure to satisfy. Great place to meet up with friends on the weekend or week nights.

One of the best, if not the best brewery in the North County. I never thought of Santa Margarita as a place that would have such a gem.

Don’t go there with your beer drinking friends and order wine even though they are in wine country.
This place is run for the enjoyment of the owner and NOT the customer. Die hard beer aficionados will put up with a lot to drink at this place.

We found this little place on the way to no where. It was weird that we could not do a taste of anything before you bought a glass.
It’s ok. Not sure why I can go wine tasting and pay for a flight but can’t taste anything here without buying a glass.

This place is great! Such a nice setting to enjoy a few cold beers and hang with friends. They have a great outdoor seating area with tables and chairs too. The service was outstanding and the bartender was extremely helpful in the beer selection process. Happy Hour was a total score! How can you beat $ 5 a beer?! Extremely satisfied with my experience and will for sure make my way back!

Probably the best place for beer in North County. Sadly I’ve moved to South County, but their selection is fantastic and wide. Nice outdoor patio, clean and cool inside, and about 12 beers on tap, 5 of which you’ve probably never heard of.

We visited Dunbar Brewery after a hike. Small but great atmosphere. Clean and well decorated. They serve a few of their own beers but several other brands of craft beer as well both on tap and bottled. Definitely worth a visit. No food.

The best craft beer experience. Dunbars own production is excellent. He has a constantly changing draft selection for every palate. You can buy craft beer bottles from his cooler at a very competitive price.

This was an unexpected great find! On a trip from Sacramento to Pismo Beach we pulled into Santa Margarita on a mission to find this brewery listed on Unilocal.I wasn’t sure about it because it looked like it was a small town and I was afraid it was going to be a local hangout only and we would be un-​welcomed strangers from out of town walking in. Dunbar Brewing and the locals surprised me. We received great service and hospitality from the owner, Chris and the locals.
I like IPA’s and there weren’t many on tap to choose from that were brewed at the brewery but I enjoyed tasting the other beers and getting away from my usual. Chris spent time with us and explained their beers — he had me curious about the Scottish Heavy. As explained to me «it’s dark brown, smells of dark malt and smoke, tastes like chocolate malt, smoked peat, and a whiff of burnt sugar caramel malts». I couldn’t get used to the taste but I was told that it requires drinking more of it to get a liking for it. Today wasn’t going to be the day.
Ambience–
The brewery is like a cabin in the woods– lots of beautiful wood work inside and out, with outdoor seating in the front. The inside is nicely done. The customers sitting at the bar were friendly, all seemed to know each other and enjoying themselves. Chris helped us out right away. Poured our beer and he told us about the several options of bottled beers sold in the refrigerator section of the bar. It was quite a selection!
Overall–
I’m glad we found this place. I would recommend it to other beer aficionados.

This was the second stop on our SCCBTAT («South Central Coast Brewery Taste-​A-​Thon»). In «downtown» Santa Margarita, just past the feed store and Napa auto parts, we found Dunbar Brewing. The 70s vintage, partly primed & sanded, Chevy pickup in the parking lot told us we were in the right place.
The entrance area is really a «front porch» with a seating area giving you a front row view of the folks heading down to Pozo Saloon for tonight’s concert. Inside, it feels like you’re entering a neighborhood bar. On the right you’ll find an ice box with more than 200 bottled brews with some very impressive names you’re not likely to spot at your local liquor store.
Chris, the owner, was behind his newly installed bar (a beautiful, 15-​foot long plank of Kings County ponderosa pine). He explained he had just recently expanded to this new location and currently had 3 brews on tap. I found it interesting that he also offered other local breweries’ suds on tap, giving visitors a nice sampling of local brews in a single stop.
My favorite was the Scottish Heavy — a porter made from Scottish kiln-​dried hops, known in Scotland as a «wee heavy,» and created in honor of Chris’ father-​in-​law, also the brewery’s namesake. Oatmeal and coffee dominated the flavors of this tasty drink.
Another offering was the Ewok Rye, created in collaboration with Firestone Walker (think little bro of Wookie Jack). By now, we had spotted the trend of Scottish hops and rye which is certain to make its way north very soon!
All in all, a friendly and informative stop. Small selection of proprietor’s beers is made up by the offerings on tap of other local breweries, and the extensive bottled selection. Stop in if you can!
The down & dirty:
Grub & gulps: 3
Setting: 3. Like a neighborhood Cheers.
Service: 4 — Friendly owner behind the bar.
Value: 3
Date worthy: If she enjoys casual biker dive bars, sure.
Bring your dog: Sure!
Wow factor: 3.5 — It’s laid back. This could be a 5 w/​friends.

I LOVE this place. The atmosphere and the beer complete the whole package. They don’t blast music in there, so you can actually hang out and chat with people without loosing your voice the next day. Chris, the owner, is usually around and when he’s not making beer, he’s behind the bar serving his customers and making everyone feel comfortable.
Of course, the main gem in this place is the beer. My family loves this place so much, we asked Chris to provide the beer for our wedding and he did so, personally! So many of our guests complimented Chris and said his porter was the best they’d ever had. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Dunbar’s Scottish Heavy and Oatmeal Stout. Dunbar Brewing is a place you MUST experience.

Although I’ve only been the North County less than a handfull of times, I have a bit of a drinking problem so I’ve been to several dozen bars and brewery in the area. My friends from SLO had just moved to Santa Margarita and a week before I arrived began telling me about this amazing place called Dunbar. Sure, there is no real competition, but that doesn’t mean my friends would give positive reviews to a dump.
Upon arrival I felt both uncomfortable and accepted. Being in a small town in the middle of California feels weird to me, like I didn’t know what to expect– rednecks or beach douches. The crowd at the bar seemed to all be of retirement age and all turned to take a gander at the newcomer when I walked in. Luckily my friends had become regulars in their short time in town (they have drinking problems too) so we weren’t hung by our boxers in the back yard.
After almost enjoying one of their beers (I can’t remember if was a Pale or an IPA) my friend dared me to get the $ 19 bomber of Vodoo beer (banana, chocolate, and some other weird shit). When I brought the giant pink bottle to the bar, everything stopped and laughter erupted. This made me a bit uncomfortable, but within a few minutes we were joking around and I discovered that others had wanted to try the beer but didn’t want to spend the money. I ended up sharing the bomber (which was good at first, but was a bit much after three sips) and making friends with some of the locals.
For the rest of the night (and my subsequent two visits) I drank nothing but Stone’s Enjoy By because it’s such a fantastic beer. The vibe was pretty awesome as we sat outside, joked around, and enjoyed the day.
I don’t know who the owner is, but there were two dudes who were always there. The bearded due in the fatigues who seemed to do most of the non bartending work seemed to be nice enough, although he wasn’t very talkative. I wouldn’t call the bartender a dick, but I certainly wouldn’t say he was a nice dude. He treated us with indifference which is fine, but the thing that really bothered me was when my friend asked for a souvenir Enjoy By glass. My friend spends upwards of $ 100 a week at the joint and the bartender had the balls to charge him $ 5 for the glass. He didn’t complain, but we definitely skimped on the tipping for the next few beers.
All in all, the place was pretty damn awesome. Next time I’m there, I’ll be sitting on the porch enjoying a brew or 17.

Great brewery, fun local patrons. Chris, the owner, is very nice and welcoming.
I tried a couple of their stouts here, including a seasonal chocolate mint stout that was delicious (and a surprise to me, because I’m not a huge mint fan). We came here twice during our SLO/​Paso trip. This is a great locals place, but they made us feel welcome, even though we were visiting. They also had Green Flash West Coast IPA on tap. Yum. They specialize in English/​Scottish ales. Santa Margarita is a cute area to check out, too!