In England, public houses are places to meet friends, tip back pints and watch some football. They are also often places that brew their own beer, specializing in quintessential strong or bitter English ales.
Over the past 20 years, the “brewery pub” concept has taken America by storm. Recently these have taken the form of small brewery taprooms, which are sprouting up all over like so many hoppy weeds. Whether in hard-scrabble Everett or boutique Ballard, breweries not only brew their own beer but specialize in grub to serve families.
Seattle restaurateur John Howie is bringing some class to the public house concept. The recently opened Beardslee Public House in Bothell is a brewery, restaurant and pub. The “scratch-casual” cuisine is made mostly in house with a focus on locally sourced ingredients.
I’ve been waiting for a while to not only try Beardslee’s beers but executive chef Jed Laprade’s food, so I grabbed my friend Chris who lives in Bothell and we paid a visit to the new public house during the Seahawks’ recent Monday Night Football game.
Beardslee is split up into a casual dining restaurant and a pub bar. We wanted to watch the game, so we chose to sit in the bar area, which has a number of flat-screen televisions. It was easy to see the game from nearly every seat in the bar, and we sat at a small table in the corner of the bar.
The bar also has an outdoor seating area — connected to the bar through a large garage door — that has comfortable seats and firepits for large groups and a few smaller tables. The outdoor area was open on the warm October evening we visited, with the garage door sliding down around 8 p.m.
The service was prompt and I ordered a pumpkin ale — regularly $5.50, pints are a happy-hour price of $4 during all Seahawks games — and a few things from the happy hour menu: the hot and soft brewing grain pretzel, russet fries and the chicken liver pate with tart cherries and crostini. The happy hour menu’s nine items, which are mostly from the appetizer menu, range from $3 to $7, or about half the regular price.
Chris arrived shortly after I ordered and the food wasn’t far behind. We dove in. The pretzel was just what you’d expect, but the smoked gouda sauce that accompanied it took it to another level. The russet fries were a tad run-of-the-mill, but the chicken liver pate, which isn’t something I’d normally order, was really good. Our server suggested it and we were glad. The pate was flavorful, with the cherries providing the right amount of pop.
Beardslee’s assistant brewer and certified cicerone — think sommelier for beer — Paige Zahnle has worked hard to pair all of the beers on the menu with food offerings. The pretzel was paired with the Sasquatch Cascadian Dark Ale, so I ordered that next. (It was a spot-on pairing, and the CDA was very good.)
Since I had invited him, my friend had texted me “meat candy” every time I mentioned Beardslee. Because of our purely plutonic friendship, I was perplexed by these texts but chalked them up to his excitement for Monday Night Football.
I was way off. He was professing his love for Beardslee’s meat candy dish ($9), which is grilled Kalbi pork jerky. A little smokey and a little sweet, it was divine and was paired perfectly with the Four Ginger IPA.
Next up, we ordered the Speck &Egg hand-tossed pizza ($13) and some more meat. On the suggestion of our server, we went with the two-sausage sampler ($14), choosing the spicy Italian and garlic chicken over the bratwurst and hot link (sausages are $9 individually). All of the sausages are made in house and the two we ordered were great. The garlic chicken was cooked perfectly and had a lot of flavor, while the spicy Italian was a nice mix of heat and earthy spice.
As for the pizza, it was a strong finish to the night. The egg is over easy and dropped in the middle, so that when you cut the pizza it infuses the entire middle with a nice runny yolk. The yolk goes well with the speck, arugula and parmigiano reggiano cheese, and we both agreed that the crust was perfect, chewy enough to fold without losing the nice crunch.
Chris and his wife had visited Beardslee the week before, dining in the restaurant portion. He said they ordered the halibut fish and chips ($17) and the prime beef burger ($9.50/$12.50 double patty), adding that the burger was good if not great and that the fish and chips, crispy outside and flaky flavorful fish inside, was the highlight of the night — well, apart from the meat candy.
Beardslee is centered around its beer offerings, but it also has a number of house-made cocktails, ranging from $6 to $11, and glass pours of red and white wines, as well as three bruts.
Beardslee Public House
19116 Beardslee Boulevard, Bothell, 425-286-1001, www.beardsleeph.com
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday; Bar is open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday. Happy Hour is 3 to 6 p.m. every day
Alcohol: Full bar, including 12 beers on tap (see Page 8)
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