Friday 17th of February 2017 01:05:00 PM

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Wife Persimmon and I left our Washington home in 2011, traveling south to California and a new life as beach bums.

5 years later, we sold everything, piled what we needed into our little red Jeep and set off to see the country.

Little did we know that 6 months later, we'd find ourselves back in the Pacific NW visiting old "haunts."

Bill's is on that list.

We stayed in Cannon Beach for a coupla of days (all we could afford!) and went to Bill's more than once. At that time, it was the only brewpub around...and it hasn't changed.

Dining and family area is to the left as you enter, bar on the right.

Most reviews on other travel sites (TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.) tend to give this place good "press", not great.

Wish I could concur but, nope!

Each and every time we've been here, the service has been adequate at best. Bartenders seem more interested in their conversation with the cook. No "Hello's", no smile, no "take a seat anywhere" or "I'll be right with you's."

The beers are varied but none of them offer up in character. Bland is the best way to describe them.

Then there are the prices. This is Cannon Beach, a popular tourist spot in summer but the prices reflect that, year-round.

Several of these reviews on other sites also tout it as the "best place on the coast." It's not. Simply put, if you're looking for better beer, try Seaside in Seaside...Hondo's in Astoria...even little Yachats brewing has better brews.

Cannon Beach...locals call it CanNot Beach.

Take a hint

Tuesday 15th of February 2011 03:36:57 PM

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Bill's Tavern and Brewhouse has a nice welcoming feel. There are plenty of tourists but it still has some local sensibility. The beers are well made, though it is a fairly conventional early American craft beer ale lineup. Several guest beers help to pad out the range. On our visit, there were five house-brewed beers (Asa's Premium Blonde, Blackberry Beauty, Duck's Dive Pale Ale, Ruby's Red, and Ragsdale Porter) as well as four guest beers (Guiness, Trumer Pils, Ninkasi Oatmeal Stout, and Green Flash West Coast IPA).

The outside looks like a dark brown shingled beach house with a decent but small front deck. Dining is available here in the summer. Inside on the right is the bar area and on the left is a dining area. The bar area has a tall wooden peaked ceiling with multiple skylights and there are extensive windows on two sides. Under the windows are booths made of light colored wood and the rest of the room is filled with small circular wooden tables and chairs. On one side is a nice cast iron stove (lit during winter). Opposite the stove is a light wood bar that runs along the interior wall. The bar has swiveling red padded stools with backs and a metal foot rail. The bar back is an art-deco-like curved black plastic structure with mirrors and aluminum stripes (looks nicer than it sounds!). Decorations include three fascinating modern carved wooden masks, the old painted beer sign for the pub, and assorted beer paraphernalia. The brewery is in a small space between the bar and the dining areas.

Growler refills are available. Parking is on the street or city parking lots (and it can get quite crowded at times).

Tuesday 15th of September 2009 08:55:33 PM

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We had the opportunity to stop at Bill's Tavern for lunch on September 10th. I tried the sampler which consisted of 7 beers. They had an American Session Ale, Foggy Notion Weissbier, Duckdive Pale Ale, Rudy's Red, Evil Twin IPA, Ragsdale Porter, and the 2 x 4 Stout. All were good beers but the Duckdive Pale Ale stood out. The food was very good, typical pub food but they also had fresh seafood on the menu. Service was ok; I thought it was in line with their relaxed laid back atmosphere. We were in no hurry so it didn't bother me.

Friday 3rd of October 2008 02:53:44 AM

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The first thing you see upon entering is that if you are under 21 you go left so to a certain extent it’s family friendly. We went right and found the bar in the center of the building with the brew room located above it. The remainder of the relatively small room is mostly table seating. We never made it into the other dining room but from the posted pictures, it was a bit more colorful. There were 3 house standards on tap when we visited (the Stout I’d found at Warren House was missing) as well as 5 guest beers (including 3 imports). I went with the Duckdive pale ale which was good with my casual dinner. The menu consisted of mostly pub fare and our waiter wasn't very attentive. We found parking on the street but there is off street parking nearby as it is a popular tourist shopping area.