Tuesday 18th of August 2009 07:04:17 PM

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The pub is pretty cool, and is on a street with quite a few hip shops and what nots. I really don't know Tacoma at all, but this seemed like a neat area. The inside takes on an alpine skiing type theme, which kinda works, kinda doesn't. Seating seemed adequate, and there were a variety of booths, high tops, tables, and the bar.

Tried tasters of the beers, and most sat in the "eh it's drinkable and doesn't particularly suck" category. I had the ESB, and would order it again if I were to find myself there again. They had a vanilla bean porter, which like every and all vanilla bean porters I've ever had, is really not as good as it sounds. I think this is a specialty I'm just done trying.

We ordered the "bucket of sausage" which disappointingly came on a plate. The bucket was in all honesty part of the appeal, so I was kind of bummed. We also shared a hummus plate between the three of us. I asked the waitress upon the arrival of our hummus plate if the cheese was feta or goat, and she replied "feta cheese IS goat cheese!" Which I'm sorry is not accurate. It turned out to be feta though... which is really a remarkably uninteresting little tidbit... but i digress.

Harmon doesn't do anything particularly bad or amazingly. But it's a pretty standard brewpub with the standard offerings. Worth checking out if you're a brewery enthusiast or are just in the area.

Friday 5th of June 2009 12:04:36 AM

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One of two places in Tacoma I stopped at. Harmon was certainly... large. While not bad it was not particularly memorable either.

There were about six beers on tap and we had a party of six. Between our tasters and beers we tried just about everything. None were bad but all of them lacked any distinctive character. They passed as simply serviceable beers, yet you can get much better beer for the same price elsewhere.

The atmosphere was crowded and loud. We were there late on a Saturday afternoon. They had a band playing (not sure if that's regular) and a very large, very full establishment in which everyone was trying to talk over the band and each other. Not a particularly relaxing or enjoyable situation. I would hope it can't always be like that.

The service was acceptable; nothing to complain about, nothing endearing about it either.

I didn't try their food but some of my companions did. They said it was average quality pub food at an average price.

Though at the time I wanted to try something new... in hindsight, If the Ram in Tacoma is like the Ram in Boise (that is to say very good), I would rather have gone to the Ram than Harmon by a wide margin.

Friday 5th of September 2008 05:18:57 PM

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A tad off the freeway in Tacoma, but was not too hard to find. A huge open space and this was a typical bricked brew pub with pub food. Great place I liked it and the skiing flair was awesome. The food was good pub food and the fries are to go back for. The service was not too bad and the beers where flowing. Parking is tight so that can be hard to find during busy times. Back to the beers they had 12 taps flowing and I had the sampler it was the same mix as most places with a few others added. The Barley wine late in the year was odd but sure was good. If you have someone that is into cocktails they have a full bar loaded with all flavors. I will be back.

Friday 20th of June 2008 12:51:47 PM

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You will notice the silo as you walk-up. This is a nice location near Union Station, the University and the museums.

I like the outside community tables near the entrance. Unfortunately, it was only 57 in mid-June...

The bar is on your right as you enter. It seats about 20. they have a good selection of small and large tables in the bar area. The picnic table must seat about 12!

They offer 5 regular beers and 2 specials. The beers ran from ok (the ESB) to very good (the vanilla porter).

The menu is pretty standard with pizzas, burgers, fish and chips and that west coast favorite fish tacos.

The Food came very quickly and was no more than average (and that’s generous). I wonder if they prepare a lot in advance as it was out less than 10 minutes after I ordered.

The soundtrack is a nice mix of modern and classic rock.

Bar Service is fine if a bit slow and they will give samples.

I liked the Rock Pizza place up the hill better.

Wednesday 20th of February 2008 07:13:28 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

Harmon started out as a real gem of a joint. The selection of beer was pretty diverse, you could find one that was to your liking. In general, the quality was in the 4.25 to 4.5 range and you could afford to buy their beer by the pony or regular keg. On top of that, their "pub" food was very good, especially their garlic cheese fries - my kids favorite item.

Then they were "discovered" about two years ago and things started to fall apart - as far as I'm concerned, so did their new clientele. The beer went slightly weak (now about 3.5 to 3.75, production quality is not consistent), and just as importantly, the "real" garlic cheese fries disappeared from the menu.

It's worth it for quick weekday evening dinner, but forget about lunch and the weekends because it's way too busy.

Monday 26th of November 2007 05:53:21 PM

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Harmon Brewery is in the old downtown section of Tacoma, a 6-block area full of turn-of-the-century brick buildings with faded ads on the walls and lots of history. It's on the main street so parking is extremely difficult and expensive as it's also close to a University of Washington extension campus. This brewpub announces that they "love big groups" and they must because the restaurant overpowers when you enter.
Long tables with benchs, booths, a dozen(+) bar stools, two-fer tables the size of a bus steering wheel, no matter how many in your party, they can accomodate.
That plus free peanuts from a barrel and beer merchandise, how can you go wrong?
Unfortunately, they do. As any pub grows, the quality of their product seems to suffer and I suspect that is the case here. Harmon offers 10 ales including the necessary IPA, Pale Ale, Hefe, and Blonde. They also produce a reasonable Puget Sound Porter, an ESB, a Kolsch none of which stand out as a unique beer. For me, most were simply lagers with a slight twist or, as one brewer put it, "same beer, different color" except their Marionberry Ale. We here in the Pacific NW pride ourselves on the marionberry, a tart purplish fruit with a hint of sweetness un-like its rasp & blackberry cousins. But in a beer? A wine spritzer, maybe but this little devil was akin to drinking watery jam.
Still, the place was crowded early on a Saturday afternoon with plenty of families enjoying a full and varied menu of salads, soups, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, etc.
Three miles up the road, in a smaller business section is Engine House #9. For my dollar, better beer, better character, better service, better place.