Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery

• Since 1994
  
• Happy Hour 3-6 Daily,                 10pm – close Fri/Sat

• Open 11AM – Close Daily
  
• 320 Commercial Ave, Anacortes, WA
  
  

Click to enlarge rockfish.

Anacortes has plenty of fine choices for food and drink whose alluring names always draw me in: Adrift, Brown Lantern, Gere-a-Deli, Frida’s…the list goes on and on. There is only one brewery though, and I am pleased to report that it is a good one. The name ain’t bad either: Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery.

What, you ask, is a rockfish anyhow? Based on the Grill’s weekly live music offerings, we might suspect that it has something to do with rock 'n' roll. And a rather angry looking orange fish. Here’s what an online dictionary has to say about the matter: “Any of various fishes living among rocks”. That’s nice, but I still prefer to think of it as a grumpy fish wearing headphones, rocking out to B52’s “Rock Lobster”. Anyways…

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Beyond its beer, grumpy fish logo, and live music offerings, Rockfish is known for its sponsorship of Anacortes Oktoberfest – Bier on the Pier. This event draws a sizable crowd down at the Historic Port of Anacortes Warehouse with 30 breweries in attendance. Anacortes Brewery brews a special Oktoberfest beer in time for the festival each year. According to their website, the beer is “lagered for six weeks in one of Washington's most authentic cold storage cellars.” We tried some at the fest last year and it is legitimate.

After a day of hiking among Anacortes’ many fine trails, we stopped by Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery for happy hour. It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon in July and there were several staff members on hand to assist us. Anacortes’ most celebrated beer is perhaps its IPA, rated “outstanding” by reviewers on Beer Advocate. We aren’t big hop-heads (astonishing for Pacific Northwesterners, right?) so we opted for something a little lower on the IBU scale. Brandon ordered a Pale Ale and Rachel took an Amber; both were good examples of their respective style.

The happy hour food menu contains a variety of pub fare staples: wings, nachos, fries, mini pizzas, and fish tacos. All can be had for $4 or less. The wood-fired pizza is delicious and you can see your pizza roasting in Rockfish Grill’s brick oven from the bar. Our food arrived quickly and was enjoyed immensely. Thank you, Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery. We will be back.

Tostada, pale ale, wood-fired pizza, amber.

Rockfish Grill & Anacortes Brewery is our preferred Brewhub for Anacortes and Fidalgo Island, including the following hikes:

• Rosario Head – Lighthouse Point
  
• Whistle Lake
  
• Sugarloaf Mountain