Dempsey’s Restaurant & Brewery

I hate to do this, I really do since I LOVE this place, but last time I was here I had a less than great experience with their food.
I had gotten the Cuban sandwich, something that I have gotten in the past an really liked. Unfortunately when I got the sandwich there wasn’t much meat on it and what little meat there was on it had clearly been old as it was dry and tasted burnt. I ended up eating it, even if it didn’t taste great, but regretted it after eating about one third of it. I tried to complain to one of the staff, who was seriously trying to defend it. I said that it was burnt tasting and she’s like «No, it’s supposed to be like that!». Again, I’ve had this before and I know what it’s suppose to taste like. But even though I had complained she pretty much ignored me and cleared the table of the food. Apparently it was a mistake to let her take the food away because by time the waitress came to our table and we complained to her she said there wasn’t anything she could do for us since we had already finished. (even though I had barley touched my food.) THEN that first lady that was defending my sandwich came back over and showed me a Cuban sandwich that she was serving to another table, saying «See, it’s supposed to look like this.» and my response was «Yes, that IS how it’s suppose to look, and that is NOT how MY sandwich looked. Mine had less meat and looked/​tasted dry and burnt.» To which she ignored and continued to say «No, it’s suppose to look like this.» (in other words she wasn’t listening to a word I was saying, just insistent that the food was the way it was supposed to be)
This is sad, because as I have said I have been to this restaurant many times in the past and their food has always been great. I don’t know what happened this time but the experience has left such a bad taste in my mouth that I have no desire to go here again any time soon.

Love Dempsey’s. Been here many times. Just had the pizza for the first time. Delicious. Loved the crust. I’m pleasantly stuffed. Service was great. Good friendly chill atmosphere.

The cheeseburger was really, really good and perfectly cooked. The salad was delicious and garlicky and the sweet potato fries were tasty and not too greasy.
The beers were… eh. Really astringent with booze and not a ton of actual flavor. Good, but not great.

We came for a beer sampler, and some light snacks — the prezels, salad with lemon vinegarette and the pizza of the day last week.
The food is always solid. I really enjoy their pizzas and the crust is a delight. The dressing on the salad is something I dream about.
The beers are OK. I appreciate the variety and the quantity of the sampler choices, although I can say they aren’t my favorite, but they are solid, and the stout is always good for a glass with my meal.
The outdoor seating is nice. The indoor is comfy.
Service is hit or miss. Sometimes it can be slow, and the service still isn’t very prompt, other times it can be slammed and you can have a great attentive experience. My advice is, when in doubt it seems to help if you are sitting at the bar, which is great, unless you want to be out watching the people on the river, and then in that case, take your chance with the service.

Finally a place where I font feel like I am the oldest person there. I dont really like their beer much and since Taps opened the crowd there is more fun.
Still a nice quite place to take you folks for lunch no matter how old you are.

They now have an area on their patio for dogs! Yay! It’s mostly nice and shaded for them too.

My fall-​back place for when no one can decide where to go. Parking lot, check. Outdoor seating, check. Family friendly, check.
It’s good. Not great. I’m super excited for barleywine season, though! That’s really excellent!

This brewery/​restaurant has a pleasant, dog-​friendly and shady patio right by the riverside. The food is great, but appetizers can add up ($).
The service here is pleasant but slow. We did need to ask for utensils, so don’t stop if in a hurry or very particular about efficiency. That’s the one star less than perfect.

I came here with my parents on a Friday, the day before the 4^th of July. We were all kind of grumpy and really hungry because we were on the road for 3 ½ hours for what would normally be a 50 minute drive due to traffic from people heading out of town for the holiday weekend. My mom had been here before and said eating would help our moods (duh). We got there and could hear the live music from across the river, which was really nice.
We went in, unsure if we should eat inside or out but the lovely girl at the front recommended outside for the music and views, and that if we got cold we could always go inside. Our waiter was really nice too, very friendly and patient, and laughed at my dorky dads jokes even if they made no sense (if you’re reading this, host sir, we don’t understand him half the time too!) I ordered the pizza with spicy sausage and provolone cheese. I’m not a fan of provolone cheese, and the sausage wasn’t spicy in my opinion, but it was still delicious and a perfect size. My mom got the Cuban sandwich and loved it! My dad was weary of getting the burger since some people said it was small on Unilocal,but he did anyway (without cheese but with mushrooms). He realllly liked it and said the meat was tender and juicy. The fries he got were delicious too, and my mom and I «helped» him finish them. Then we shared the strawberry cobbler, which we asked to have heated up, and it was delicious as well. Overall, great experience with friendly staff, yummy food, and fair prices.
To the hostess, who was working around 6 I think and I overheard that you were having a bad day, you were awesome and I know from experience on customer service that people can be jerks, so keep your chin up!

Well, I keep coming back for the outdoor patio. This time I ordered the Curry Chicken. It was great and just the right kick to it. It was soup like with rice and veggies. Hopefully, they will put it on the menu since it was a special of the day.
I guess they allow dogs inside the patio now. It was dog heaven.
I still have some small issues with the food but service, atmosphere, and great beers bring me back. You just can’t beat the view of the river and watching every walk of life cross over the bridge. I’m giving a 4 cause just don’t know if my dish is going to be worth it.

We had the Rehearsal dinner for our son’s wedding this last weekend here for 55 people. Burnadette Burrell and her staff were excellent. We had family from as far away as South Africa and Zimbabwe. Many of our guests were vegetarian. Burnadette put together a menu to please everyone. Katie, the manager, and the staff were so attentive. They set up the whole thing with the help of the florist, right down to lighting 40 votives! Staff smiling and very accomodating. The whole evening went very smoothly. The guests all raved about their meals. Good wine and of course good beer!
I could not be happier. Thank you! Burnadette.

My family loves this place. Great beer. Outdoor seating. View of the river. Great service always. Love the kids menu. Love the salads. Love the specials – kinda bored w the regular menu except for the Caesar and pizzas. Comfortable wood booths. I recall that they used to be very ‘farm to table’ ‘sourcing locally’ but I do t see those words used anymore. Not organic although I swear they used to make a point of talking about their ingredients so I guess that got too pricey. It’s not cheap. Out family never gets out for less than $ 100 for dinner.

OK, LOVED the French fries here. They are only second to the sterile perfection of McDonald’s. They are seriously addicting. Dempsey’s makes their own root beer, that was terrific! It was only $ 2, so I could see coming back here for a plate of fries and a root beer!
I got a hamburger, and it was pretty good. Not the best, not the worst. Oh boy, hubby had a bad «sausage experience.» Ugh, it got him in a really bad mood, and I had to deal with it the rest of the day. The sausage sandwich special was served on the thickest hard baguette type roll, and no one could get their mouth around it. Plus, the menu said the bread was toasted, and it was RAW. Dempsey’s definitely need to rethink their bread situation with the sausage or hot dogs. Use something soft, use something proportional to the size of the dog for god’s sake.
Next time I’m in Petaluma, fries and root beer at Dempsey’s!

I’ve lived in Petaluma all my life and just tried Dempsey’s for the first time on St. Patrick’s day. It was awesome! I had a really good burger and my girl had mussels and some beer I never heard of that she really liked. Now I’m not sure why I walked passed so many times but never stopped in…

Standard pub fare with a «California twist.» I had veggie tacos, which were made with chunks of grilled tofu and portabella mushrooms.
They brew their own beer, which is solid (not outstanding but solid).
I recommend going on a sunny day and sitting on their porch, with a view of the Petaluma River. The view itself is worth the visit!

I wanted to like this place, but it’s just not for me. I have been here multiple times, and they haven’t been able to cook a hamburger the way I order it, and the fries are just ok. Since I am not a beer drinker, there isn’t much left for me. A lot of people love this restaurant and more power to them. It’s located on the river and is within walking distance from downtown.

The food was great and so were the beers on tap — they don’t have very much in stock for their bottled versions.
Pints are $ 5.The flight is a great option and reasonably priced at $ 7.50 ish.

**ALERT! VEGAN OPTION!!**
First of all, the lady I spoke with when I walked in was very accommodating when I asked if they had a vegan option. She was very helpful and informative.
They have a vegetarian falafel sandwich and if you take off the cucumber sauce stuff (can’t remember the name) then it is vegan! I added avocado and mushrooms to mine. It was AMAZING!
My non-​vegan friend got the chicken sandwich. She said it was «REAL good» and recommends adding avocado as well.
The service was quick and friendly. Definitely recommend this place to vegans and non-​vegans.

Loved the location right along the river. Enjoyed a lazy lunch here over the weekend on the outdoor patio.
The food was excellent. We shared a bunch of items, including the calamari and a fish sandwich. Fried items were excellent and not greasy at all.
During the day, there are a lot of kids and the patio area got a bit noisy.

— Offers both classic and new American comfort food dishes in a no-​fuss environment
— Not particularly breathtaking or mind-​blowing, but no major drawbacks, either
Stopped through here for some dinner and drinks with relatives during the first evening of a two-​night stay in Petaluma. As my highlights point out, Dempsey’s doesn’t really suffer from any particular shortcoming — it’s just not anything to write home about.
Having made a lengthy trek up north from Los Angeles, my family and I were pretty starved upon arriving at Dempsey’s — and we ordered accordingly, all across the menu. Service was decently paced, and we were attended to in a «civil» way (politely, but not in a manner that made me feel particularly welcomed or «at home»). Drinks were refilled relatively quickly, though.
The first dish brought out was a Margherita Flatbread Pizza that was split between our entire table:
As other reviews have mentioned, the crust of the Flatbread Pizza was the proper balance between crisp and chewy. I found the pizza to be a bit bland and underseasoned (as the margherita sauce itself had the proper consistency, but lacked any of that trademark sweetness and tanginess that I had been hoping for). In contrast, one of my relatives found the pizza to be OVERLY-​seasoned and salty; can’t really say that I’ve got an explanation for our differing opinions, although he did mention that the cheese may have been a bit overpowering.
The next dish that I sampled was my own main course, the Roast Pork Sandwich. Accompanied by sweet potato fries, this entrée was actually more of a wrap than a sandwich:
The roast pork itself wasn’t all that tender, and the inclusion of caramelized onions in a wine-​based sauce didn’t do all that much to mask the fact that the sandwich was a little bit too salty for my liking. Nonetheless, it wasn’t inedible (as I downed the whole thing!).
Accompanying my sandwich were a number of other side dish/​tapas items that were split among my fellow diners and I. My favorite of the set was the Chicken Enchilada, served in a small cast-​iron pan:
The enchilada itself was creamy and tender, and the chicken was juicy and full of flavor. Also, this rendition of the Mexican classic didn’t really suffer from that soggy texture that sometimes plagues lesser enchiladas; in fact, this small side item was my favorite element of the meal altogether.
Generally, the most important factor in determining how many stars I typically give to any given restaurant is directly related to my ability to distinctly/​fondly recall the food/​service that was extended to me. While I do remember WHAT I was served at Dempsey’s and the level of service that was offered, I find it difficult to recommend that anyone consciously travel out of their way for the sake of paying this place a visit. Again, a reasonably solid pick that doesn’t elevate the game in any show-​stopping way.

I was a little bit disappointed as this restaurant was recommanded to us by a local and considered as one of the best restaurant in Petaluma.
I ordered a vermicelli/​pork salad and this was not so good. The kids pizzas were clearly not the best we have already eaten. Too much cheese and oil (like most of the american pizza actually).
The beer was good and I think it is a better place to go to have a drink with appetizers.