First Street Alehouse

First Street AlehouseFirst Street Alehouse
First Street AlehouseFirst Street Alehouse
Bar, Eatery

2106 1st St
Livermore, California, 94550-4406
United States

(925) 371-6588 | map
firststreetalehouse.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.96
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
15
pDev:
8.08%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of BarleyAndBrett
Reviewed by BarleyAndBrett from California

3.8/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3
Great vibe. Awesome front and back patio. Fantastic location. Beer selection is decent and they get pretty good ones like Pliny regularly. Wish the food was a little better, if so I would be here all the time.
Jul 04, 2016
 
Rated: 4.05 by Geoffq from California

Mar 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.75 by poonzr from California

Sep 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by smitty5245 from California

May 21, 2014
Photo of Offa
Reviewed by Offa from California

3.93/5  rDev -0.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
This is a very good pub/alehouse in downtown Livermore. It's in a lovely old brick building, has nice and interesting decor, a good, vibrant atmosphere and layout, However, given that it's mostly a large, high-ceilinged cavernous room, it seems like it would be a bit impersonal and "cold" if there were few people in it.

Beer selection is good, fairly substantial with a nice range of local and semi-local beers plus some imports and non-local craft beers.

Food is very good, not incredible, mostly a standard range of good pub food, with salads, burgers, sandwiches, and good kids' menu.

Service is fine but a bit inattentive.

On the whole, this is a great place to go when stuck in Livermore, and not just if you want beer.
Jan 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by rojocorsa from California

Nov 19, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by tonefish from New Mexico

Oct 26, 2013
Photo of davidfortunato
Reviewed by davidfortunato from Germany

4/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
This place is great. It's a pretty standard sports bar --- lots of TVs with lots of games. The food I have had (all sandwiches/burgers) has been good. They have 11 taps that are static (a Sierra Nevada, a Deschutes, Old Rasputin, Scrimshaw, Stone IPA, a few ciders and then some trash) and about 10 that rotate. There is always a Russian River, usually Pliny but sometime Blind Pig or Happy Hops, and always a Drake's, usually 1500, and they get the limited seasonals that you would want from the Bay area breweries.

It's cheap for the outer Bay ($5 for a Pliny, $7-11 for a sandwich and fries), they have outdoor seating, it stays busy (always good and busy) so the beer turns over, they keep the draught lines clean, and the staff is great. There are two places within walking distance with a better beer selection (Beer Baron and Tap 25), but they don't serve food, so this is your jam for a square meal, the game, and a few good pints.
Nov 30, 2012
Photo of RTEdmunds
Reviewed by RTEdmunds from New Hampshire

4.08/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My first drink as a 21 year old was at the old location (also on first street) a few doors down. Pliny the Elder, on tap, recommended by one of the servers. Of course this endears the place to me somewhat.

I like the atmosphere. It's packed almost every night though, which is kind of unfortunate. But I'm glad they're doing well.

Servers are friendly, some are more knowledgeable than others. When they're busy you can be neglected.

Good selection, and they change their rotation up. They do sometimes run out of stuff, esp on pint nights. Food is not bad.

Price is reasonable for east bay area.
Feb 04, 2012
Photo of armock
Reviewed by armock from New York

4/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Atmosphere - Located in downtown Livermore on First St. As you walk up there's a patio area outside to dine in. The place is pretty big with a large dining area to the right and a large bar area on the left side.

Quality/Selection - They have eleven taps on the wall and ten of them are good craft selections. I'd like to see more taps but for the area I'm happy with what they have.

Service - I stopped in during the week for lunch with the wife and it was packed on our visit. Despite the lunchtime rush our server did a good job with getting our food and drinks to us quickly. She even got me a sample of a beer that I didn't know what it was before I ordered it.

Food - For lunch I ordered the BBQ burger and it was a good choice very good. The wife had a hamburger and she was also pleased with her choice.

Overall if you want good beer and food in Livermore this place is worth stopping at.
Nov 06, 2011
Photo of DoubleJ
Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Whatever you do, don't drive your car down First St. in downtown unless you enjoy driving at 5 miles per hour. I would advise choosing another street to drive and park at.

Now about the place. The interior is very large. An L shaped bar is off to one side, with lots of open space around the bar area. There's an outdoor patio in front of the alehouse where you can take on the sights and sounds of downtown Livermore. I would say about half the patrons had a beer on hand during the lunch hour I was there for, and there were a lot of patrons. There was plenty of help on hands, there was always someone at the bar waiting to serve, and my orders arrived in timely fashion.

About 24 taps total and four bottles to choose from. Nearly all the taps were of the craft variety, which can be found on a large chalkboard. Half of the taps rotate, while the other half are permanent; Anderson Valley Wee Gitch, Port, Stone, North Coast, Alaskan, Snowshoe, and Pliny the Elder were among the beer being poured. Please don't ask about the bottle selection. The standard shaker pint glass applies to most, with a small exception towards the Guinness being poured (which was poured into a Guinness imperial pint glass). I even saw small mugs. Despite the glassware being chilled, the beer wasn't ice cold as I feared.

I settled on a tri tip sandwich for lunch. The meat was cut into strips, a little tough at times, but yum. In fact, one patron who arrived while I was at the bar, loved the way my sandwich smelled, so he helped himself to one of his own.

Survey says: recommended. Solid food and good beers pouring made it a good time. In addition, it "feels" like a place I could drink at for hours. I imagine that it's the go-to place to drink in Livermore on a Friday night.
Apr 02, 2011
Photo of hophead247
Reviewed by hophead247 from California

4.13/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Been going to The Ale House for a few years now, and since I've moved right down the street from it, I frequent it alot more. Not the biggest ale house you'll ever go to, but if you can get a spot at the bar, the bartenders are very friendly and knowledgeable. If not the bar, then they have about 10 tables or so inside, some tables in the front, and a bunch more tables out back.They always carry a nice variety of beers on tap, usually around 15 plus or minus. But what really surprised me, and what I keep going back for, is their nachos...VERY TASTY!!

So whenever you're in the area, definitely swing by First St and have a pint or two...and some nachos
Apr 02, 2009
Photo of bbothen
Reviewed by bbothen from California

3.85/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
SZtopped in on a random Saturday afternoon to meet some friends. Located in downtown Livermore.

Several tables out front on the sidewalk, nice big bar inside with several more tables, and a patio in back for some shade.

Nice selection of craft brews. Pliny, Green Flash, Stone, Schooner's, Russian River IPA, etc. Seems the taps rotate often.

Food was ok. Basic Ca pub type fare, maybe slightly better than that. I had a carnitas sandwich that was fine. The fries & onion rings were good.

Service was very friendly & prompt. Our waitress offered some advice on the beers to one of the people in our group. Seemed to be knowledgable about what they had & how they taste. A fine quality in an attractive woman.

I'll be coming back to this place whenerv I'm in the area.

Livermore 1. Pleasanton 0.
Jul 06, 2008
Photo of Troyone
Reviewed by Troyone from California

3.28/5  rDev -17.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4
Kind of small, squared off, with a patio in the back. Reminds me of a juice bar setting or something.

Wooden tables, chairs, and bar; restroom was clean. Some beer paraphenalia. Plastic food/beer menu and a large chalk board with the beer list. Small patio has patio furniture with beer paraphenalia on the umbrellas.

Service is OK and prompt.

Diversified selection, no cask, that includes mostly small micros and few big ones.

Food is the basic pub grub stuff, no flaming grill here. Decided not to eat here- today.

Reasonable
May 02, 2005
Photo of isubsmith
Reviewed by isubsmith from Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
An interesting little place in downtown Livermore right along the main strip across from a lingerie/adult bookstore and next to a bicycle shop. The place is pretty small (maybe 20 bar seats and 20 table seats?) yet doesn't feel overly crowded. Lots of brewery signage on the walls. Service is good (attentitve wait staff, food is ready quickly, etc) I'm sure if I lived in the area, this would become a regular watering hole.

Pretty good selection of decent beers, or at least decent breweries. The selection seems to rotate pretty quickly (maybe monthly? I'll find out next week) from what colleagues have said.

When I was there, I had the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, the El Toro Oatmeal Stout, and the Black Butte Porter. They also had selections from Anchor, Alaska, New Belgium, Bear Republic, etc. A lot of west coast breweries (well, also Colorado).

Food is typical pub food - hamburgers, sandwiches, fish-and-chips, etc. Nothing "complicated" by any means, but what they have is well done and tasty.

It is definately worth a stop after a hard day's work to unwind and have a few beers and some food.

The only negative (which isn't reflected in the scores) is that everything in this town closes at 10pm, including the Ale House. That was somewhat of a shock when we arrived at 9:30 to have dinner and it was basically last call....
Feb 27, 2005
First Street Alehouse in Livermore, CA
Place rating: 3.96 out of 5 with 15 ratings