I was in San Elijo Hills and saw this Lost Abbey tasting room on the corner and decided to stop by. The Brewer has an interesting Christian or Catholic theme to it... The Confessional in Cardiff and the Church downtown... I thought this one would be dressed up like the others but not so much. My friend and I got a couple of flights to sample. I basically went with an IPA flight... All their beers are pretty good... No complaints. I suggest you give them a try! read more

The Sanctuary - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

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Have to leave this review on behalf of my father-in-law. He came here every day when he visited us while our kids were napping. He loved it so much and said the vibe was just right. Everyone was super nice and friendly and low key. Somehow he always came home with free cheesecake? Thanks for hosting our Oregon visitor and showing him a good time. He doesn't love every bar but he loved this one. Actually would love to send him a t-shirt from here if you sell them? Lmk read more

Top notch customer service. I'm not sure if the woman working behind the bar is the owner , manager but she's great , friendly. Responding to me on instagram about said bottles and here we are . I've officially been to every abbey location and this one is top notch . Kindve far for me but hella hella worth it . read more

The Sanctuary - Cable car . Fuking cable car bottles just chilling there - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

This place is so lame and inconsiderate. They always look really slow and it appears that they're trying to drum up some business and to do so they have started hosting these sad little concerts with some Yoko Ono singer caterwauling and a bunch of loud drums. Only about 8 to 10 people ever show up. The problem is they're literally hosting them in the middle of residential homes - literally adjacent to a twenty or so residential properties. The music is so loud and so atonal, and they're so inconsiderate. They even hosted one on Easter Sunday so we couldn't celebrate with our family. We couldn't hear anything. It's so inconsiderate of their neighbors. The city doesn't want to seem to tell them to stop and the HOA doesn't seem to care. I've never experienced something so incredibly inconsiderate. There is a huge baseball field next-door to this place that literally host concerts all the time without bothering anyone and they could easily host them there, but they're not. They're literally choosing to do it right next-door to people who cannot use the house that they paid to live in. If I could give them zero stars, they'd be getting zero stars. Super unneighborly. Not to mention that attracting a bunch of drunk drivers to a residential area with multiple schools that is known for car accident accidents is such a terrible idea. It's really weird that a brewery is allowed to be located in that spot at all. read more

A nice brew bar with great choices on tap. Food is available from various food trucks that set up on the street next to the front of the Abbey (while we were visiting there was a truck pulling a full size pizza oven for fire cooked pizzas!). The bartender was friendly and was enjoying his work. Only downside for us (and really was based on timing) were two groups of 10 people on the patio who were loud and clearly over pickled. (Bartender should have cut them off way before we arrived). Plus they brought a passel of kids under 10 who were left unsupervised to run amok. Not enjoyable in that respect. read more

The beer is mediocre and there are no high chairs for kids. Staff was not friendly or helpful.

Let me set the record straight; I am clearly more of a wine than a beer drinker. Also, I have three local go to breweries and the ever growing Barrel Republic where you can try anything new. My husband and I were part of the early scene of the local craft brew scene. I attended the grand opening on Stone who led the way for all others, while working in the wine industry. I was taking care of some business from San Elijo and decided to drop into this new location for The Lost Abbey, this location being called "The Santuary" and truly it is, lots of indoor and outdoor seating. It's the perfect place for COVID-19, as you can spread out and sit in silence if you wish. A young lady invited me to sit with her and a couple people and I kindly declined, but her gesture was sweet. I think people want to connect so badly during this pandemic, yet to remain safe I kept my distance, but am aware that studies show that just being out "near" other people creates a sense of connectedness. I enjoyed their Belgian style beer and the stout via taster. I will try the Red Poppy next, sounds like it has many flavors I love, but it's only in a bottle right now and not on draft. The Lost Abbey also has a location in Cardiff, which seems to have been the rage for years...this location called "The Confessional"...since I have nothing to confess at this time...I'm sticking to the Sanctuary! A pleasant excursion nearby. PS I have been to the main location to support Christmas in July and Toys for Tots, they have a good Santa! #SanElijo #LostAbbeyBeers #TheSanctuary #CraftBeer read more

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I've become a big fan of the Lost Abbey's beers over the years and this new tasting room location just opened and is already killing it. I only wish they had a few more of their beers on tap here and also decorated the place more like their Cardiff location which I've only visited 600 or so times. It's spacious as heck with outdoor seating out front and in the back, and tons of seating inside, both at the bar, the main "dining" area, and the middle portion of the building with some super comfortable leather chairs. Plenty of free street parking all around. Kid-friendly but really nothing for the kiddos to drink here, as far as I could tell. But like their other locations, you can bring in outside food and drinks and there are a number of eateries (pizza, Mexican, sandwiches, Starbucks) within easy walking distance. This location has gone through a number of businesses over the years. I have faith that these folks know what they are doing and will be very successful. I'll certainly do my part in helping them. read more

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This places beers are so amazing I bought almost $200 with of beer to go. Great ambiance, guy serving the beers was very knowledgeable and over the top helpful. I hesitate giving this review because I want to keep getting some of these limited beers just for myself. read more

The Sanctuary - Bottle of a magnificent sour to go. - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

Great local spot for beer with friendly service and regular food trucks throughout the week. Thursday is one of our favorites as the pizza place that comes through has excellent wood fired pizza. read more

The Sanctuary - Mopeds in Milan (Italian Pilsner) - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

Still love this place. Love these glasses for delicious, local, Belgian-style beer. Come and support your favorite, awesome local businesses during this shitty Coronavirus bullshit. read more

The Sanctuary - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

This is great addition to the little town of San Elijo Hills. Amazing selection of tasty craft beers from "Lost Abbey" & "The Hop Concept". Both brews from a very popular and long time north county brewer. Two rooms of seating in a classy well designed building. Additionally they have patio seating out front as well as a larger patio in back. Parking in San Elijo Hills can be a challenge at times but "The Sanctuary" is definitely worth the effort. Nice work Tommy! read more

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I came on a Friday afternoon and decided to sit outside in front of the brewery. They also have seating in their back area too. Chiko (Chinese/Korean) food vendor was onsite too. Ordered their crispy calflour which went perfect with my beer tasters. read more

The Sanctuary - Lost Abbey Beer Flight for $10 - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

This is the best addition to the town square and our favorite spot! The beers are delicious, and they have a great variety of styles for all preferences. As well, their food truck rotation is fabulous! They do a great job of communicating their food truck schedule via their Instagram account. Their staff is friendly, and their space is comfortable. We feel so lucky to have them in our little town square! read more

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Great addition to San elijo community. Not a large selection of beers but the staff is extremely friendly and happy to help you find something. They rotate food trucks so that always great. There are a lot of families with kids and their dogs. read more

this place is the best. as a SEH local i really enjoy having quality craft beers within walking distance from my house. devin and eric are awesome beer tenders and they know their stuff. they are super accommodating and it's always great to see their friendly faces after a long week. also, in regards to the one star review left this week... as someone with experience running a tasting room and restaurant, having 25+ people show up and take over a patio without properly reserving the space causes for a lot of issues. 1. if the staff of the establishment doesn't know 25 + people are going to show up, they cannot properly staff for your event and that will likely leave you and your friends frustrated. 2. these pop up parties also make other guests experiences less than stellar as the area quickly can get over run with party goers who would not normally frequent the location. 3. only because we're still in covid times i'll add this... the rules of the city clearly have restrictions about party size and gatherings size, especially with folks whom are not from the same household. so having a 25+ person shindig at a tasting room is irresponsible on a few levels. obviously there's the whole close quarters virus transmission thing, but also, the establishment can potentially LOSE THIER LICENSE AND HAVE TO BE SHUT DOWN if the ABC were to walk in and see this going on. putting that kind of stress on a couple of bartenders on an already busy night during times that dictate clear adherence to guidelines is not the best way of showing community spirit. i'm not mad, i'm just disappointed. read more

The Sanctuary - yum. - Breweries Near Me - San Marcos, California

My local in-town microbrewery. Great selection of beers including some interesting sours and teas. Staff is friendly and helpful and often have a food truck in you're interested in food or just a walk down the street to other restaurants. Enjoy! read more

A Lost Abbey tasting room has just opened in San Elijo! They have 12 beers on tap and canned options as well. There is a good amount of indoor seating as well as a front patio and back patio. We loved the sours as well as the citrus sin and santas little helper! Great that you can taste the beers before getting a pint. They don't have any food but you can bring in your own snacks or food from other restaurants. read more

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Beer was good hence 2 stars- dispute the place smelling like some type of cleaning product, the place was dirty and worn looking - weeds growing everywhere in court yard -equipment pilled in corners ect - Only customer and was treated like we were a bother. read more

This is our second time driving 20 minutes to this location, only to be told AGAIN that they were closing early on a SATURDAY night. What's the point of being open if you can't grab a beer after 8 on a Saturday evening? Ended up going to Belching Beaver instead. Come on Lost Abbey, do better. People like going out after 8pm on a weekend, don't let your bartender close shop because he feels it's too slow and just wants to go home. read more

Love the relaxed vibe and the food truck is sooo good. Anything on the menu is great. Outside has enough shade and sunshine whichever you choose with heat lamps for nighttime read more

Not a bad selection of beers but the brewery is more like a family restaurant with kids running around, screaming and dogs everywhere whenever I've gone. Not the vibe I'm looking for when I go to a brewery. The pizza food truck they sometimes have outside is good but it literally took over an hour to get a pizza which I don't understand since it's woodfired and that takes like 5 minutes tops. There were some orders in front of us but not that many, not sure why it took so long. Pizza was very good though. I know this isn't the breweries fault but just want to throw that out there. Staff is friendly and service is good just not an ideal atmosphere. read more

This is a nice tasting room with a nice back patio. Good location, service and selection or beer.

Love the beer and love the location. Support this local business and drop by for a pint or two out on the patio.

I live in SEH and am so excited to have Lost Abbey here love the one on Matta way. However a few bummers. I did not like the smaller glasses. Not pints. Clearly. They are at most 14oz. Also the place they are in always was very cool welcoming and warm. It's not as much now. Just not as comfortable and welcoming. Last, the signage, prices etc is very lacking. Please make me love this place because I do want to. read more

Great beer and ambience. We sat next to the outdoor fireplace on a cold evening while enjoying a flight of our favorite Lost Abbey brews. They let us bring some sandwiches from across the way, which was a great bonus. I highly recommend the Sanctuary. read more

I'm writing this review to counter the 1-star review from last night (10/3/20). We were the party that left the table. The reason we left the back patio is because we became so uncomfortable by the number of people that showed up for that birthday party. They swarmed the entire place making it uncomfortable for the rest of the patrons that were trying to enjoy a beer. There wasn't enough space so people were just standing over us. It happened to be my birthday too but our party was only 4 people (HELLO COVID). Anyways, we left and the table next to us decided to leave too. If the people who run the bar were pissed (if that's even true idk) then I understand why they would be. Plus some of these party guests thought it was cool to show up with their own alcohol. Lame. And lame that someone posted a bad review. read more

I appreciate that the location does not have a full kitchen but the constant food trucks are classless.

Came in tonight to see a birthday party that was there. We went to a separate table to sit but a party had just left. We went in to ask for a towel to wipe it down and the owner yelled at us and said he was saving the table for a patron. Which we were. He was totally inappropriate and yelled at a paying customer who had already paid for the beers. We left shortly after. We understand the covid rules, yet there would have been a right and wrong way to answer my question "can I have a towel to wipe the table". Will not go there again. Unimpressed. read more

I was excited to see something going into this space. The beer is good however the atmosphere is horrible. It's like hanging out in a vacant house. Maybe more like a vacant office space. If they added food and atmosphere it would be a great hang out. Other than that I can't see myself trucking over here just for a glass of beer when there are nearby places with beer food and out this year right nearby. I hope they make some upgrades to the concept. read more

Went in on Sunday afternoon. Bartender - meh. Boyfriend, I think, came in and she just did the bare minimum. Beer - fine.