Helmsman Ale House

The best bartender experience I’ve had in Newport. I lived in Costa Mesa for years and wish I knew of this place then. Good food and great service at the bar. The drinks are well made and the service is fast. I highly recommend.

Helmsman Ale House is a bustling place favored by locals, great for watching a game or meeting with friends. They have a good and varied food menu with lots of healthy, yummy, and vegan options. Indoor and patio seating.

A P

Had several dishes to try with family! Burger with the best sweet potato fries, tri-tip tacos with a nice bean dip and chips, chicken w/waffle, brunch burrito, and my favorite warm pretzel anywhere! All shared, all tasty!

Danny Duarte

Sooooo so impressed on the vibe, staff friendliness and the food was all on point. Just can’t say enough about this place - met up with friends here and a mixture of food to share. To start off the new england and west coast IPA were tasty; Wings were cooked so well and sauce was perfect; shared the nachos and the charcuterie tray with pretzel which was stellar. Great experience all around 👊🏼

chriswfo

We stopped here after a long walk and the beers, the atmosphere, the service and the food all hit the mark. They have a great selection of beers and we were able to get two flights to try 8 of them. Great vegetarian and pescatarian options. The nachos were yum, the coconut shrimp were crunchy and hot and the vegan poke was a creative dish. Nice open spaces inside and out. Definitely recommended for a good meal in a chill place.

Camille

Super quiet Saturday morning. Food was so good and drinks were delicious. Bottomless Mimosas for $16 dollars is a steal!

WEST Coast

Super fun 🤩 lots of bike parking and outdoor seating. The food was good, service was fast and environment was nice! Try the pretzel appetizer- it was amazing!

Scott Galloway

Excellent wings. Nice selection of quality in-house craft beer. Katie is a great bartender. She really took care of me. I'll be back.

R M

Love this place! The food was great! I love the decor too. Old ship theme throughout! They did an amazing job of finding unique ways to incorporate it. Plenty of tvs everywhere if you want to watch sports. Service was fantastic and they offer so many options for beer and food! Highly recommend!! Also for two dinners and two drinks it was under $50!!!!

Mackenzie Beck

Best bar on the peninsula! Helmsman is the go to spot, amazing food (NACHOS), and beer of course! I try and go during the specials like Wednesday or trivia night.

Alexandra DellaVecchia

This place is great! The staff is friendly and lots of fun, the food is an amazing elevated take on standard bar food, and the drinks are delicious. Troy was super helpful with making our selections, and everything he suggested was spot on! Definitely try the beet poke bowl and the fish tacos, they are simply fantastic. Can't rate this place high enough!

Alexander Olson

Excellent beer. The hocus pocus was an incredible twist on their usual stout with pumpkin spice and cinnamon. The service was the best I've seen at any brewery. They were taking all of the safety precautions to make us feel OK out.

Joshua Phillips

The best bartender experience I’ve had in Newport. I lived in Costa Mesa for years and wish I knew of this place then. Good food and great service at the bar. The drinks are well made and the service is fast. I highly recommend.

M A S

Helmsman Ale House is a bustling place favored by locals, great for watching a game or meeting with friends. They have a good and varied food menu with lots of healthy, yummy, and vegan options. Indoor and patio seating.

Quite literally the best bar food appetizers I've had. The breading on the fried pickles/Jalapeños was next level. We ordered chicken wings and cauliflower with the honey szechuan sauce and WOW. So glad we stumbled in. Service was great too.

Driven by here 100 times. Finally stopped for something to eat after spending the day at the beach. Did not disappoint. The Cali Fish Tacos might be the best fish tacos I've ever had. Had it with a house Mexican style lager. Delicious! We also ordered the Artichoke Chicken Flatbread and it too was on point.

Jennifer Lynch

Driven by here 100 times. Finally stopped for something to eat after spending the day at the beach. Did not disappoint. The Cali Fish Tacos might be the best fish tacos I've ever had. Had it with a house Mexican style lager. Delicious! We also ordered the Artichoke Chicken Flatbread and it too was on point.

Casual, beach sports bar that caters to the mid 20’s crowd. Serves your typical bar food that is just ok. Has a full bar and a number of house made beers that are surprisingly good, try the hazy. After 8PM it turns into a college bar. Plenty of TVs for games and UFC Fights.

The service was good, the food was great, the remodel is wonderful. The IPA needs a little work, the sour was superb. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because there is no reason anyone should Ever put that much salt on the seasoned fries that came with my burger. I got unseasoned fries for the Mac and cheese which were still a bit salty but not like the seasoned fries. No way, no how should a French fry ever have that much salt. I do like salt, I'm not against it. 😃 Overall, I love the place and will definitely come back many times. Oh and the schnitzel my wife says is Superb.

1st time here. Big enough place with outside patio dining. Got the brussels and fish and chips brussel was delicious. And their fries were super good with the fish

Joel

Casual, beach sports bar that caters to the mid 20’s crowd. Serves your typical bar food that is just ok. Has a full bar and a number of house made beers that are surprisingly good, try the hazy. After 8PM it turns into a college bar. Plenty of TVs for games and UFC Fights.

Albert Baloiu

The service was good, the food was great, the remodel is wonderful. The IPA needs a little work, the sour was superb. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because there is no reason anyone should Ever put that much salt on the seasoned fries that came with my burger. I got unseasoned fries for the Mac and cheese which were still a bit salty but not like the seasoned fries. No way, no how should a French fry ever have that much salt. I do like salt, I'm not against it. 😃 Overall, I love the place and will definitely come back many times. Oh and the schnitzel my wife says is Superb.

Daniel Balver

1st time here. Big enough place with outside patio dining. Got the brussels and fish and chips brussel was delicious. And their fries were super good with the fish

This place amazes me that it’s in business. Awful vibe, odd seating arrangements, old tables, run down, dark, dreary. And the Food matches—the only thing good was the Sweet Potato Fries. Shrimp Tacos with 3 small, undercooked shrimp (see photos) for $16…that’s pretty bad. Poor server running across the entire place from front patio to bar to back seating. Back Patio has old, warped picnic tables, very uncomfortable seating. And right beside the small parking lot.

Joyful

This place amazes me that it’s in business. Awful vibe, odd seating arrangements, old tables, run down, dark, dreary. And the Food matches—the only thing good was the Sweet Potato Fries. Shrimp Tacos with 3 small, undercooked shrimp (see photos) for $16…that’s pretty bad. Poor server running across the entire place from front patio to bar to back seating. Back Patio has old, warped picnic tables, very uncomfortable seating. And right beside the small parking lot.

The Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancakes were very delicious. I devoured the whole thing. The service was good for the most part. The atmosphere was a bit too loud for my liking. But acceptable for a bar. Except the main disappointment for the meal. Was my uncle and my mom’s. Classic breakfast was a huge let down. Everything was undercooked and not very good.

James Crow

The Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancakes were very delicious. I devoured the whole thing. The service was good for the most part. The atmosphere was a bit too loud for my liking. But acceptable for a bar. Except the main disappointment for the meal. Was my uncle and my mom’s. Classic breakfast was a huge let down. Everything was undercooked and not very good.

Drinks are ok. Waited for about 30 mins for calamari, which had more cabbage than calamari. Although funny that cabbage isn't mentioned in the menu when you're ordering it. My bf ordered a sandwich with fries, which took more than an hour to get to the table. Our waiter spilled water on me from the tray and didn't even apologize. Ridiculous. Do not recommend the place and won't come back.

Kateryna Honcharuk

Drinks are ok. Waited for about 30 mins for calamari, which had more cabbage than calamari. Although funny that cabbage isn't mentioned in the menu when you're ordering it. My bf ordered a sandwich with fries, which took more than an hour to get to the table. Our waiter spilled water on me from the tray and didn't even apologize. Ridiculous. Do not recommend the place and won't come back.

Kasey Bryant

I can’t really review the food because after 45 minutes my food never came out. Took awhile for a server to ask if we wanted menus, no I just wanted to sit here and look pretty? We had to go up to them to order drinks, bring them to our table, after 15 more minutes no one asked if we wanted to order food so we went up to them to order and after 45 minutes said ok we are leaving. And her response was are you sure? Uh ya pretty sure . I’m understanding if it was busy but 6 other patrons is just bad service and they don’t seem to really care at all. I own restaurants nearby and this customer service is complete unacceptable in my opinion .