Coronado Brewing Company

Most Orange Avenue brewpubs lean hard on burgers and wings to soak up the suds. Coronado Brewing flips that script — this is where you come when you want surprisingly competent coastal food that happens to pair with beer, not the other way around. The ahi poke arrives with fresh-cut tuna, balanced citrus, and the kind of careful knife work you don't expect from a place with twenty taps. The calamari manages the rare trick of staying crispy outside while keeping the interior tender, not rubbery.

The beer flight is still the anchor — Aloha Warrior IPA and Orange Avenue Wit show up on most tables — but the kitchen clearly isn't coasting on brewery crowds. The cheese pizza earns mentions for good reason: proper char, quality mozzarella, the kind of thing that works whether you're twelve or just off the ferry landing after a day on the bay.

Parking is tight out front, but there's a back lot most tourists miss. The warm wood interior feels lived-in without being dark, and the patio handles Coronado's year-round weather the way a brewpub should. Service can lag when the after-work wave hits — servers are friendly but sometimes outnumbered — so time your visit accordingly.

This is navy town, which means groups, kids, dogs on the patio, and people who've earned a beer after a beach day. The kitchen respects that without dumbing down the menu. Get the poke, order a flight, and if you're feeding kids, the pizza won't embarrass you. It's not trying to be the Del's dining room — it's the spot where locals go when they want something better than pub-standard but don't need white tablecloths to get it.