Colby D.
Yelp
If someone tells you they want to meet at Mike Hess, you may ask, "Which one?"
If they reply, "the one in Seaport," you may again ask, "Which one," as there are now two Mike Hess locations within Seaport Village. Mike Hess is becoming the Starbucks of breweries (strictly because they have two locations in the same shopping center).
I don't know if they just didn't have room to add on to this location, or if they really wanted two separate locations on essentially the same "street", but in either case, they're doing well enough to grow their business.
This *specific* location of Mike Hess is the one I return to every year to try to snag a spot for the annual Bay Parade of Lights. It has always been packed on days I've visited, and on the parade night, unless you arrive over an hour early to grab your drinks, order your food, and slide into an empty table, you may just be standing around awkwardly for a long time with a cold one in the cold. While people are giving you cold ones. Then by the time you actually get a table to sit down and eat, the parade has started and you have to keep standing periodically to see anything.
Despite the stress from this occurring all three years I've attended, I still come back to Mike Hess each time, and I look forward to it when the holidays come around. Their beer is awesome, and you can probably come to that conclusion at any of their locations, but what I have loved about this location are the delicious tacos that they serve. They may do this elsewhere now, but before I was only aware of this location serving them.
In the three years I've been to this location, they have always had a taco of the month, so I've always made sure to try one. I have never been disappointed with the flavor of a taco, but I will say that I was a little bummed to see there wasn't a meal deal this time when I went in December 2024. In the past they have offered a deal of 2 of the seasonal tacos and a beer for ~$15. Maybe they're doing too well for deals now.
The first time I came here, my parents came down from Temecula and we all really enjoyed it. I later introduced my partner to it, and he now also looks forward to coming here.
Something I didn't know about this location until this last visit is that there's an upstairs seating area that overlooks the water as well--the stairs are through the tap area and in the courtyard.
I do recommend checking them out at any time of the year, but they're still my top choice for the parade viewing, as there is alcohol and seating with a good view at an awesome price. I think for 2025 I might look into buying one of the parade viewing seat tickets though, where you get a reserved spot facing the water directly.