tap room point reyes restaurants

Tap Room

Small local gastropub serving local, seasonal and organic comfort food. Want to go where the locals go? This is it.

Tap Room is open for indoor & outdoor dining
Tuesday-Friday 4-9pm
Saturday 12-9pm

So, you’re driving back from one of the stunning wild beaches in the Point Reyes National Seashore Park, or maybe you’ve driven out to see the tule elk at Tomales Point…or hiked down (and up!) the 308 steps to the Point Reyes Lighthouse. A perfect day…only, what to eat?

Because you’re hungry and want to tuck into something really satisfying, but you don’t want to bother getting out of your hiking clothes or washing the salt spray off your face. Where’s the good local food?

That’s where the Tap Room comes in. It’s in Inverness, along the only road that goes to and from the Point Reyes peninsula. It’s small, cozy and full of locals grabbing one of their signature gourmet sandwiches or ordering up some outrageously delicious sushi.

You can get food or just order a beer. Sit on their sunny patio that looks across the street to Tomales Bay, or indoors at a table or at their bar. It’s all good.

And even though this is comfort food, the Tap Room elevates it to West Marin style…making it all from scratch with local, seasonal and organic ingredients. They even bake their own burger buns in house!

West Marin Reuben Sandwich

Next Level Comfort Food

If it’s your first time, you’ve got to try their famous (for real!) West Marin Reuben: house brined and smoked local pastrami on grilled Brickmaiden sourdough rye batard, Wild West Ferments sauerkraut, Point Reyes Farmstead Toma cheese and their crazy delicious special dressing.

For vegetarians, I’d definitely go with their Mushroom Melt: Chef’s mixed mushrooms, Point Reyes Farmstead Toma cheese, spinach and house made pesto on grilled Brickmaiden sourdough batard.

And hello, who doesn’t love a good southern fried chicken sandwich? Think: sweet maple chipotle aioli, pepper jack cheese, organic mixed greens in house-made Ranch dressing, red onion, sweet dill pickle, house-made bun. I’d definitely add bacon to that. Done.

Craft Beers on Tap

Craft Beers

The Tap Room has six craft beers on tap, rotating weekly. Or you can order up a glass of wine — they’ve got a good selection of local and imported wines. 

Asian Specials

We’ve got plenty of oysters and seafood out here on the coast, but sometimes the locals get restless for something different and don’t want to drive forever and a day on a weeknight to get it. So just for us, the Tap Room added Sushi Night and Thai Night, with extensive special menus.

Wednesday is sushi night: sushi, miso soup, gyoza, sake and special entrees like chicken katsu. Thursday is Thai night, and you can order from a selection of green, red and yellow curries, Drunken Noodles with your choice of protein, and weekly seasonal Thai specials featuring whatever produce and seafood is fabulously fresh and local. 

For food, the West Marin baseline is pretty high, but the Tap Room meets and in some cases, surpasses that bar. The area is a hotbed for locally sourced ingredients and Thompson takes full advantage. Arrive hungry; the limited menu has predominantly hearty dishes and the portions are generous.

Marin Independent Journal