Haven Gastropub had become a favorite in Orange County, and it recently opened a second location in Old Town Pasadena, complete with a (future) brewery. I was recently invited to a media tasting and had a six course paired meal that went beyond the image I had in mind of a "gastropub." Sure, there were beer food, like the beef cheek poutine pictured below, but there were much more.
![Haven Brewery](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vKaFEbSmSn5jW2dZU1fMhGPHL2Z-Z0wH-lvBpUKl2arqO5plAb7ZFDNls0alWaPnVfMZJJeGa4FsVVP0SISC4sCJrRxCjH51k3_9_FfiH4dQD8tdqknagwRHhnYXVTNvs4=s0-d)
The brewery part of Haven is encased in glass so you can see the stills. They weren't operating when I was there since they were still gearing up, but hopefully that will happen soon. In the meantime, they have plenty of great beers from other breweries on tap!
When I arrived, I didn't realize I was going to have my whole meal paired, so I ordered a beer to start off with: an Ommegang Aphrodite, which is a fruit beer made with raspberry and beer. It's not a sweet beer but it certainly is fruity.
They also have cocktails that are riffs of old classics, like this Walnut Manhattan. I found the cocktails to be a bit unbalanced, though. I'd stick with the beers!
![Walnut Manhattan](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_svZylgAUbJj2r3HR-U4yH_AzqS_2wFVUuzSoGEpS9FEgr22S3Sx6eFFULKmSV7hdNMIId4dfrdHuHmRQQfT6cuI_Ugzpk1zok580Z9s57kZv-jkWt1aWfiTqalQT-Lp7V2=s0-d)
The first course was something I expected from a gastropub: Mac n' Cheese with black truffles, gruyere, fontina, parmesan. This was paired with Bacchus sour ale.
This was a good version of mac n cheese, with a nice crispy crust and rich creamy cheese. I love the smell of fontina and black truffles.
The sour ale, Bacchus was great. It was not too sour and was pretty light.
There were also a trio of house marinated olives (the black olives were my favorites).
Next is the Pork Rillette - "confiture de cochon" served in a mason jar, house mustard, artisan bread.
These two were paired with Point the Way IPA from the newly opened Golden Road Brewery.
Pork rillete made in pork fat. Rich, with a nice (kind of fiber-y) texture.
Moving to the lighter side of the menu with Hiramasa Crudo - ruby red grapefruit, fresno chili, pickled shallot, micro peppercress, pink salt, arbequina oil
Paired with St. George Gin Fizz
I loved the hiramasa crudo. The fish was fresh and meaty, the flavors lightly sweet and tart from the grapefruit. There was a crunchiness from chili (which was not too spicy) and also from the pink salt. I found the gin fizz, like the manhattan earlier, a bit unbalanced.