• 4
• Super cool place

I totally loved the neighborhood that Hops & Pie was located in (Berkeley neighborhood) and I loved the atmosphere inside the restaurant. I could tell that this was a very popular and hip place and I totally understand why. I mean, I would go there regularly if I lived nearby. This restaurant specializes in craft beer (rotate unique/rare craft beers from their 22 taps) and artisan pizza with the dough made with a 50/50 beer/water mix. Because we were at a pizza place, I had to try the pizza! Hops & Pie offers vegan pizza alternatives including daiya cheese, house made Sicilian sausage, and house smoked tofu. They also have a long list of vegetable toppings: green bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, arugula, dollops of mash potatoes, sun dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted garlic cloves, broccoli, pineapple, jalapeno, basil and banana peppers. I limited my options because they were $1.80 each. I ended up getting spinach, caramelized onions, roasted garlic cloves, pineapple and tofu. There are so many other combinations to try out! I have been vegan most of my life so I never really ate cheese and didn't feel a need to have it on my pizza, but it is awesome that they have a vegan option available. My friend (also vegan) used to eat meat and cheese so she was more drawn to comfort food that she remembers eating. She ordered the vegan macaroni and cheese (sauteed mushrooms, peas, miso, elbow macaroni and spices) and a Vegan Sloppy Jane (tempeh). She enjoyed hers, but I think it was a little to fatty, fried and filling for her. The sloppy jane could of used a sauce on it and I personally would of wanted some sort of fresh vegetables on it so that it wasn't just "meat" and a bun. However, I do know that they typically are just meat and bread. Not really my kind of thing I suppose. I really like fining places like Hops & Pie that specialize in foods such as smoked meat, but that still offer a variety of tasty vegan options. If I lived nearby, we would totally be regulars here.