Modern Times Far West Lounge: Craft Beer and Vegan Food in Encinitas, CA

Last updated August 19, 2026

On South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, California, Modern Times Far West Lounge occupies a stretch of coastside real estate that gets plenty of afternoon sun. The spot is part brewery taproom, part full-service restaurant, and it runs on a premise that still surprises a lot of first-timers: every item on the food menu is completely plant-based. Pair that with a rotating draft list of Modern Times craft beers and a retro-inflected interior, and you get something that doesn't fit neatly into any single category.

The Encinitas location sits at 470 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024, making it easy to find whether you're coming from the north or cutting through downtown. It's the third outpost in the Modern Times family, following locations in Los Angeles and Portland, and it carries the brand's philosophy of what it calls radically welcoming hospitality into a community that already has a strong appetite for independent food and drink businesses.

For anyone who assumed a vegan brewery taproom would feel niche or restrictive, the Far West Lounge tends to change that assumption quickly. The food is built to satisfy, the beer program is serious, and the room has enough personality to make it a destination rather than just a pit stop.

Modern Times Far West Lounge: History and Growth

Modern Times Beer started as a San Diego operation before expanding its footprint significantly. The Encinitas opening marked a genuine milestone for the brand, representing its third location and its first on the North County coast. Each expansion has carried the same core identity: craft beer brewed with care, a fully vegan kitchen, and a space designed to feel welcoming to people regardless of their dietary habits or their familiarity with craft beer culture.

The Far West Lounge name itself signals something deliberate. It's not just a taproom tacked onto a production facility. It's a lounge in the older sense of the word, a place meant for lingering. The retro aesthetic that runs through the interior reinforces that idea. The brand has been covered in local press specifically for how the Encinitas sunlight interacts with the space, which gives you a sense of how much attention went into the physical environment.

Craft Beer and Vegan Menu: What Modern Times Far West Lounge Offers

The beer list at Far West Lounge draws from the Modern Times brewing catalog, which spans a wide range of styles. Staff will walk you through the options and let you sample before committing, which makes the experience accessible whether you're a regular craft beer drinker or someone still figuring out the difference between a hazy IPA and a West Coast pale.

The food menu is where the Far West Lounge earns its most consistent attention. Everything is vegan, but the kitchen doesn't lean on that fact as a crutch. The cooking is focused on comfort food that happens to be plant-based, not health food dressed up to look indulgent. A few standouts that come up regularly:

• Loaded fries, which have drawn praise for their preparation and flavor depth
• Brussels sprouts, cooked until most of the moisture has left them, producing a result that's light and genuinely crunchy rather than soft or bitter
• A broader menu of plant-based comfort dishes designed to appeal to omnivores as much as vegans

The combination is unusual enough in the brewery world that it's become a genuine differentiator. A meat-eating customer described the food as making it easy to forget they weren't vegan, which is about as direct an endorsement of the kitchen's approach as you can get.

Team and Service at the Far West Lounge

Service at the Far West Lounge comes up frequently in customer feedback as a meaningful part of the experience. The staff takes time with guests who are navigating the beer list, offering samples and talking through flavor profiles without rushing anyone toward a decision. That kind of patience matters in a taproom setting, where the menu can feel overwhelming to someone who doesn't already know what they like.

The broader team operates under the Modern Times ethos of welcoming hospitality, which in practice means treating the space as somewhere people should feel comfortable staying for a while. Whether you're a regular or visiting for the first time, the approach is consistent.

In the Press and Key Milestones

• The Encinitas opening was covered in local press, with one outlet noting how the afternoon light fills the Far West Lounge space, a detail that speaks to the room's design as much as its location
• The opening marked Modern Times' third location overall, following Los Angeles and Portland, a significant expansion for a brand built around the combination of craft beer and fully vegan food
• Local food coverage in the San Diego area has positioned the Far West Lounge as a notable addition to Encinitas' dining scene

What Customers Say About Modern Times Far West Lounge

The feedback from guests at the Far West Lounge tends to cluster around three things: the beer quality, the food, and the atmosphere. The vegan menu draws particular attention because it consistently wins over customers who didn't expect to enjoy plant-based food. One reviewer put it plainly:

Great beers! Oh and by the way, amazing vegan food that as a meat eater makes it easy to forget I'm not vegan.

The food specifics matter too. Pablo Mondal wrote in detail about the Brussels sprouts, noting the kitchen's technique:

I loved the Brussels sprouts, they are prepared so that most of the moisture has cooked out of them and the resulting sprout is super light and crunchy.

- Pablo Mondal

Beyond the food and beer, the room itself gets mentioned as part of what makes the visit work. The retro decor creates a mood that feels intentional rather than generic, and reviewers describe it as a fun environment that holds up across multiple visits. One customer, Bay, summarized the overall picture simply:

Nice atmosphere and good beer. Customer service is great.

- Bay

The service detail about staff taking time to let guests sample different beers before choosing appears in customer accounts as a genuine differentiator, not just a standard practice. It reflects a floor culture that treats the taproom experience as something worth slowing down for.

Location and Community in Encinitas, CA

Modern Times Far West Lounge sits at 470 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024, in the downtown stretch of Encinitas that has developed into a recognizable destination for independent restaurants and bars. Highway 101 through this part of North County San Diego carries a mix of longtime locals and visitors, and the Far West Lounge draws from both.

The brewery's community engagement extends beyond the taproom itself. Modern Times has partnered with San Diego's Vinyl Record Rarities, allowing guests to browse and shop for vinyl at any of the Modern Times locations. It's a pairing that fits the retro aesthetic of the space and connects the business to a local independent retail operation rather than a generic amenity.

Encinitas has seen sustained real estate appreciation, with historical home price growth running around 8.5 percent annually in the broader market, and projections settling closer to 4.2 percent going forward. That kind of market context reflects a city where foot traffic and neighborhood investment tend to stay strong, which matters for a business built around the kind of casual, repeat-visit culture that taprooms depend on.

Why Choose Modern Times Far West Lounge in Encinitas

Modern Times Far West Lounge offers something that's genuinely hard to find: a craft brewery taproom with a kitchen that can hold its own against dedicated restaurants. The fully vegan menu isn't a limitation; it's a selling point that works for plant-based eaters and skeptical omnivores alike. Add a staff that takes the beer education side of the job seriously, a room with real visual character, and a community partnership with a local vinyl shop, and you have a place that earns return visits on multiple grounds.

For anyone in Encinitas or passing through North County San Diego, the Far West Lounge is the kind of spot that rewards a longer stay than you planned for. The beer is worth exploring, the food is worth ordering, and the room is worth sitting in.

Customer quotes shown above are from public Google reviews.