I will go out on a limb here, and claim this is the best brew pub in the Inland Empire.

First, the beer. For the most part superbly well brewed. Go grab one of their seasonals, and you’ll in all likelihood be treated to a both tasty and, if you want it to be, complex beer experience.

The food… Well, it sorta depends what you get. Their Caesar wrap is less than impressive, yet the hot-wings maintain a perfect balance between spiciness and flavor. One does not overpower the other. I’m also a fan of their fish and chips, which goes really quite well with any of their hoppier beers.

OK, so there aren’t that many brew-pubs in the area. I can live with that. Northern Lights has great beer and good food, and should be a destination for anyone in Spokane.

I have to say the food when I went was quite good, and the drinks were mixed strong (thank God), There are soooo many resturant/bars that around here that charge up to and exceeding $8 for a coctail and make it so weak you wonder if there is any alcohol in it. My reverse cosmo was delicious and perfect mix, didnt knock me flat out but gave a buzz for sure.
My only gripe about this place is that they do not have a host/hostess its an open seating policy, basically if you dont make your presence known you might go without service (happened to me the first time I tried to eat there)
Also their Blueberry beer is very tasty, and their Chocolate Dunkel is full bodied and dark also good

They have quite possibly the worst service ever. It is so unbelievably negligent, you’d swear you were invisible.

The last time I was in Northern Lights was about 5 months ago (June 2007). After sitting out on the patio and watching the server for about 20 minutes come out there repeatedly, helping a full table, ignoring me, ignoring 2 other tables, I got up and went inside to get a drink. This situation happened again when my drink was gone.

My fiance met me halfway through my second drink. By that time, I was very hungry and decided that instead of waiting around for the server to say “HI” to me, I was leaving. I had already given them enough of my money for lackluster service; I wasn’t giving them anymore.

If you want to get pissed off, go to Northern Lights. Literally, you will feel your blood pressure rising as you wonder why it has taken the server 15 minutes to greet your table.

Northern Lights does have an amazing menu. Their food is delicious, fresh, and filling. However, I’ve finally decided that enough is enough. No food is worth the crappiest service in Spokane.

Yes their service is slow, but sit back and relax knowing that. The serve up some of the best beer in town and the menu is simple and tasty.

Ok! My first visit here, and I find their IPA ROCKS!!!! Northern Lights really knows how to make a good IPA. Now, my hubby on the other hand – the dark beer lover – didn’t enjoy the dark beers Northern Lights has to offer. This is too bad for me, because that means we won’t go back as often as I like for my IPA! :-( We weren’t too hungry so had the Pub Greens Salad and it was wonderful, complete with Huckleberries which are in season. I’d definitely go back and want to try their hamburger next time, oh… plus an IPA.

Service was fine. It took a little while to get noticed but other than that the time between ordering to paying the bill was about 25 minutes. The roasted garlic burger was the absolute bomb yo. Carmelized onions too, plus good cheddar and a medium rare patty coupled just fine with big thick cloves of garlic confit. Topped with awesomely crunchy and fresh pickle, lettuce, tomato and raw onions on a good bun, this was the best bistro burger I’ve had in Spokane. The fries were frozen, which was a bummer, but I like how they seasoned them with a bed of rock salt. Thumbs Up!

After being promptly seated we were ignored, ended up drinking all our ice water, and walked next door to Bangkok Thai. BAD SERVICE. Not even busy. Didn’t even get to try the food…good ice water though.

First: extremely well crafted beer. This ain’t a beer site, but believe me, pick your style, they’re all well balanced, drinkable examples of their kind. Some are damn near splendid. Go. Drink. Their beers reflect a long term attention to detail on the part of the brewers.

On the restaurant side, Mrs. Barman notes that the menu hasn’t changed in some time. The calamari is no longer terrific, the burgers are often poorly cooked and semi-prepped. The prices … well, if it was better, it would be a value…appys or meals or whatever. Attention to detail? Nope. Not really any attention at all, if you ask me.

Guys, I don’t care if you are packed on Friday nights, and if you are the only real brewery for miles and miles. Man, the boys out back are phoning it in. Somebody gotta kick their butts.

Too bad this site doesn’t have something between “no” and “yes.” We love the beer at Northern Lights, especially the IPAs. The decor is fine and we’ve had very good service the two times we’ve been there. We really wanted to like this place, we really did! But the food… is dismal. Burgers were badly overcooked and dry, the consistency and color of hockey pucks. And the nachos… i may expect liquid cheese at a ballpark, truckstop, or a movie theater, but it is NOT OK at a restaurant under any circumstances. The only decent food we had was a sausage plate, which required no skill or presentation.

We may go back for a beer, but never dinner.