Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 4:56 pm
Popped in on Tuesday night. First night -- it had just opened although they had held a couple of private functions earlier on the weekend.
Substantial renovations of the bar and lay-out. Reasonably nice decor along the same lines as the Distillery District restaurants or BeerBistro. Boxy, clean lines, minimal. Only saw the old bar area -- downstairs will be open next week.
Friendly staff in starched white shirts, black pants and long aprons,...like in a bistro. Staff not at all knowledgeable about beer.
The beer? All Amsterdam all the time. Four Amsterdam ("good") drafts and four bottles including Corona and Coors Light. 16oz glasses, $5.85 incl tax. Only had a Nut Brown and it tasted weak. And that's the best beer in their portfolio.
They will not be brewing for the foreseeable future at this location. But the kettles sure look nice.
Bar snacks included grilled red pepper, olives and a sprig of rosemary in a dish, in addition to kettle chips. All starters in the $7-15 range, entrees in the $25-50 range including lots of steak options. Downstairs will have a "pubby" menu. The emphasis on the lay-out of the tables appeared to be on eating rather than drinking. Things were still in a state of flux, too -- no licquor shelves yet, no bar gun.
The manager and his team were pre-occupied with red wines while I was there.
Nothing objectionable, but I've seen it done better in other places. And not at all a beer place.
-Uncle Bobby
Substantial renovations of the bar and lay-out. Reasonably nice decor along the same lines as the Distillery District restaurants or BeerBistro. Boxy, clean lines, minimal. Only saw the old bar area -- downstairs will be open next week.
Friendly staff in starched white shirts, black pants and long aprons,...like in a bistro. Staff not at all knowledgeable about beer.
The beer? All Amsterdam all the time. Four Amsterdam ("good") drafts and four bottles including Corona and Coors Light. 16oz glasses, $5.85 incl tax. Only had a Nut Brown and it tasted weak. And that's the best beer in their portfolio.
They will not be brewing for the foreseeable future at this location. But the kettles sure look nice.
Bar snacks included grilled red pepper, olives and a sprig of rosemary in a dish, in addition to kettle chips. All starters in the $7-15 range, entrees in the $25-50 range including lots of steak options. Downstairs will have a "pubby" menu. The emphasis on the lay-out of the tables appeared to be on eating rather than drinking. Things were still in a state of flux, too -- no licquor shelves yet, no bar gun.
The manager and his team were pre-occupied with red wines while I was there.
Nothing objectionable, but I've seen it done better in other places. And not at all a beer place.
-Uncle Bobby
......or maybe you meant Oliver, my assistant brewer, or Matt or Lorne or......