| rev:text
| - I read every single review that came in at 3-stars or under and aside from the usual "I feel like being a douchebag and this is my only review and have zero friends" one-star reviews, there appears to be a common thread running through all of them. If you feel like reading all of them for yourself, by all means, please do. If you want to save those minutes of your life for something more meaningful, please allow me to summarize:
1. This Place is Loud
Indeed, Butcher and Brewer is pretty damn loud. From what I gathered, most of the noise complaints came when people visited on game days. We didn't visit on the eve of any particular sporting event that happened to be occurring downtown so it was more a loud din than a blasting cacophony. Still, I do agree, it's up there decibel-wise.
2. It's Expensive
Agreed, but compared to what? I love when people complain about price for a restaurant that makes everything from scratch, in-house to-order. Butcher & Brewer is expensive, but you're downtown, you're on E 4th Street. What the hell isn't expensive down there? I was a bit taken aback with the $10 price tag on a 4-beer flight (if you add additional beers to the flight they're $3 a piece) but everything else is in line with others in the vicinity and the old adage "you get what you pay for" is apropos.
3. Customer Service Is Lacking
This one I didn't personally experience. Sure, the hostess wasn't exactly beaming with delight but our server was pretty friendly and attentive. Our waters were always filled, our food came out quickly and was well-paced and she stopped by a few times to check in. I don't know what most people are expecting, but I found the service to be pretty damn good.
Our Experience:
So the atmosphere, let's start there. It's definitely got that "I'm downtown so I gotta be extra hip and sexy" vibe to it. The lighting is dim, there are gads of giant flat screen televisions above the bar (probably where most of the light is coming from) and the brewery is clearly visible at the very back of the restaurant. Long bar to the left, communal tables up front, more traditional chair & table set up toward the rear. We were seated up front.
We were there on a Tuesday around 6ish and the place was pretty deserted. A few souls at the bar, a few scattered at tables and us. For as empty as it was, it did take our server some time to come back to take our drink orders. Speaking of drinks, if you come here you've gotta try their beer. Brewed under the Cleveland Brewery name, their beers are really good. Not mindblowing, per se, just really solid.
Overall, the food was pretty tasty. We started with some crusty French bread served with three different spreads. We followed that with a couple of small plates including a flatbread and the house-smoked corndogs. The flatbread was tasty, gooey cheese, fried egg and garlic oil on crispy/chewy crust - but the corndogs were delicious. Just the right amount of smoke flavor and the cornbread was perfectly seasoned.
One we got through noshing on the starters we opted to share the hand-ground burger ($12). The locally-sourced grass-fed beef was moist, tender and flavorful. Cooked a perfect medium, the port salut cheese made the perfect compliment to the juicy, beefy goodness. My only criticism would be on the presentation. The burger was plopped u ceremoniously onto the center of a large, round plate. It just seems sparse and lonely, is all. Some fries would have kept it company.
I'd say our trip was a good one. The food was good, service was good and the beer was good. Definitely a solid 4-star experience. While I personally would avoid this place during any downtown sporting event or concert as I have a feeling it would be busting at the seems, others may find the crowds just their thing.
Be warned, parking may be a bit of a challenge when visiting this area. We managed to find a meter right out front (talk about your luck) but I have a feeling if you can't snag one of those during your visit you'll be forking over $10 to park somewhere else. Just be prepared.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)