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| - My group of Parma friends were hopeful to make the Brew Garden our new regular watering hole. The Blue Moose which previously occupied the venue hosted a generic infestation of Miller Lite-drinking douchebags listening to Nickelback, so of course we avoided that.
But with new management bringing in a detailed craft beer list (incl. size, ABV), a solid menu of restaurant-quality food, and some actual rock & roll, all at a convenient location, it sounded too good to be true. Unfortunately it was.
Our group was there for opening night, where I ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese sandwich and a couple snifters of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. All delicious, all at a great price (most beers $3-5-ish as Mike B says). Finally, an American-style pub that didn't suck!
Unfortunately as my friends have gone back, week after week, the service has steadily grown worse, and the beer list and menu have diminished. It's far too common to sit for 25 minutes without a brew; most of my pals just walk up to the bar because they know waiting at the table is fruitless. While the menu options are great compared to most bars in the area (e.g. walleye sandwich with garlic aoli, yes please), Brew Garden has increasingly cut back on the choices.
Most recently I was there around 8PM on a Thursday (a rare chance; I'm usually busy with a volunteer job). I was hungry and aching for a pint with my pals. The waitress/bartender (I'd call it understaffed but there were only a dozen customers, half of them in my group) dropped me a beer list which was only half of what they used to offer, with lots of choices scratched out or overwritten in pen. She came back 60 seconds later and I told her my choice (an oatmeal stout), but she said that one was out of stock too. I'd need a few more minutes to decide. But then I didn't see her again for well over 20 mins. No, she wasn't busy; I watched impatiently as she putzed around behind the bar and clicked through TV channels.
I asked my buddy at the other end of the table for a menu, and he gave me a paper sheet instead of the usual booklet. Where'd all their awesome sandwiches go? 8PM on a Cleveland bar night and apparently all they offered was very ordinary burgers (lettuce, tomato, ketchup), wings, boring pizza (just plain or pepperoni), or nachos. I could get that same fried crap at any old dive. So I sat a while longer, bored and sober, until I couldn't take it. Why did I bother coming? Why did my friends bother? I guess they've resigned to the fact that that there are still no better pubs nearby.
Hungry and annoyed with the lack of service and appetizing food options, I left, vowing to catch up with my pals later.
It's a shame too, because the venue is great, with a large bar, solid tables, plenty of TVs and a projector, an open floor area for bands, and a great patio with its own large bar. With good food, good, beer, and good prices, it could be fantastic... but it's all marred by consistently bad service and steadily diminishing options.
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