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| - I've been here a couple times, and while I like the general atmosphere, the food and service have been hit or miss. The Arrogant Butcher has a snazzy name and an equally snazzy downtown location, and there's always a bit of a wait to get seated. I've noticed that the dining room isn't ever completely full, so the wait must be due to a mismatch between space and servers.
On my first visit, I came with a group of friends and we were seated outside. The service was superb, and our waiter was even nice enough to offer to roll down the plastic shade on the outside so the sunlight wouldn't be in our eyes. On my second visit, the service was lackluster and dismissive, to the point of being negligent. There was also a huge hair ball floating around the floor area I was sitting, which wasn't a pleasant sight during dining (I did think it was slightly funny that our waitress nonchalantly stepped over it multiple times).
Fish and chips:
The first time I had this dish, I was blown away by the light crispiness of the fish and the freshness of the fries. The portion was generous, and I was so excited to try it again the second time. When I did recommend that my friend order this the second time and we shared, I found the fish to be super oily and the coating to be too thick. The fries were also limp and borderline cold.
Beef stew with cornbread:
This stew was homey and comforting, especially when paired with the cornbread. The cornbread was lukewarm though, and that put a bit of a damper on the pairing. The seasoning is also on the spicy side, but the cornbread does a nice job of off-setting that.
Cheese ravioli:
A pretty solid dish, but the portion is on the small side for the price. The ravioli was made well, and the sauce was nicely seasoned.
Turkey pastrami sandwich:
I only had a bite of this on my first visit, but I thought the pastrami was pretty tasty. This is a hearty sandwich, and our server let us know that it was one of their most filling. Side salad can be substituted for the usual fries.
I may be back to the Arrogant Butcher, but the mixed experiences I've had make me a little wary.
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