Pintville is quaint and has so much potential...I can envision it evolving into some chic hole-in-the-wall that pub-crawlers of Pineville and South Charlotte escape to when they want a low-key night with close friends while listening to live local talent with a nice selection of craft beer to choose from. I like the high-top tables and Spartan décor; the emphasis is certainly on your beverage and company which is a nice reprieve from the overbearing HD TVs that plague most bars now. Sometimes I feel like I compete for attention but this place is certainly more conducive to conversation. I saw corn hole boards and other interesting looking past-times in the back where the restrooms were but did not investigate too much since the area at the time was being occupied by a couple of parents with small children. I imagine that late-night weekends render the area more "adult-friendly".
Cutting to the chase; I have a couple of complaints. The first beer I ordered, an IPA that I'm familiar with and ordinarily enjoy, was served looking like some malt milkshake (link to my pic below). I looked at the bartender when she placed it in front of me but when she didn't seem embarrassed by the awful pour and didn't make a move to try again, I pitied her and took my beer to wait for the foam to settle down. "Must be new" I thought to myself. But over the course of a few beers that my friend and I enjoyed, the service was inconsistent and really did not improve. I only took one picture while I was there and it was of the first beer... Seriously the worst pour I have ever paid for ever.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxs7DouIa2eddWdSRUV4RWN1Q3c/view?usp=sharing
There were a few folks in sitting at the bar talking with the bartender and I got the feeling that they were all friends. There was a cliquish feel and I wasn't really comfortable until the bar began to bustle. Once the room filled, the quiet tension of strangers dissipated.
Recommendations:
-I would make the recommendation that all pours be assessed prior to handing over to customers. If a shitty pour cannot be undone and you feel obliged to serve it, perhaps consider offering it "on the house".
-I recognize that this is a pub but staff really should be a little more welcoming; it would have been easy to change my mind and walk out to find something more comfortable had I not already promised my friend we would grab beers together there and in all honesty it was the best "half-way" point between our houses. We stayed only because it was convenient.
-Coordinating with a food truck is a great way to marry two specialty businesses that cannot accommodate what the other can however it would serve Pintville well to offer more packaged goods to snack one. Ultimately it was my hunger and the fact that the food truck was already gone that caused me to close out my tab and move on.
Looking forward to giving it another go in a few months to see how it has developed!