Archibald's Tavern

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  I have been three times.  Each with different people for different purposes.  The first time I went I went alone just to pop in and check it out and grab a beer or 3.  Had recently opened and hadn't been yet.  Always looking for a nice local place to grab a beer after golf, work, fishing, or just for the heck of it.  It was pretty busy at the bar, but several tables were available.  Being a single, I wasn't going to take up a table to drink a beer.  So I stood at the bar behind those seated in the stools trying to make eye contact with the bartenders to place an order.  After about 7 or 8 minutes I decided to try the universal sign of "Give me a drink".  I held a $20 in my hand that was clearly visible to anyone who looked in my general direction.  10 minutes later I still had a $20 in my hand instead of a beer.  So I left.
  
  The 2nd time I went was after spending an hour at the Wake County Shooting Range and I decided to pop in for a couple as my kids were at a party that wasn't over yet and had some time to kill and the bar is right down the street from where they were.  I also happened to be hungry.  Place was not to busy so actually got some service this time.  Fish and Chips were one of the food specials that night, so I got it.  Big mistake.  It was clearly a mass produced, frozen and reheated product and it showed.  Was wet, soggy, and bland.  On the bright side, my beers came quick and the fries were good.  
  
  Third time was again after a trip to the shooting range and went there after with a friend who was leaving town the next morning.  I didn't eat but he did.  He didn't have any complaints about the food.  I just had a few beers.  But the original beer I ordered it turns out was out of stock and it took the server a few minutes to come back after placing the order to tell me they were out.  The staff should know which beers are not available and let you know when you try to order one.  
  
  I guess its an alright place for just grabbing a drink or two, but I wouldn't plan on it being a place to go for the night and have a meal.

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  Posted on 02.18.13 Brian T.

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  I have been here a couple times and the only thing I can say is the service is always slow, the food takes forever to come out, the beer on tap is usually limited,  but generally the food is good.
  
  I ordered for the patty melt for the first time tonight and after waiting about 30 minutes for it, I got the smallest burger I have seen outside of a slider. The burger was good, but when I asked the waitress about the size, she said people complain about it all the time and that it is just an optical allusion because the bread is so big. If this is a constant complaint, they should make the burger bigger, because regardless of what she said, it was tiny. About 4 bites and it was gone tiny. I would recommend requesting a larger version even though it is not on the menu, you will be happy you did as the flavor is good.
  
  The fries were good as well, a little cold and I could tell by the soak through on the bottom of my burger bread, my food had been sitting for about 5 minutes or more before I got it.
  
  My wife got the chicken salad sandwich and said it was good, however, I stole some of her sweet-potato fries when we first got our plates, and something just wasn't right. It took me a couple seconds, and a couple more of her fries to figure out what the strange taste was...powdered sugar. My wife said they kind of tasted like a sweet potato funnel cake. Not recommended.
  
  If you are in a hurry, stay away. If you don't mind waiting, the food is good and generally they don't blast the jukebox music so you can actually have a conversation with people.

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  Posted on 02.23.12 Michael F.

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  I would like to preface this by saying that I'm super easy to please, and I've never been anywhere that's managed to mess up "bar food."
  
  After passing this place several times, we finally decided to try it.  We were both disappointed.  There weren't more than 10 people in the place, but service was slow.  It took a while for us to get our orders in and then a long time to get our food, which seemed weird because they weren't packed and we didn't order anything complex.
  
  My husband ordered a cheeseburger and I ordered the fish sandwich.  The food was okay- very plain and nothing special about it.  My sandwich didn't come with tartar sauce, even though it was supposed to. Should I have just asked for some?  Probably.   But the service had been so slow and I was hungry so I just ate it.
  
  The place was clean and the prices were reasonable, but as soon as we walked out we said we'd never be back.  If you want bar food, there are several other places in the area that do it better.

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  Posted on 02.10.12 Jennifer B.

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  I wish Yelp had half stars, I really want to give this place 3.5 stars, but decided not to give it a 3 and instead give it a 4 because this place has great potential.  First, this place is small and cozy, yet super clean.  Even the restrooms are clean.  I noticed the beer selections were lacking, as were the beer specials (unless you really like domestics), but I wasn't here to drink so I am reviewing this solely on it's food.  If I was reviewing the bar end of it, it'd definitely get a 3 star review.  The food selection isn't huge, and it's typical bar food, burgers and sandwiches with a few entrees.  We got burgers.  Thankfully they weren't frozen beef patties, they were actual hand made burgers.  They seemed a little small for the price, but they were tasty nevertheless.  The fries that came with them were okay, but they could really benefit from being cut thinner, or cooked differently, they definitely weren't cooked all the way through.  The service was good, it looked like there was only one waitress, but we really didn't have to wait long for anything.  The bar was almost full, so apparently there are plenty of locals who like Bud light:-)  There are as many TV's as tables, so you won't lack for things to keep your ADD riddled mind occupied!  Overall this place seems like a nice local hangout, it would be nice if they could improve upon their beer and food selections, and definitely have some better specials to lure people in (although the 50 cent wings on Saturdays looks like a good deal!).

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  Posted on 01.18.12 Jeff F.

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  I'm sad to see that a couple of others had bad experiences at Archibald's.  I've only had good times here.
  
  I personally think their burgers are fantastic, and any bar that has Magners Cider available is OK in my book.
  
  It's a neighborhood bar in a neighborhood that needed one.  Works for me!

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  Posted on 07.18.11 Brian A.

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  Wow. How can the only "hang out" on the corner of Holly Springs road and Sunset lake, the "main street" for a mass of high end homes and hungry people, be so lame?
  
  First, they took a very nice corner building encased by wall to ceiling windows and painted them black. Forget about any view on the happenings outside. You get to look out at the parking lot. It's dark, and there seem to be some barflies hanging out regularly.
  
  Then you try to order. I've been there a few times out of a sort of necessity for something close and a hope for improvement, and I'm not sure if the waiters are stoned or just inexcusably slow. One woman forgot our order not once, not twice, but three times, coming back to ask us again and again what it was we'd asked for. She wasn't there the next time I came, but things hadn't improved much.
  
  To top this off, the food is just crap, frankly. How can you call yourself a tavern or restaurant and show such little care for a simple sandwich or burger? Yeah they have some fries or something that aren't a disaster, but who cares? This place is a sad mistake that should close or be taken over by somebody who wants to actually make money by selling good food while offering a place to hang out with family and friends on a very busy, viable street corner. The customers are there...

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  Posted on 06.09.11 Mark D.

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  well ive only been here once, but my first time was great, the waitress was clean, fast and on top of things before i had to ask. and the food was great, i had some fried pickels that were amazing, and the burger i had was awesome.

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  Posted on 08.11.10 Cody G.

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  The food was OK but there are better choices in the area. My wife had a French dip and it was pretty plain. I had the chicken salad, salad. The chicken salad was OK but not anything to rave about either. The side order of fried green beans why wife had was the only thing on the menu with much originality to it.
  
  Archibald's tavern has passable food and a clean atmosphere. I'd eat here again if I had to but I probably won't. Life is to short for mediocre food.

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  Posted on 07.29.10 Shawn W.

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  The food was great! However, I'm not sure you can call yourself a tavern and only have 3-5 beer selections, most of which are Bud/Miller/Coors brand. Increase and improve the beer choices and this place could be a lot better!

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  Posted on 05.10.10 Jessica R.

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  Stopped in on a Friday evening about 6:45. Sta at the bar just under an hour waiting on my take out order of 2 cheeseburgers.
  
  No information given to me during the wait.
  
  When I asked if a 45 minute wait was normal for 2 cheeseburgers, the bartender said that they were really busy.

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  Posted on 04.13.10 Phil B.

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