I wouldn't put Blackstone's on any list for a great dinner, let's get that out of the way. Â However, if you just want to hang out with friends, have drinks, and grab a bite to eat - it is a pretty cool place. Â They have a great selection of beers, and plenty of TVs if you are wanting to catch the game. Â The patio is also very nice on cool summer nights.
They are also probably the best downtown for happy hour and specials. Â They have a inexpensive menu for college students too.
In the Flint area around dinner time, we got a recommendation to try Blackstone. While trying to locate the restaurant and parking, we ventured around town a little bit. The Blackstone was the only place with a crowd. Win. This place was boppin'. Many large parties, some dressed up and some casual. All walks of people were mingling. The band was great and the atmosphere was fun.
Service was pleasant. Our drinks took a while to arrive because the bartender is also the manager and had 'managerial issues' to take care of during the dinner rush.
The 'Irish food' on the menu is fairly expensive. Twice as much as the rest of the menu. Â It's not like you import a boxty. Â I ordered a burger. It was cooked to my liking and the fries on the side were outstanding.
I wouldn't make a special trip to come here. If I'm in the area, I may be back.
Three of us seated at an expansive round table for 10, the only thing available, we'll take it. The beer selection..meh, not as great as I would have thought. The typical Guinness, Harp, Budweiser..nothing fantastic. Coconut Shrimp, super duper sweet. I felt like I was eating a piece of candy not a piece of shrimp. It was good but the dipping sauce was super thick. I had to spread it on with a knife. The hubs got the Oh..Lurvey sandwich, kind of salty with the ham and Catalina dressing combo, we weren't fans of it. My friend got the Olive Burger, which she seemed to enjoy. The decor..brick walls, historic black and white pictures, pub-ish, I liked it. It seems that wherever I go the band doesn't start until I walk it and this would be the case here. So loud, we had to scream at each other to have a conversation..but I did enjoy watching the bands they did have. All student musicians playing with their music teacher..It was pretty awesome I must say. The service was decent and I would like to come back again just to sample something else on the menu.
Review Source:The first time I visited, the service was abismal and the food was cold and mediocre. Fortunately I was convinced to go again and all 4 times I've been back, the staff has been friendly and the food tasty.
The decor and vibe is casual and welcoming and the fish & chips is the best thing on the menu. Other than the daily soup, that is.
Great little restaurant and I hope it continues to do well.
If you don't like Blackstone's today, wait a few weeks, they'll completely change their menu and you may find something you like. I've had brunch, lunch, dinner, and drinks here at least 50 times in the 3 years they've been open and I've had maybe 5 good meals. It seems they have a new chef and menu once every six months and the menu can range from 3 to 12 pages. I think the appeal is that it's a place that's sort of trendy, good location and the inside looks nice but their food is inconsistent; my mother once ordered buttermilk chicken and it was ice cold on the inside. I used to like their "boneless chicken wings" and although, they were breaded and fried chicken tenders, they were obviously made in-house. Well, up until 2 months ago and they're now the tyson chicken fingers you buy at the store. Their waitstaff is pretty bad, the bartenders are good, although, I'm not sure how strong the mixed drinks are. When it's busy, it's very hard to hear the person next to you and I've seen chairs break on 2 different people, so watch out. I wouldn't recommend eating here but sometimes it's nice to meet someone for a drink.
Review Source:Honestly, the downtown area which is very small these days is still a little bit scary in Flint. Â So scary that the waitstaff know nothing of the area or its surroundings. Â My guess is it's the local hang-out for the U of M Flint campus students when they are in school. Â The food was nothing special except for the delicious cornbread like - well, bread they served with our meal which tasted more like cake with yummy melted butter on it. Â I had a pasta dish and it was terrible. Â My huband tried a house favorite and that was terrible. Â Our waitress was as dry as toast - after asking some questions of the area, she was clueless despite her working there. Â I can see why but seriously? Â She had no personality and should be in a different job. Â The best part of the meal was my drink. Â I had some cherry berry vodka with some sort of othe vodka and a mixer. Â Pretty yummy. Â It does appear to be more of a bar than a restaurant but I wished we had ventured out to try some Mexican on the other side of Flint - like the nicer side. Â Does Flint have one of those areas?
Review Source:I've only been here a handful of times since it re-opened, but all my meals have been enjoyable. A dish that stood out to me on my last visit was the Tomato Bisque, which I think was a special that day. I don't know if I'd make a special trip downtown just for Blackstone's, but if I was in the area it's definitely a good dining option.
Review Source:Poor service.
Long wait for the drink order.
Water arrived with debris in the glass.
When food arrived it was not as ordered.
After waiting for the server to return I ate it anyways.
After the meal was done and the drinks gone, only then did the server return to check on us.
Left and came back quite some time later with our check.
Grrrrrrr.
In a word: mediocre. Â I happened to be visiting from out of state on the first day Blackstone's opened, and thought the food was absolutely fantastic. Â On subsequent visits it seemed to be a little worse on each trip, and now that I have moved back to Michigan and have had a chance to dine there more often, I have to say it really isn't worth the money. Â The food is OK, but that's about it - certainly nothing special. Â I'll go there for something different every once in a while, but it is definitely not worth going out of your way for. Â What a shame - it started out much differently, and with FAR better food.
Review Source:Went here for the first time with my gf with a large group before a semiformal dance. Having made a reservation for 42, we arrived and they had 3 tables ready for us and even had extra seats! The whole rest of the place was packed. The dim, green and white lights revealed an industrialish pub with a classy restaurant on the side, while several tvs played hockey games, news, etc. and a man played jazz on a hollow-body guitar.
After being seated, each table was waited upon by a different server. Ours was named Steve, and was overall quite competent. Shortly after receiving our drinks, an abundance of delicious cornbread arrived, of which I consumed 5-6 yummy triangles. My lady friend and I had the Blackened Chicken Alfredo and Irish Onion Soup, which was nearly identical to traditional French onion soup, although a hint of beer was apparent. When our entree arrived it did not disappoint - delicious, lightly-charred strips of chicken atop a bed of pasta with creamy alfredo and parmesan, sprinkled with diced tomatoes. Everything was delicious - chicken very flavorful, complemented perfectly by the alfremesan pasta (we both removed our tomatoes). My only complaint the entire night: normally its 2.99 to add soup to an entree, and Steve failed to mention that this does not include the irish onion, which would be 5.95 instead. Oh well.
I was thoroughly impressed by this place, especially considering the location. A complete break from the Flint we typically think of. Prices reflect those of a typical fancy restaurant. We will be back. :)
I go to Blackstone's regularly for business meetings and I genuinely appreciate what Blackstone's is trying to do in Flint. The brick and wood atmosphere is a welcome sight in this blue collar town. You will find the suit and tie crowd here most days enjoying drinks and talking about the news of the day. The college menu is great for any college kid in the area. On that menu you will find a $4 Pub Burger and Fries and it is worth at least twice that much. The reason I give it four stars is because Blackstone's straddles the line between what could be "Classy Dining" and "Sports bar." For some that probably works but for others who want to simply focus on conversation and the food it can become slightly distracting.
On a positive note though, Blackstone's seems to genuinely appreciate Flint's history. On the walls you will see photographs of important figures in Flint's past. Hopefully Blackstone's is a sign of what is to come in Flint's future.
We knew nothing about Blackstone's, but after having driven by, curiosity led us to eat there. It looks like a retro, upscale restaurant from the outside, but inside, I was disappointed to find it's a sports bar dominated by TVs, pool tables, bartop video games, and loud music. If that's your thing, enjoy, but if I'm eating, it's not mine. The menu is quite extensive, the food is better than you'd expect given the atmosphere (the shepherd's pie and shrimp diablo were both quite tasty), and the service is friendly, but it's more geared towards slinging beers than entrees. If you're in downtown Flint and want a drink and a bite, this seems like the place to go, but I wouldn't seek it out if you have other options.
Review Source:Blackstone's has some good food and some good beer. Â I really like the Coney dog pizza and they can make a mean burger. Â A more diverse selection of beers on tap would be greatly appreciated though.
I have had some questionable help from the staff: one time at lunch, I was asked to leave to make room for incoming guests, even though I had only been seated for 45 minutes. Â Another time, the waitress forgot my soup and the salad of my guest. Â And my guest was one of the owners!
Sometimes they have a piano player or a band, which is nice. Â The facility does not have strong acoustics, but they make do with what they have. Â It can be very tough to have a conversation with anyone in there past about 9pm. Â
The food is solid though!
I have to say that I enjoyed Blackstone's SO much. I went there on a Friday during Back to the Bricks for drinks, and I was so impressed that I went back on Saturday for dinner.
The fries are very good and are always served hot, and they have malt vinegar for the fries, which for me, is a HUGE selling point. The fish and chips were super crispy and the fish was white and flaky, just like it should be. The Irish boxties (Did I spell that right?) were so delicious, and I would recommend that appetizer to anyone.
Why only four stars? Because the live music was SO loud that I could barely hear myself think, and that was so annoying. Couldn't they turn the amps down a little bit?? I enjoy live music just as much as the next person, but I don't enjoy my ears ringing after I leave because it was so loud.
But will I go back? Yep. Oh, and like any good Irish pub, the Guinness flows like water. :)
So tonight I finally got down to Blackstones, I have been eagerly awaiting to go there since they opened, but either never had the time or the wait was to long.
After being there tonight and letting my fervor die down some, I decided to write a review. The ambiance is nice, its not something you would expect to find in downtown Flint that is for sure. I love that they pay tribute to the city's history and kept a lot of the original feel to the building.
The initial impression was great, the hostess was nice and polite and there wasn't a wait since it was 5:30 pm on a Friday. We were seated and spent quite some time mulling over the menu. About 10 minutes after being seated the waitress came and took drink orders. We ordered Smithwick's drafts (a nice touch) and got the beers probably 5-7 minutes later. Then the waitress disappeared. 10 minutes later again, beers 1/2 full, she stopped to see if we wanted another beer...just a bit too soon...but we'll be ready to order in a few minutes....Another 20 minutes passes by and she comes to take the order...not for appetizers or anything, but for entrees. We order and I add that I want to have an appetizer.
Long story short, when the entrees finally came, my NY Strip, mashed potatoes and veggies were cold and my friend's stew was barely warm. It took at least 20 minutes to get the meal to begin with, not sure why it would take a RARE steak 20 minutes to cook, but umm ok. I'm pissed but hungry so I eat. 1/2 way through the steak she came to check on the food...not 2-3 minutes after we got it, but a good 10 minutes. I explained that it was all cold, and she did offer to refire it, but what was the point, then I have to wait 20 minutes again for a rare steak.
The manager stopped by to see how everything was, and we explained that the food was all cold and we were not being served very well. He didn't offer to comp anything or take a percentage off or even a free dessert.
Now for the piece d'la resistance...after we finished eatting, the waitress came by with the dessert tray, plunked it down on the table between my guest and myself and started explaining what it all was. No excuse me or anything, we declined as we stared in shock at each other.
She finally brought the bill 15 minutes after the refusal of dessert, and brought a comment card with it. Needless to say this was filled out and handed to the manager that did not come talk to us.
The good stuff though, the steak was cooked perfectly. My exact instructions for it were "rare....almost blue" basically seared on the outside and cool pink center, generally when I order this way it comes medium rare. Nope this one was perfect, but no residual heat left in the meat at all, even from the searing. The potatoes were seasoned very well and actually tasted delicious, except that they were cold.
The Blackstone Stew tasted amazing, just the right amount of Guiness and well cooked...but again cold.
I do not blame the kitchen for this poor experience, this was all on the waitress, obviously the meal sat waiting too long to be brought to the table. Hopefully next time the server will be better and I will enjoy my meal.
I've only been here once since it opened in April '09. They're going for an Irish feel, I guess. Not sure if that totally succeeds. It's a nice interior though and I like the long high tables at the front. When they open up the front to open the terrace it will nice to sit there if it's just a bit too chilly outside. The beer selection is OK and the food was good.
Any place else this pub/restaurant would be rather boring, but since this is downtown Flint, where nothing lives, it gains some extra points. I hope they can survive. I would love to see downtown Flint flourish a bit.
Update: I need to add that the bread that was served was stale. That's an area where you want to pay attention to freshness. If it's not fresh, just don't serve it.
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