Still a great spot but something has changed. Â Atmosphere not as good, decor updated (really?) and the orange awning doesn't inspire or invite.
Food lackluster.  The bacon appetizer - their claim to fame - was limp and very greasy, the hamburger was small and the bottom part of the bun was hard and stale.  The service, though friendly enough, wasn't  very good.  We kept asking where our food was - doesn't take 45 minutes for a hamburger.
The beer selection is still stellar! Â That's why we'll probably be there again but the next try will be our test. Â If it's still a 3 star, we'll forgo another visit.
I was on the fence about trying Brewmasters for a while, but we decided to give it a shot after seeing Live Work Play tweet about their new menu items and decor. It was high school graduation week and it took a couple of minutes for our server to greet us, but she was a total sweetheart and offered us a free app for the wait.
We ended up starting with both the fried avocado and the candied bacon (hello gluttony my old friend), which I probably never would have ordered on my own but I'm glad it wound up on our table. The bacon is super flavorful and comes with an apple jalapeño sauce--an insanely tasty guilt pleasure. The avocados were perfectly ripe and weren't overly fried which was nice.
I really enjoyed the two bites of my veggie burger I managed to take before calling it quits. The bun was delicious and the veggie burger was well-seasoned. I do recommend adding tomato or avocado to dress it up a little. Also, the homemade kettle chips are no joke.
We had a lot of fun with the beer menu which is conveniently divided into categories and houses a great selection of NC beers. I was pleasantly surprised by the food and service at Brewmasters, and we'll definitely be back.
My husband and I went here this past Friday night, along with my parents who were visiting from out of town. Â None of us had been here before. Â We found the atmosphere to be relaxed and the staff to be very friendly. Â
The bar has over sixty (60) beers and a couple of ciders on tap. Â To get the best sampling, my husband and father each ordered a flight. Â For the flight, you get to choose any four beers or ciders on tap. Â You'll get about 6 ounces of each. Â I think those were $10. Â Both men were quite happy with their selections.
All four of us were quite satisfied with our food as well. Â We had chicken tenders, sliders, pulled pork barbecue sandwich, and a Hangover burger. Â My husband also ordered a Pint Of Bacon. Â He declared it, "Sticky. Sweet. Thick. With a light peppery kick. Yum!"
As we were eating the owner/manager came over to check on us. Â He was really nice and was happy to make beer suggestions based on what people know they already like. Â He explained that he had taken over the place only about four months ago. Â So, if you haven't been to Brewmasters in awhile, I suggest you give it another shot!
Holy Mackerel! Â They have a Selection. Â For sures.
We stopped here as a group of about 10 when on the Trolley Pub and were happy to find the couches and food menu, as well as the massive choice of good beer. Â We ordered garlic fries, sweet potato fries, hummus, and chicken bites as apps to soak up all the beverages we'd been consuming on our 'tour'. Â All were quite good and it was a great vibe to chill for a bit. Â
We were there pretty early- maybe 5:45ish, but service was very prompt and thorough. Â They have outside seating, but the inside has booths, high tables, and the aforementioned couches/lounge chairs.
I'll definitely be back to sample from the NC wall o beers.
I will go back simply for the Cup-o-Bacon! Â No need to get too into detail because most people have already done it but here's the highlights.
-Great selection of beer
-Strange decoration and ambiance, not sure if it's a pub or sports bar
-I have had a burger and the salad wraps, both were VERY good and the sauce that comes with the candied bacon is AMAZING!
-Wait staff was courteous, prompt, and attentive
I say give it a try, you might not like everything about the place but you will definitely find something you love!
It's been a long time since I had walked through the doors of Brewmasters Bar and Grill. Â Last night, I decided to give it a shot with a couple friends. Â Not really because we were excited for the food, but because we knew it would be dead and just wanted to have good view of the basketball games. Â That assumption was correct, sadly, and the food played up to our expectation.
The fact is, when this place first opened up, I was genuinely excited. Â A nice spot to get a burger, have some good beers, and loads of TVs to watch just about anything you'd want. Â In fact, for a while, it became a regular spot for our friends on Sunday's to watch NFL games. Â Then, it started to change.
Now, the food is mediocre at best, with a menu that I believe is on its 4th generation now. Â The decor hasn't changed, other than taking down pictures off the walls and adding a booth in the middle of the room. Â Bonus is, for those that were there in the beginning, the floor does have traction now. Â I had a club, which you would think would be a simple thing to make, and it came as one giant heaping mess and accompanied by a forkful of fries. Â My wife had the chef salad, which she mixed and picked through, leaving almost half of it behind because she said it tasted funny.
The staff also projects that dismal feeling. Â It's not to say everyone in there walks around like it's the end of days, but the majority of who you engage with just seems to wish they were somewhere else.
Beer selection is good, hence the two stars. Â Can't knock them on that. Â Unfortunately, with the number of options available for good beer in downtown Raleigh, that doesn't cut it. Â
My advice: If there's a game you want to see, and not worry about crowds, go there but eat first. Â Otherwise, you can scratch this one off the list.
So Brewmasters WAS great up until 6 months ago. Â It used to be one of my favorite restaurants. Â They used to have an amazing beer menu, fun and knowledgeable waitresses and TONS of vegetarian/healthy food options. Â We went there on 3/22/13, and it was a DISASTER to say they least. Â Â They changed management apparently from what I was told. Â Their beer menu is a meager half of what it used to be with no descriptions. Â All the veggie options were removed from the menu and our waiter was too busy to even give us napkins. Â Overall, Brewmasters has awful service, awful food, and shitty beer selection! Â I am really bummed.
Review Source:I love beer, but that wasn't the primary reason I went to Brewmasters, so I won't comment on their beer selection. Â I thought it was a pretty good list, though...so no complaints.
The atmosphere....well...there is none...so I can't comment on that either. Â This is a "space" that has a bar and tables in it. Â There was some live music the night I went in, and the first guy that was playing was abyssmal...but the band that came on afterwards was pretty good. Â Â But again...atmosphere stinks!
Now...for the food! Â I am continually on a quest for a good burger, and I must say, Brewmasters did NOT let me down! Â I ordered the Carolina Firehouse burger. Â I got to choose how I wanted it cooked, which I like...and it was cooked the way I ordered it. Â I cut the burger in half to eat it because it was so big. Â But, I wouldn't do that again. Â Too much stuff falls off when you cut in half. Â The flavor was awesome! Â I enjoyed it alot.
My dining companions each ordered the Hangover burger, and they were also pleased.
So, while I enjoyed the food, I'm only awarding 3 stars because of atmosphere and noise. Â I think this is more a music hall/beer hall that serves food.
There are so many great places for beer now, Brewmasters may not stand out as much. But on its side of downtown, it's still a solid place for a sudsy selection. The beer menu is broken into styles, and has a good mix of craft breweries. ABV wasn't denoted though, and I ended up with a pretty serious stout... during a lunch meeting! The menu isn't doing anything too far outside your basic pub grub, although I do have to give them sincere respect for putting Cup o' Bacon on the appetizer menu.
Respect.
I opted for the chicken salad wrap, and found the candied bacon made it a pleasant surprise. My waitress was great, even despite having to handle all the tables on her own. I'd go again.
I love Brewmasters. Â Yes, there are problems. Â The decor leaves much to be desired. Â The sportsbar-esque flat screens clash with the flashy red bar top. Â Throw in brewhouse paraphernalia on the walls, and you got a clashing atmosphere that could use some feng shui.
The new staff is friendly and attentive. Â The food is surprisingly good, with a thoughtful menu and unique twists on common pub fare. Â For instance, their turkey wrap has candied bacon with in-house smoked turkey--you take a bite and think, "woah, this is...really good."
I've been stopping by almost every day since coming into town on business and I have come to love the place. Â Each time I feel compelled to ask the bartender to compliment the chef on the food. Â To top it off, they have a killer beer selection. Â
Sometimes I'm the only one there. Â This should change.
How you feel about Brewmasters will largely depend on what you show up for:
If you're coming just to have a beer: 4.5-5*
If you want beer and food: 3.5*
If you want beer, food and service: 3*
I've been here many times with a buddy to have a brew and a burger, and it has always been consistent. Brewmasters was a place called "Cherry Bomb", and I guess it was originally supposed to cater to the Tilted Kilt/Hooters/Flying Saucer crowd.
Evidently, the women who work downtown at various government agencies who make up the lunchtime crowd weren't too keen on the concept. The restaurant quickly converted to Brewmasters...which is when I embarked on the first of many visits.
I think the prologue is necessary for those who see "Cherry Bomb" in some of the reviews, and are confused.
The beer selection here is good and varied. Most importantly, you get a full pour for your money, for the most part. If you're looking at the "Lips of Faith" collection, you'll still be paying for a 10-12oz pour.
My first visit made me particularly happy, as I was able to get a pint of DFH Aprihop for $5...that same pour was going for $6.50-$7 for a 12oz pour down at Busy Bee's.
Needless to say, I had a few pints at Brewmasters. They also keep a nice selection of Stouts, along with a well-organized beer menu. Specials are regularly available, showcasing local beer that is quite good. One of the partners owns a brewing supply store downtown, and he seems quite devoted to plugging the locals.
40+ taps ensure that you'll be able to grab a brew you like on draft.
Food-wise, the menu is a bit limited. You have 3-4 standard offerings in the burger category, along with a "Build your own" option. As is the case with other burgers at other restaurants in the area, they just can't seem to season the patty properly. You should still be able to taste the meat beneath the toppings.
Generally, the toppings overwhelm the burger. The Carolina Firehouse burger is very good, on the whole. The toppings are very messy. The sriracha mayo is quite spicy. The chili, mayo, and onion rings are all you can taste.
Fries are excellent and plentiful. Burgers are massive, but bland (meat-wise).
I've frequently been shown to a booth that hasn't been wiped properly. Waitstaff blends into the surroundings. They'll always be there if you want a refill of beer. If you'd like anything else, the service is less consistent.
If you're going out with someone who likes beer, Brewmasters is a viable option. If you're taking out a woman, platonic or otherwise, and she doesn't have a love of beer, take her elsewhere.
This was our first visit to Bremaster's after having had a good experience at the Cherry Bomb Grill. Â We decided to try the "best brunch in Raleigh". Â After barely being noticed coming in the door, we were told to seat ourselves and took our own menus to the table. Â The only waitress had a bad attitude and knew nothing about the menu. Â The bartender had very few customers (it was before noon on Sunday), but would not help the waitress get drinks, even though she was obviously struggling. Â The table beside of us left after an extremely long time without being approached. Â They were the smart ones. Â
We never did get our soft drinks (or silverware) until after our food came. Â Out of my entire meal only one item was edible - the grits were great. Â The eggs were not cooked properly, even the second time they came out. Â It is not hard to make eggs and toast. Â The "manager" did take off most of my order from the ticket, but did charge me for the item that I ate and the drinks that arrived after the meal. Â My husband had average, but edible food. Â This place needs some help. Â The waitress and manger did not seem to be very concerned with the table that left or our bad experience. Â But, I left frustrated and still having to find something to eat .
So reading about this place online, I was really excited to try it. When I checked Yelp, I was a little confused by the rating. After going there, I totally get it.
I'm a huge beer person, so I was excited for the selection. Nowhere near as good as the Flying Saucer, but blows away almost every other place in the area. Beer was great - no complaints there. I was even able to find some new ones, which is fairly difficult for me these days...
Unlike many others, I didn't have any problem with the service - my service was just fine. My waiter was friendly and knowledgeable (though slightly socially awkward). However, this might be because I went right after work, when there were more servers than tables filled. But I can't complain about that.
And like so many others, I had the Hangover burger. It's going to kill me before the age of 60, but I'll day a happy man. That was one hell of a burger.
My biggest complaint about the place was the ambiance. It seemed to try and walk a fine line among several different "types" of venues (e.g., a beer venue, a downtown night venue, a music venue) and failed on all accounts. I went here for a beer destination and was disappointed in the experience. It just seemed to impersonal and "club"-ish for my tastes.
I'd give this place 4 stars on the food and drink alone. I got the Hangover burger, which was delicious, and their beer selection is great. It's not quite as extensive as the Flying Saucer, but the prices are a little better. The serving of fries with the burger was a little skimpy. Other people in our party got more fries with different menu items.
Service however would be 1 star. The waiter knew a lot about beer, not much about waiting tables. He took our appetizer order, but not our entree order. We had to flag him down to order, or if we wanted anything else like the check, because he rarely came by to check on us. We got to the restaurant around 8 but didn't get our entrees until almost 9.
It was First Friday, so they had live music, which would have been nice had it not been deafeningly loud. I had to shout to talk to people sitting next to me.
Let me preface this by saying that my husband LOVES the selection at Brewmasters, so I've got at least 10 visits under my belt before writing this review.
You really never know what you're going to get at Brewmasters. Â I've had the best burger of my life there (the Hangover) and the absolute worst dessert I've ever ordered there as well ("Strawberry Shortcake" made with dry expired vanilla cake, strawberry jelly, and watery whipped cream). Â Depending on the day, time, or moon alignment you could end up loving the food or hating it. Â Overall I'd say that the food is pretty average once you factor in the best and the worst of it. Â Also, it seems like they are always out of what you want to order (Bacon, brownie a la mode and flapjacks are just a few examples in recent visits).
However, the one thing they are ALWAYS consistent on is the horrible service. Â Actually, "horrible" is an understatement. Â In all the times we've been we've had 1 or 2 visits where the service was fast, friendly, and efficient. Â It doesn't matter if it's dead inside or slammed....you will end up waiting for everything, the waitress will have no idea what beer is in, and you probably won't feel like your business is welcomed.
We really want to love Brewmasters (as evidenced by my husband's repeated patronage) due to its location and menu, but it just keeps failing us. Â If you're willing to take a gamble and shoot for an awesome meal, Brewmasters is worth a try. Â But if you're looking for a consistently good dining experience I'd recommend going someplace else.
Food was great. Beer selection was very good. Service.....left a lot to be desired! Our waitress was new and she didn't know the beer menu! She didn't bring napkins to our table and overall was not very pleasant.
We were going to the Ampitheatre, and it was raining, so the wait didn't bother us much, but if we had been in a time crunch, we would have been pissed.
Brewmasters: You have many beers, take a note from the Flying Saucer and train your waitstaff on what the beers are all about!
Craved a burger...did a search for best in Raleigh and two options intrigued us...Player's Retreat and Brewmasters. Â We saw that both opened at 11 on a Sunday. Â Neither website was clear as to whether regular menus would be in effect or if only brunch ones would be. Â With visions of the "hangover burger" Â in sight on the brunch menu for Brewmasters, we headed there.
 We were greeted warmly and invited to sit anywhere. Server brought paper brunch menus.  Sadly it was too early to start with breakfast beer (who makes the stupid Sunday rules anyway?  NC has come a long way since the blue law days, let's continue to progress, shall we?  Seriously, what does it matter if we order brew at 11 or 12 on a Sunday?)  Sorry, I digress.
 Ordered tea.  Unsweetened.  With lemon.  Ordered two hangover burgers...one for me regular, and one for Husband with no fried egg.  (sadly he doesn't appreciate good goo anymore than he does succulent bones. sigh...his loss)
 We relaxed side-by-side in our comfy booth.  Enjoyed watching Food Network over the bar that was close-captioned.  Of course, it made us hungrier.  Tick tick.  Time went by.  And more.  We watched the busy Server run back and forth with new tables, and older ones.  Food trickled out, looking wonderful.  Fortunately we weren't in any hurry, especially when Friendly Server plopped down across from us and confessed to forgetting to put our order in.  Now we had already waited at least 30 min. at this point, but we were hopeful and she was sweet and friendly, and you gotta appreciate a good confession, ya know? Â
 So we watched others get served, and ding ding ding...the bewitching hour arrived and so did our ability to order beer...quite necessary when dining in a place called Brewmasters anyway, ya know?  Wow is the beer menu AWESOME or what?! We went straight for the more robust options, and ordered a flight to share.
Think vanilla, coffee, chocolate...we went for dark and flavorful. Â YUM. Â And yes, plenty of options available for those of you who like your brew wimpy and watery. Â :)
 Before our flight arrived, our burgers finally did.  Thankfully, they were well worth the wait!  Seriously good!  Fries good also.  Burgers were perfectly medium cooked as requested...full of flavor and topped with so much goodness, not the least of which was the candied bacon.  Yep.  Sigh.  Worth the wait.  Seriously.
 Chowing down and our flavorful flight arrived.  Boy did we pick some good ones!  No wimpy beers for us...we went for the gusto and were rewarded for just $5.50 for a flight of 4.  How awesome to be able to try several...this is serious beer paradise!
 Yes, it took awhile here, but it was very much worth the wait.  Burgers and brew?  Highly recommend!
A decent place to grab a beer and some bar food. I have eaten here twice and I was met with similar excellence in food quality.
The service on my last visit, a random Saturday night, started off shaky - there was no sign at the front indicating if we needed to be seated, and no one greeted us, so we sat ourselves. We didn't get service for 20 minutes, someone finally came over and asked us if we had been seated there. We explained the above to her, and she was a little angry that we sat ourselves. Alas, she gave us menus and eventually took our order. Overall, she was a good waitress and we were the ones who screwed up. No qualms here.
So, I was starting a bacon-free diet the next day and STRONGLY desired one thing from this places menu - a PINT GLASS OF BACON. Very disappointed to hear the waitress say "we are out of bacon". WOW! I was pretty sad.
The rest of the meal was pretty good, but that bacon thing killed me! I had a burger and some decent fries. Beer was delicious, and priced right.
I may return, but if they are out of bacon I will never come back again!
We schlepped ourselves over to Brewmasters in order to eat and watch some March Madness at the same time. It was surprisingly empty. Was everyone just watching the games at home? Really? When it can be watched all at the same time on different screens? Well, I liked watching it all at once, anyway.
It was great to see many vegetarian options! Chicken-less chicken or portobella or black bean patties can be put on pretty much everything, skipping the meaty toppings, obviously (bacon, chili, etc.). Even though one of the small people I had with me wanted a full-size burger (which I nixed), the kid-size burger was the perfect size for the youngster who wants a full-size burger without the gut-busting effects. The adult ones? HUGE! Why is (almost) everyone making burgers big enough to feed a small nation? Because burgers saved until tomorrow? Not so much.
Holy moly, I haven't even mentioned the beer! Extensive, and the selection at on par with Milltown over in Carrboro. We'll be back.
I was worried about trying this place after seeing all of the negative reviews out there. Â Maybe management read the reviews...b/c this place was totally fine. Â The menu had plenty of meat (pint of bacon...hello!) and plenty of vegetarian options (salads, 2 home-made veggie burgers and 3 veggie biscuits). Â Our diverse group of 5 diners were all satisfied. Â
Service was clearly an issue for some patrons in the past. Â However, we experienced friendly service, a solid menu and terrific local beer selection. Â In terms of the beer, I especially liked the multiple options for flights of NC beers.
The creamed collards were spicy, rich and delicious. Â Spinach veggie burger tasted great and also had a kick. Â Pulled pork sandwich was potentially too spicy...but delicious. Â Chicken biscuit had a great kick and yummy sauce.
Overall I had an okay experience here. Â I went for a dinner recently. The service was really good, the beer selection is huge, and they have a large assortment of vegetarian options. As a bar, its wonderful and I've been there since for a beer. However, the food just wasn't that great. I was excited to try some of their more interesting options so I ordered the pimento cheese biscuit. It was dry, grainy and just not that enjoyable (and I LOVE pimento cheese). Other things on their menu may be better, and since I like so many other things about this place I'll probably be back to try them, I'm just a bit wary.
Update:
I've been back a few times and had opposite experiences. Good food, but poor service.
This used to be one of my favorite joints in DTR for burgers and pub grub. I came back after a few months away to find the menu ruined and the quality of food decidedly subpar.
I can sympathize with a desire to trim down and simplify your menu, but they only kept a tiny handful of the previous selections, and many of the new choices are just baffling. I am struggling to find the theme of the menu - it appears to be some sort of poorly executed Carolina country-pub fusion approach, and it's a big step backwards. A trim down was certainly understandable, but this revamp just feels completely out of place.
The new menu also has a haphazard approach to pairing sides - the chicken finger appetizer comes with a side of fries, the sandwiches do not. Offer sandwiches with a side for cripe's sake - if not, at least don't try to charge another dollar and a half for it.
Unfortunately, I think many of their best appetizers and sandwiches are gone, and the new bacon recipe is apparently "BBQ rubbed and burnt to a crisp". Even the relatively novel and inviting "Pint of Bacon" was a huge letdown, and until now I thought it was practically impossible to make bad bacon. If I was the chef here, I would be flat-out embarrassed to let something that poorly executed out of my kitchen, much less charge someone seven bucks for the privilege.
I used to love this place when I worked downtown, but the poorly thought-out menu combined with absolutely terrible service earns one of my old faves a single lonely star. I simply can't recommend this place until they make some drastic changes to their staff and menu.
Been here a few times...Wings are good and my hubbie is a fan of all the beers on tap. Â The turkey sandwich is really good. Â Love the bread it comes on. Â
Mixed reviews on service. Â Two times we went we had great service. Â Server was friendly and knowledgeable on the beer selections. Â Another time server was not able to give us the time and service we expect when we go out to eat. Â Food took a really long time to get.
About two months ago I decided to revisit Brewmasters and I was appalled by the even worse customer service than my first visit. The bartender was standoffish and straight bitchy. We asked to do a flight and she gave us the paper but no pencils and then proceeded to ignore us for the next five minutes. When we finally decided to sit outside, the bartender told us that she'd send a server out. She never did. But I decided not to write a one-star review based solely on the horrible customer service skills of one miserable bartender.
And I'm GLAD that I didn't. Just last night I returned (despite my loud protests to my friends) for what I said would be my LAST try. Let me start by saying that my server was absolutely phenomenal. She was on-key and super friendly, not to mention incredibly knowledgeable about the beer selection.
They've also just recently changed the menu up and it's far less confusing than it used to be. Although I stood my previous and delicious choice of the Hangover burger, there is now an awesome selection of biscuits. My friend ordered the Brisket Biscuit (Duck Rabbit Milk Stout Braised Brisket topped with horseradish cream and pickled red onions) and before I even had a chance, he'd gobbled it down saying that it was PHENOMENAL. I also got a chance to try the Mac & Cheese (so tasty) and the fries (much better and crispier than I remember).
Lastly, the waitress brought out samples of their upcoming menu item, CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON. Let me just say, this was absolutely to DIE for. Brewmasters, in my book, has completely redeemed itself and I look forward to going back and trying more.
There are so many unique, eclectic places to eat in DTR, it is no problem to bypass this one, which is why this place will suffer. Â It offers nothing new. Â There are so many other places in DTR you can get an extensive beer menu (Busy Bee, Raleigh Times, Tir Na Nog, The Borough, Flying Saucer, just to name a few -- and what about local breweries like LoneRider and Big Boss), which have far better atmospheres, as well as most of them serving fantastic food.
After our food came I felt like I'd been sold with false advertising. Â It started with the deviled eggs appetizer: "classic deviled eggs topped with pickled okra." Being from the south, I am very familiar with home-made (would that be "classic?") deviled eggs and home-made pickled okra, which also happen to be some of my favorite side foods.
What arrived were 4 little eggs on a sad little lettuce.. I just stared at them in silence. Â The eggs had been piped with some kind of way-too-smooth filling that looked as though it was reinstated dry-powder. Â Who's "classic" recipe is THAT? Â I don't know about you, but my grandmother didn't puree the deviled egg ingredients until they were all uniform in size and unrecognizable. Â You could probably drink that stuff, or spread it on a cupcake. Â But I digress. Â
The "pickled okra" was TINY FLAKES of green something. Â It *could* have been pickled okra... I guess. Â $6.
We both ordered burgers. Â Mine: the mushroom (veg) burger. Â His: something meat. Â On his, the cheese was wrong. Â Mine (granted, it was a veggie burger) fell apart immediately. Â But what killed it was that it tasted as though they put an entire bottle of Mrs. Dash in each patty. Â It was so strong and so bad neither of us could finish. Â
Hardly worth mentioning at this point: my side was a little bowl of black-eyed peas. Â I'm sure it will be no surprise that their consistency was that of dried peas that hadn't been boiled long enough. Â They were hard and tasteless. Â At least they could have save a little Mrs. Dash for the peas.
Ya Know, I really wish Yelp would allow 1/2 stars. Â If that were the case, I would have given Brewmasters 2 1/2 stars. Â While the food my wife and I were served was tasty, the service was lacking and took away from the whole experience. Â
We stopped here on our way to a free concert by the NC Symphony at the the new amphitheater. Â It was the Sunday before Labor day, so that may explain the poor service at Brewmasters. Â They seemed understaffed and unprepared for the crowd they experienced due to the holiday weekend.
Demerits...service was very slow. Â It took a few minuets for us to even see a waitress ( the only one working), so we were unsure wether to seat ourselves or wait. Â It took a while to have our orders taken, and once they were, it took a while (25 min) to get our food. Â Once we did, my wife did not get the sandwich she ordered, nor I the side I had ordered. Â Once we were done with our meal, I had to repeatedly flag down the waitress for the check and to pay her. It was frustrating.
Merits. Â The food we were served was very good. Â I had a corned beef Reuben, and it was fantastic. Â I was served a side of fries, although I had not ordered them, but they were good and there were plenty of them. Â My wife received some type of portabello sandwich and she said it was very good. Â The only problem, it was not what she ordered.
If we go to another show at the amphitheater, I may try Brewmasters again. Â While we did not get all the food we wanted, we enjoyed what we were brought.
Strange experience:
A server got shitty with me over what he thought was his (lack of) tip. Excuse me? No, that isn't how this works.
First of all, you aren't supposed to take the final signed copy of the receipt with the written in total while we are still sitting at the table. Second, if I make the dollar amount even for my credit card and then plan to tip you in cash, don't bring me $0.20 "as my change" and a shitty attitude.
How dare you.
NOW you REALLY don't get a tip. Hope you feel like a big man now.
The burger was good, though they were out of FOUR things that we ordered. You make the menu, can you only include things that you always have on hand?
Awesome beer selection.
Horrible experience.
The husband and I visited recently for a microbrewing class and it was basically the best way ever to spend a Sunday. Â Class starts at 11:00 a.m. so, by the time the instruction portion finishes up, it's past noon, and therefore legal to booze it up on the lord's day in NC. Â The tasting will get you crunk if you don't look out!
I found the instruction interesting and informative, with the teacher brewing a batch of his finest right before the class. Â He covered supplies, ingredients, and technique, and then we had a glorious beer tasting of several local microbrews alongside some international standbys for comparison's sake. Â It was a blast!
To top it off, we got a packet that walks through each step of the process, plus coupons to use on supplies and ingredients, as well as on our next trip to Brewmasters. Â Sweet!
I also tucked in to the pimento cheese sandwich from the brunch menu and it was quite tasty. Â Their beer list is absolutely stellar. Â And I found the service quite good, particularly considering the peculiarity of one server waiting on a big ol' group of beer lovers.
The place stayed open for brunch as usual during our class, which made it a tad hard to hear the instructor at times, but no big.
This spacious bar and restaurant is kept immaculately clean. Â You could practically eat off the floors. Â Above the massive bar are several televisions tuned to all your sports favorites. Â You really can't beat that with a stick. Â It's also located slightly off the beaten---across Nash Square from the real hubbub of downtown---so it affords many more street parking options than you might normally be used to. Â I'm not in Raleigh nearly as often as I'd like to be, but I would definitely visit again.
Went with friends. Walked in at almost 7pm on a Saturday and was almost empty, but then it was 4th of July weekend. My burger was delicious...can't remember the name but it has goat cheese and roasted red peppers. Hubs had the hangar steak. Friends we were with had the chicken cordon bleu special and a burger. All were satisfied. All were cooked properly. Oh and Hubby and I shared the mac and cheese...awesome. Also the green bean side was very tasty( a little smushier than I like but still very tasty). I had a vodka and lemonade, I don't drink beer and they were heavy on the vodka..woooo!
The cons. One of my friends asked for no onions on her salad , and it came out with onions. She informed them of the mistake and the waitress was gracious, but after getting the "new" salad my friend looked at me and said, " they just scraped off the onions...I can still taste them." Another con was they was hardly anyone in the place and the service was really slow.
If you're not in a rush and aren't ravenously hungry, its not a horrible wait. But I couldn't imagine what the wait would have been like if they had a full house.
Pros:
-great beer list
-friendly waitstaff
-my burger (the hangover, minus the fried egg) was delicious. Bacon, cheese, nice bun and flavorful, generous portion of beef that was perfectly cooked!
Cons:
-no soap in the ladies bathroom
-fish tacos were lacking in flavor; just tasted like white fish on a corn tortilla. No sauce, no garnish or any other taco fillers
-guacamole tasted mealy, like it was previously made, frozen guac
-BYO bloody marys were sub-par; great idea but skimpy on the add-ins
-pimento mayo that came with my burger was served frozen
-waitress took app order, chips and dips came before any of our drinks (incl water); waitress then had to be flagged down 20 minutes later so we could order lunch.
We might be back for a drink sometime, but I doubt we'll order food here ever again. Â Also: and this might sound harsh, but a friend of the waitstaff came in, sat at the booth behind us and began crying. Made for awkward dining while her friend (waitress) consoled her.
I Â was there at 6:30 on a weeknight and have never experienced such glacial service in my life!
We were there about 45 minutes before we even got our DRINKS!
I understand being slammed and understaffed, but you at least make sure everyone has drinks! Our waitress was nice, but that was about it. She thought getting checks done was more important than getting drinks or food out.
The food was good (I had a burger and fries), but if you're really hungry, go someplace else because you will be sitting there until the next ice age waiting for it.
I visited this place around dinner time on a Saturday. Â I'm a fan of local and craft beer - thanks to my wife for discovering this place. Â :-)
This place has a great selection of local breweries and other breweries located in North Carolina. Â They do carry many of the typical brews you might expect, but clearly they are focused on the local breweries - and thank you for that!
The menu is a little light on fare but the food we received was well cooked and properly seasoned. Â It's sort of like pub food with flair - it goes great with the local beer. Â Another note about the menu: There is a handy little legend on the menu that gives some advice as to what beer to match with a given entree. Â Check them out - I think they did a very good job.
The service was good. Â While we were there, business picked up dramatically and our waitress was clearly busy. Â She did a great job just the same.
Overall this is a nice little place downtown with a slight feel of a 50's diner... with sports playing on bigscreen TVs. Â Good local beer and decent food.
Stopped in yesterday around 6:30. A friend suggested I give it a try. Had the Jalapeño Poppers, Standard burger and a Duck Rabbit Milk Stout. Location isn't in the Fayetteville street area or in the Warehouse district.. it's right in-between! I had no problem finding parking on Martin St.
First impression:
Nice decor, very clean place, good music that wasn't too loud. I liked the ambience and the overall vibe. The place didn't feel like it was trying to be someone else, had it's own sense of being.
Food:
It was clear that none of the food was previously frozen. Everything was as fresh as can be including the romaine lettuce on my burger! Great sign. The jalapeño poppers took a few extra minutes to come out, why you ask? Well I was told the chef wanted to whip up some fresh batter. Nice work chef! The poppers were excellent but not as spicy as I would have liked. I brought them home and my wife said they were some of the best she's ever had. She also thought the spices were just fine. Then I had the Standard burger but instead of burger I opted for blackened chicken, also got the side of fries. The sandwich arrived. Most places get the chicken wrong - it's usually over cooked (dry). My chicken was moist and succulent. The sandwich was awesome! The chicken wasn't over-spiced. The fries were excellent too. I'd probably say the fries were on par with five guys.
Beer: I'm a true believer in craft brewed beers. This place had about 30 NC craft brewed beers on tap! I don't think Flying Saucer has that! The staff were very knowledgeable of the beer selection and the menu also has a "flight" option that you can choose to try multiple beers - which was really cool!
Suggestions:
- Menu is well laid out but I'd still prefer to see chicken, fish sandwich options separate from the burgers. While your add it, please have a vegetarian/vegan section b/c my vegan friends probably won't come for food if it's not spelled out.
- I'd also like to see a veggie plate and chips & salsa options. I don't always want to eat heavy.
- outdoor seating is limited. It's too bad your windows don't open up
- live acoustic music would be great
Verdict: Raleigh needs a place like brewmasters! this is the best pub food I've had in the Raleigh area. The menu is unique and creative. The beer selection is excellent.
Look forward to coming back!
I kind of love this place. Good beer, good TVs, good food.
The menu is easy to understand and I love that they give me ideas for beers to pair with my food. Plus, the food must be made there in the kitchen from scratch since I had a whole bunch of changes I needed to make and they were all done! You usually can't get a change to something because it's been frozen and shipped to the restaurant. I think this place is fresh, and I love that.
Oh, and the waitresses & bartenders that I've spoken to do know their beer. That's another plus - I can get an honest opinion about the specialty drafts and such. In some places that like to be hip with the times, they forget about actually educating their staff about what they sell. Major bonus point.
OH! And there's always good beer specials & events going on - checkout <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmeetup.com%2FTribeer&s=4332ca53adf61b53a08d33153579f192e1e6fdb6efb4688316f461e8ac7c691c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://meetup.com/Tribeer</a> for events. I went to a homebrewing class once which end with tasting sessions. LOVE!
I just wish it weren't in Raleigh so I didn't have to drive so far. I know, lame excuse, but that's my reason for not being there every week.
I'm knockin this one up a star because my only negative comment was being  unhappy with the service.
The GM/Executive Chef read my yelp posting and e-mailed me promptly. In part he said, "I would like to first and foremost appologize to you for the sub-par service. This is not acceptable and our staff here knows that. Â I would love to make it up to you if you would let me."
Now boys and girls that is the way to take one on the chin with no excuses. Thank you Brewmasters. I knew you had it in you and I will come back and I don't expect anything in return for free as long as you keep providing us with your quality brews.
I've been watching and waiting for this business to be updated on Yelp! Â Finally!!! Â It was posted on the 21st or 22nd when I'd been stalking Yelp for it for days already. Â Now here it is, at last! Â I went here for dinner and drinks with several folks on the Saturday the 19th. Â We pretty much ravaged the menu too...it was me, another girlfriend, and 4 guys. Â
Before the whole bunch arrived for dinner before our Irish themed bar crawl it was just my date and another guy though. Â I sat there reading and thinking aloud....hmmm.... I want deviled eggs, wings, crab cakes, mac'n cheese, and that sounds good too. Â My date responded, "Well order it. Â Oh, and order the fried avocado too." Â Really?!?!?!? Â He has to be kidding right. Â Nope. Â Told me to order it and we'd have a whole communal meal. Â Alright. Â If you say so. Â I ordered it. Â Then, when all the food arrived before me I had the largest grin on my face like a kid on Christmas morning. Â The rest of our crew had arrived by then and they were like "what on Earth?!?" Â Deviled eggs in a bar?!? Â Yep. Â I wanted them. Â They even had a little salsa in them and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. Â I had a little bit of everything and quite content. Â Then I was asked, "What do you want for dinner?" Â Wait a minute. Â I just had my dinner. Â I offered to help the others with THEIR dinners. Â
Well, said date ordered flounder. Â I got a third of it and gobbled it up. Â It was so yummy. Â I don't even know what was in the sauce, but I could have just licked the sauce up like a puppy and been content. Â It came with asparagus which was cooked OK, but not phenomenally. Â Other people had a burger, sandwich, salad, and a second flounder. Â All were quite happy with their meals. Â
Me being the bird eater....well not really...I continued to pick at the other apps still floating around the table after finishing my allotted flounder portion. Â The crab cakes were okay, but being from the beach I can tell you that they could have done much better. Â The fried avocado was okay, but kinda dry. Â Wings were pretty good, but could have benefited from a little more sauce. Â The mac'n cheese was kind of sweet because it had granny smith apples and ham cooked into it. Â Since not all the apps were finished, we had an eating contest between the deviled eggs and crab cakes. Â Quite entertaining. Â Please mind you, that if we weren't about to head out on a bar crawl, we might not have been that obnoxious and we don't usually act like that. Â Hysterical and good times -- without wasting food though. Â
Tasted other people's beers. Â They have 66 beers on tap there!!! Â The IPA said date had was quite strong too. Â Our waters were kept filled and no one was ever left without a beverage. Â Service was superb! Â Our waitress was easygoing, fun, playful, and all around awesome. Â I'll go back for the food and bevy of beers, but it's their staff that makes it fun. Â Brewmasters keep the groove going because I hope you sustain yourselves better than your other identity.
The food at Brewmasters is pretty good, but the service is at a glacial pace.
I had been there for lunch in the past where the super slow server response didn't bother me as much.
I was in there on a slow Tuesday night and here's what I experienced (along with the others at our table) I asked for the check at 7:49pm, finally got it handed to me at 7:58 but she disappeared before I could hand it back to her so I had to wait until 8:07 for her to return and take it. She finally came back with my charges all rung up at 8:13.
It shouldn't take 24 minutes to get out of a small bar and burger joint. I
would have to say that it's probably the last time I'll be going there.
[UPDATE] The guys at Brewmasters reached out to me and let me know that what I experienced wasn't the level of service they are striving for and have invited me back to give it another shot.
To me, that's the kind of attitude that will make me not only return, but spread the word about a local place that is going the extra mile to keep it's customers happy.
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