Brickhouse Bar and Grill

I am disappointed to read all the negative reviews and not one apology or comment from the restaurant that they are regretful and are fixing things.

We were planning to go to this restaurant/bar to try it out this week, but after reading about the s-l-o-w service, we'll just go to our favorite place, Lapellah.  Good service and great happy hour.

They always say "location is everything," but sometimes that works against you. The problem with the Brickhouse is just that - the location. It's not in a bad part of town or inconvenient to get to, but it is just down the block from Shanahan's Pub, a far superior "dive bar."

I first stopped here for lunch during a company function, and was impressed. The interior back by the bar was dark and cozy, and the food, pretty good. I had a Cuban sandwich that included juicy pork, Swiss cheese, and a fried pickle. It may not have matched up to the infamous Cubano at Portland's Bunk Sandwiches, but for a neighborhood pub, it was surprisingly good.

Naturally, it's no longer on the menu.

I wanted to go back for a more relaxed after work, end-of-the-week-let's-unwind celebration, so we did just that on a recent Friday evening. The weather was mild, so we grabbed a table outdoors and waited.

And waited. And waited.

I had read reviews complaining of slow service, and I have to admit, it was rather sluggish, for lack of a better word. And the servers had a "we're just going through the motions here" vibe that suggests they're just there for the paycheck, as cute as they looked in their little shorts and sexy farm girl getup.

I had also read that they used fresh squeezed grapefruit in their Greyhounds, so I walked up to the bar (it was quicker that way) and ordered one. Without hesitation, the bartender grabbed a can of grapefruit juice, popped it open, and poured it in a glass. So much for truth in advertising. The drinks were good overall, but the appetizer platter was nothing more than standard bar food. As we ate the fried pickle spears with "zesty bistro sauce," we dreamed of the fried pickle spears at Shanahan's, which was maddeningly in sight. The "tot-chos" (tater tot nachos) were nothing special, just ground beef, cheese, sauce, and tater tots that probably came out of a bag in the frozen food aisle of Safeway. The spinach artichoke dip wasn't bad, though.

I will say the prices here are very reasonable, and that's probably its saving grace. Each of those food items was only $2.99, and Happy Hour lasts all day on Friday. Even Shanahan's can't boast that. Maybe the secret is to start your evening over there, get good and drunk, and then finish up at the Brickhouse, when you no longer care about little details like frozen tater tots. At least you can maintain your buzz that way, and you won't break the bank.

Yeah. Where to start... We show up with our 2 toddlers for a bite to eat. After 10 minutes they bring us menus. After another 10 min they take our drink order.... You see where this is going. Long story short, after an hour and a half, yes, I said an hour and a half after asking for a glass of ice and ordering our food.. NOTHiNG! So we get up to leave. Waitress runs over and informs us at this point "the computer messed up and didn't get our order". Apparently the "computer" didn't get the request for a glass of ice either. Will not be back. And we will inform everyone else not to go either. What a miserable place.