Always one to celebrate the ever-evolving beer culture in the Capital Region, I went here with some friends when we were going out in Troy one night. Â I found Broadway Brew Biergarten to be a quieter, more intimate version of the City Beer Hall and also Wolff's Biergarten in Albany. Â The beer and food menu definitely reminds me a lot of Wolff's Biergarten, but with having various game offerings like Jenga, it tries to cater to that City Beer Hall vibe. Â That being said, this place doesn't have anything that makes the bar feel any different than the aforementioned places, so it doesn't feel like anything special.
Review Source:This place is good for large groups. The tables are large and there is plenty of seating.
Jenga and yahtzee is available. There are large buckets of peanuts all over.
Sometimes the waitresses dance on the bar and give out free shots (very weak).
The beer selection could be better for a beer garden.
I have to admit I have never been inside this place.  And never will.  Every time I walk past the place at night it is filled with 20 something  riff-raff.  Young guys with with baseball hats on sideways,  gold chains, pants down to their butt with their underwear showing and squeaky clean white sneakers unlaced.  Get the picture?!  And their female counterparts...looking skanky as ever. This has turned into a local thug/ hoochie mama hang out.  So, unless you're into that scene, avoid it!  Too bad it has turned into that type of hang out since the interior is great and I would want to hang out someplace like this, less their current clientele.
Review Source:The real gem is that the tables are big enough for large groups and the beer flows in 3 sizes: 1/2, 3/4 and full pints. Try the pumpkin ale or hard cider!
The music is consistently good - between JayZ and dubstep- which clashes with the look of the venue's pre-setup beer pong, darts, and jenga activities.
GREAT staff and spacious enough to feel like you can breathe but crowded enough so you're in the IN crowd. Prost!
I have been here a few times since it reopened as Broadway Brew Biergarten. I first tried them out less than a week after they opened. I liked the different beers available, but the food left a bit to be desired. I had a burger and my friends had wursts. The burger was unremarkable and the French fries reminded me of the ones you get at a fast food restaurant. My friends thought it was a bit odd that the wursts were served in a hot dog bun. I have been back a few other times for beer. The last time I went they had no air conditioning. Additionally, it seemed like they ran out of CO2 as the beer was flat.
Review Source:I SO want Broadway Brew to be a success, but I've been disappointed on both of my visits (once a year or so ago, then again since it's under new management or ownership). The new decor is an improvement over the bad paintings of wine bottles, but the blaring television sets kills any atmosphere the place might have. The first time I tried to have a drink here, the movie Titanic was playing. This time it was Platoon or some sort of war movie. Folks, it's a bar. I want to watch sporting events if I want to watch TV at all. Preferably with the sound off so that I can listen to music. I do not want to watch people drown in frozen water or fire machine guns at each other between commercial breaks. I went outside with the smokers to get away from the TV.
The bartender was friendly. The "cash only" policy seems bizarre and cost them several customers while I was there. Like other reviewers, I was underwhelmed by the beer selection. $6 for a bottle of Rare Vos (they don't have it on tap anymore) also seems a little steep.
I'd love to be able to drink somewhere else in Troy besides Brown's! Someone has clearly spent money to improve the space. I hope they can get it together.
Not really a big fan of this place. Â Maybe because it is trying to copy Wolff's Biergarten in Albany? Â I mean come on find your own identity. Â Same concept with the peanuts. Â The thing that really doesn't make sense to me is they offer a wide range of beer. Â Not just German beer but all different kinds. I wouldn't expect to see Peroni on their menu, but it is...just weird if you ask me. Not my first place to stop at when I am thirsty in Troy to grab a beer that's for sure.
Review Source:This place is lame. It looks like they are trying to be a biergarten, but since they know nothing about beer, they fail. Actually, it's kind of obvious that they don't give a crap about beer, and they're just trying to cash in on the growing popularity of craft beers and biergartens. They even spelled "Hoegaarden" wrong on the blackboard menu-- "Holgaarden." For real? It says it right on the tap.
They have Rare Vos on tap, and when my boyfriend ordered an Ommegang, the bartender corrected him, "actually, it's not Ommegang, it's Rare Vos." Yeaaaah. Lame, dumb, lame.
Out of all the different types of businesses one could open, why would the owner of Broadway Brew choose to open a biergarten? I'm baffled. The least they could do is hire someone who has a clue.
This place is very bad. Do not waste your time. it has been on the news for its bad rep. It has had more complaints than any other bar in troy for assults, theft, and disorderly conduct. Â It is also at risk of being shut down for code violations and has not even been open for a year. My experience at the bar was the worst. my friend and I wallets were stolen from out of our bags. When my friend saw the lady with her bag she punched her in the face and was kicked out off the bar. When I spoke to the man claiming to be the owner and the bouncers they only went in side with a small flash light and looked on the floor for our wallets even though we explained that they were stolen and that we knew whom the person was. One of the bouncer even accused me of lieing. This place is only concern with the money that it can make. their is no safety in place other than two or three bouncer. there are no cameras or even metal detectors in place. So anyone at any time could walk into this place and do harm if they wanted to.
Review Source:We went here by accident and it was a big mistake. My wife and I were out for a quick dinner before a very popular RPI hockey game (the Freakout, for those of you who live around here) and thought we would try someplace besides the very popular and crowded Brown's Brewing Co. We had tried the other new place on Broadway (which was OK) so headed in that direction, but accidentally walked into the wrong place. We thought we might as well try it (not reading the Yelp reviews for a change ... bad move). They had a veggie burger on their menu so I could eat along with my wife (who remains an omnivore). The first problem was that the veggie burger turned out to be veggies with cheese, which I do not eat. I ordered the veggies, but was given veggies with cheese but they quickly replaced it. (The waiter was a friendly competent guy.) My side order was sweet potato fries and that turned out to be the only decent thing we got to eat. My wife's burger was dry. Her fries were soggy. Everything was pretty blah. "Entertainment' on the restaurant side of the place was provided by a big screen TV playing music from local cable TV company. The music was good but the sound quality was not and I don't like loud, badly amplified music. We won't go back.
Review Source:I would give this place 2.5 stars... but that isn't an option, so three it is. Â
I have been here probably a dozen times or so, I work downtown so it is in a great location for me. Â The food is decent, there are some yummy salads and today for lunch I got the veggie "burger" which isn't a burger at all... just a marinated veggie sandwich. Â Their sweet potato fries are always good... crunchy not soggy. Â
I make sure to sit at the bar because the bartender (Karen) is a doll. Â I have seen the owner in there nearly every time I am there and I have never witnessed him engaging any of the customers... but maybe it is for the best.
As bar food goes it is pretty decent. Â Depending on who is cooking (I am assuming) the food really fluctuates. Â The lunch menu is small which I prefer and they are usually willing to tweak the menu items if you don't see something you like.
Beer selection is good...
Honestly with a few changes this palace could be really good... but as it is, it is ok. Â I have never been disappointed or blown away.
I gave this place 2 shots. Â First time I walked in and the place is EMPTYYYYYY except for a couple of patrons sitting at the bar. Â We weren't greeted until we were just standing at the hostess stand for a couple minutes. Â Finally the hostess seated us at a table outside, dropped some chips off and left without saying a word. Â No one came over and offered to take a drink order or anything and we sat at the table for more than 5 minutes.
Friends of mine had gone in the meantime and raved about the place, said that the beer selection was great and the food was fab.
Against my better judgement I returned. Â THIS PLACE IS A MESS. Â As a new restaurant you are only as good as your servers. Â And they suck here. Â We were seated after a short wait with the drinks we had purchased while we were waiting. Â We chatted, looked over the menu, finished our drinks. Â We sat with empty drinks for quite some time. Â The owner popped over to see how everything was going and we mentioned that we hadn't seen our waitress yet. Â We waited a little while longer and he came back over and we advised that we still hadn't seen our waitress. Â Promptly after this visit from the owner our waitress shows up. Â She takes (and screws up) our drink order. Â We don't say anything (mistake.) Â After another round of drinks is gone, we are left sitting with empty glasses again. Â Finally our waitress shows back up and takes the meal order. Â We wait 30 minutes. Â The owner comes over and explains that it's very busy, apologizes. Â We are an understanding bunch so we continue to wait. Â Another 30 minutes pass and one from our table goes to track down our waitress (still m-i-a at this point) and we are told that our "food is being plated." Â To me this means it's being plated and will be brought right out. Â Yet we sit and wait another 15 minutes with still nothing. Â We seek out the owner this time and we are told again that it's very busy, yada yada yada. Â FINALLY we are ready to leave, because again we've got no drinks and no food. Â We should have just left. Â The food arrived a short while later and WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. Â I tasted everything from the french fries, to the DRY salad that was brought out even though dressing was requested to the spinach salad to the risotto. Â The chef here has some serious salting issues. Â As in he doesn't know how to use it. Â Everything was bland bland bland. Â The spinach in the spinach salad was overcooked, bland (no salt) and was sitting in some sort of brown juice. Â Not appetizing nor delicious. Â I'm all for new businesses especially in Troy because it needs all the help it can get however I will not be visiting this place again and I'd seriously reconsider if you're looking for a tasty meal.
I stopped in for a brew during FloodFest 2011 (aka: the Irene associated floods). They do not brew their own beer so point off for misleading name. Â I couldn't see all the taps so I asked the bartender if they had any hefeweizen on tap. She looked at me like I was from another planet and as though she had never heard the word "hefeweizen".
To break the awkward silence resulting from my inquiry about hefeweizen...
Me: which Brown's is that.
Bartender: its the Whiskey Porter. You should have it, it is good.
Me: great, I'll have that.
Bartender: aakk!. sorry, keg is kicked.
Me: ok I'll have the Switchback unfiltered ale
Bartender: we don't have that.
Me: yes you do its right behind you.
Bartender:....oh. do you also want this glass of foamy whiskey porter too?
Me: no thank you, just the switchback.
There was nothing ceremonious about my friend getting her bluemoon, but she was sad that she didn't get an orange slice with it (and the bartender also "forgot" they had it on tap). Maybe it was brain water-log from all the rain, but even my friend commented something to the tune of "dude, this is weird and we're just here for beer".
For the record, the babes were not abnormally hot (actually they were average) on the night that I was there and the ceiling is just spray painted gold-ish (not gold leaf) so it wasn't all that exciting visually. So orange bobble head reviewers be damned for teasing me like that.
Sign on register says $20 minimum on credit cards. They also had a 2 for 1 Monday margarita special going.
They serve food here? I had no idea. But what they do serve are $5 well margaritas. Made with rose's lime!
This bar isn't so bad for night life, and is much more active than the previous places that had set up shop. They know their market.
Some of the girls here really like dressing up. I love primping up, but it's like everyone decided to go to bebe and get a body-baring cocktail dress (this is just a dress category, so other gals, please don't take offense and wanna rip my eyes out or anything. I too enjoy wearing cute dresses like that). They are cute dresses, but it seems so funny to see people so dressed up just to go out to a bar in Troy. Saratoga? Sure. But Troy? Heh, I guess Troy is moving up.
Oh, and mostly the girls were dressed up. A lot of the guys in Troy still like to try to beat the dead Ed Hardy fashion horse, le sigh.
I was there one night when they had a DJ and it was like a middle school dance of 90s songs and some current pop songs. Still, fun night, and good for people watching. Staff were all fairly friendly. And hello! FIVE DOLLAR TASTY MARGARITAS!
Just thought I'd be review number whatever to tell you the babes here are hot! So hot! You'll leave with burns right to your eyes! That's how hot they are! Did I mention the babes were hot?
The owner will also suggest beer for you! Got it? The guy who owns the place will actually suggest beer for you!
And the food? It's the food of the brewery Gods!
BTW the babes are hot!
If I had kids I would rename them Broadway and Brew!
Meh.
I'm rounding up to 3 stars because it was Troy Night Out, and they were obviously too busy. Â Even so, the service was still mediocre at best and the food was uninspiring.
Good bar selection, especially on draft. Â Prices there were a little on the high side for Troy, but not totally unreasonable.
Food menu... eh. Â I'll give them credit for being able to cook green beans and carrots and not turn them to mush. Â They were actually quite good. Â Otherwise nothing I'd call exceptional. Â My fish and chips were average (though the tartar sauce was excellent). Â Wife's salmon dinner was bland. Â Friend's Reuben sandwich had some excellent corned beef... and NONE of the other things a Reuben should have.
Waitress took forever to pick up our check, and either did not understand the simple cash/credit card split, or tacked on a gratuity without telling me. Â Either way, not what I asked for. Â It was busy and loud, but she could have at least tried to care.
I'll give them a couple months, if they last that long, and maybe try again.
Went there and it was really average, pretty boring menu... I didn't see the shepards pie or bangers and mash that others have mentioned. Looked like the same menu I could go to at least 6 bars in Troy and get.
I ordered the Cheese Steak, got a Chicken Philly instead.. I mumble sometimes so I gave them a pass. The sandwich was really super dry, it was half the size that I expected, and had maybe 2 - 3 ozs of chicken on it tops. Waffle fries were good though, but not a ton of them either.
Food came out super quick, waitress was nice. I love the building but I always have loved it... but that building and space seems to deserve so much more then bar food. Would like to see at least some interesting specials, if it is going to be regular bar food it should be done exceptionally.
I am going to try it again and update my review. Hopefully they progress, but I would probably give this a 2.5 for now more than a 3.
I came here excited for a new local place.  To say I was disappointed is the understatement of the century.  Granted, it was their "soft opening" AKA We don't have our liquor licence yet and need to make money.  I'm not going to get into the specifics of the meal on this one. I don't believe it deserves it.  I will however say that the menu is all over the place.  Normally I applaud bars/pubs that can pull of multi-national cuisine.  This, sadly, is not the case here.  The wait staff  was courteous if not slow (which is the only reason for a 2.)  Please for the sake of Troy establishments stop trying so hard to travel the globe in a menu.  Stick with something that works and make it your own.  It's not likely I'll be back there anytime soon.
Review Source:Yeah, right on with Amber. I gave this place two chances, both for takeout, before writing a review. What strikes me is that this is a brew pub that has decided to open with no alcohol. As a result, half the restaurant looks barren and kind of depressing. Now, if they had phenomenal food I would see the logic in opening before securing a liquor license. That, however, is not the case.
The first time I ordered the avocado salad with chicken. The person who took the order said "ok, should be a few minutes." I work right across the street, so I waited about 15 minutes then headed over. I then had to wait another 15 minutes for my salad to come out. I honestly felt like I could have gone to the store, grabbed the ingredients, chopped them up and tossed them together faster than it took to pick up my salad here. They didn't put a cover on the container of balsamic vinegar, so it ended up getting all over the bag. The lettuce in the salad was dingy and unappetizing. I didn't feel like the it was worth it to pay extra for chicken.
But I am a fairly understanding person. They just opened, so I thought I'd give them a second chance.
The second time the pickup process was just as frustrating. It seems like there is a severe lack of communication happening there already. We asked if we could split the check 4 ways, and the waiter got snippy and said "Well, that's going to be really difficult. I don't know." Then the man who I assume is an owner came over and quickly split up the bill using their computer. The waiter, realizing he made a fool of himself, tried to play it off as a learning experience for him. Whatever dude.
The food was much better the second time (thus the extra star). I got the salmon with two orders of vegetables. Pretty good, but definitely not good enough to make me want to order from Broadway Brew again.
Blahbaty blah blah! Â Â
I wanted to like this place, Â I really did. Â I root for any new place that opens in Troy. Â Â After planning to go to Jose Malone's and finding no parking because of the Brown's lot charging for it (the parade?) I decided to boycott the whole area. Â Â After driving back around, I remembered that this had just opened, so here we go. Â
It looks like they haven't actually opened yet. Â Â Empty shelves and a barren bar ( no license yet?)
This place hasn't found it's niche. Â
The menu is all over the board.   Mexican, Spanish, American, Irish. Etc  Â
(Sadly, they fall short , in the ones we tried at least)
They had 50's music playing, flat screen TV's showing sports and horse racing while the place is adorned with wine paintings. Â
Say Wha?
They served us tortilla chips after we sat down. Â
Why chips? I'm not sure but they were stale  New restaurant and stale chips?  Doesn't make any sense to me either. Â
We ordered a few appetizers instead of meals to try stuff across the board. Â
Guacamole- (okay, pretty whitepeopletized but the best thing that was on the table. Served with the stale chips didn't help)
Calamari- Mushy, bland and bleck.
Fish Tacos-See above
Irish quesadilla- Â Didn't try this but I was told it was okay, the corn beef was apparently too salty.
Salsa-This came with a dish but it was also TOO salty while the chips had NO salt. Â Go figure.
I'm not sure what it is about this location that says "Try too hard!" Â Judges Inn had the same issue. Â Â Reductions? Â Really? Â Get over yourself. Â You're a bar in Troy. Â Do a few simple things and do them right.
It wasn't the worst meal I've ever had and the service was quick and friendly so they get a 2. Â
Unless this place straightens up and flies right, I wont be back.  (depending on the beer they serve  ;] )
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