A solid choice when there is a big game that I want to watch on TV. Â Good selection of beers and drinks both bottles and on draft. Â Food is solid but I don't find that we make the choice to go to Carolina Ale House unless we want to watch a game. Â Fun to go during March Madness when you might want to watch several games going on at once. Â The wings are good and burgers are also winners.
Review Source:Go somewhere else. Food is "meh" and the service for our party was poor. We had a large party, for which there was an automatic 20% tip added to the bill. I understand that as I am a former server. However, in this case the automatic 20% seemed to be license for terrible service. We were left along for very long stretches of time. Eventually a different server took mercy on us and helped us get our correct food (several orders were wrong but again, I get that, it is the bad service that seems wrong).
Review Source:I wish I could give 1/2 stars. This place didn't quite make 4 stars due to waitstaff. Some are slow, some unconcerned, & some just did not want to come to work attitude! But on the flip side, I've get my best steak here! Seems odd that a place with "bar food" can kick out an excellent, juicy well cooked steak. I've had it about 3 times and each time PERFECT!
Review Source:This past Monday was the worst experience I have ever had at the Carolina Ale House. Â I generally avoid the place due to the constant bad service, but for some reason every organizational group that I am a member of likes to frequent this place. Â After this time, I will never set foot here again. Don't care what it's for.
So onto my review. Â I came here to celebrate the anniversary of my chapter being chartered, only because my sisters insisted upon CAH. Â So I get to the restaurant, and was immediately perturbed by the hostess, who asked us how many people we were expecting. Â After we told her she walked away and didn't return. Then a waitress came up and asked us what we were waiting for, and we informed her that the hostess was supposed to be seating us. Â The waitress told us that we were supposed to seat ourselves (thanks a lot!).
After we were seated and the rest of our party arrived, we continued our evening. Â I actually enjoyed my CAH fries, since I wasn't very hungry to begin with. Â They were actually dropped when I ordered them and for once were scalding hot when they reached my table.
Fast forward to the end of the night. Â My waitress brought me my check without asking if I had finished or if I wanted it yet (I wasn't finished and found it extremely rude, as if she was attempting to rush me out of the restaurant; No-No #1). Â I looked at my receipt, and realized that I had been charged twice for a drink as well as being charged gratuity when everyone at the table didn't eat (No-No #2). Â Then the waitress disappeared for twenty (20) minutes. When she returned, I asked to speak to the manager since the waitress refused to correct my check and decided to argue with me. Â The manager came to the table, and I explained the situation to her. Â Her attitude was worse than the waitress's. Â She insisted that she was correct, even though I explained to her that the woman across the table from me and I were NOT the same person (although our skin tone is similar, if you catch my drift).
I attempted to explain this issue to the manager, who was oblivious and acted as if she couldn't care less about her lack of customer service and courteousness. Â The situation escalated to the point that my friend took it upon herself to try to pay the over charge on the bill, which led to the manager finally agreeing to change my check. Â Needless to say, I still ended up paying the over-charge on the bill because she took my friend's money and brought me the exact same check back.
I have taken it up with my bank, and as I said earlier, will NEVER patronize this establishment again. EVER. Â Eat and drink here at your own risk. Â For a large party, it's guaranteed to ruin your evening. Â I wish there was a "zero-stars" rating.
Perfectly acceptable bar grub, though it's nothing special. There are about a zillion beer choices, though in general it's not quite as cold as I'd like it. Service tends to be much faster if you sit at the huge U-shaped bar. Plus at the bar you have full view of the ring of TVs inside it, so if the game you want to see happens not to be the one on the central big screen, you're golden. This is definitely the best place in Durham to watch a sporting event, and they always have the volume perfectly balanced with the ambient noise from patrons.
Foodwise, like I said, it's nothing special and all the usual suspects are here. It's  not terrible, it just doesn't stand out. I used to really really like their grilled honey barbecue wings, but then I found out how many calories are actually in wings and I gave up eating them.
Service is on top of things 90% of the time. The other 10%... well, bless their hearts.
All my friends call this place the Carolina Stale House, clearly they are not a fan. Personally I don't understand why. The drinks a made well, the staff is nice and the food is better then other places in the same price range.
This place is in the same category of places like Apple Bee's and similar. When you compare it to those locations this place is absolutely awesome!
The bar area has plenty of TV's for enjoying the game and there are also a couple of pool tables. During major games there are almost always give aways and decent specials.
I would highly recommend this place for their food.
If you want a place with a lot of TVs, I counted about 30.
The ribs and burgers were GREAT. Would def. get it again.
Super slow service on Saturday evening.
City employee discounts were a plus.
Prices are decent.
Server was very friendly.
If it weren't such a good place to watch sports, it would be one star. A sports bar without good nachos or spinach and artichoke dip? Service and food are seriously lacking, but drink specials and big screen TVs make it a good neighborhood place to watch a game. Â After all, there aren't many other options in the Durham 15-501 area.
Review Source:Extremely nice service--super friendly and attentive. Â Beers were OK. Â It accommodates large groups well.
Doesn't make up for the terrible food though. Â A bad to nearly inedible version of typical American chain restaurant fare. Â I had the vegetarian pizza which looked nothing like the photo in the menu (undercooked dough, waxy cheese, and underseasoned, wilted veggies) and my friend had a Philly cheese steak which he loathed. Â Definitely not worth the calories. Â Don't plan on returning unless forced to, by a friend or colleague.
Beers, burgers, salads, pasta, wings, pizza and sandwiches are available at Carolina Ale House. Â This location is plastered with sports memorabilia from UNC, Duke, ECU, NCSU and NC Central University. Â Anyway your head turns there will be a TV in site. Â Most locations of Carolina Ale House will have daily specials at a lower price than on the regular menu and it changes regularly. Â In my most recent visit to this location I had the bacon cheeseburger with potato fries. Â Nothing much to crow about here. Service was good, glass of water stayed full. Â Sometimes they will have beer specials too. Â
Food C
Staff C
Decor B
Location B
Health Inspection grade 99.5
I been here numerous times with co-workers, it's a good place to come with big groups.
I've had the nachos and the shrimp wrap, pizza which are nothing special. I was pleasantly surprised however, when I ordered their Greek Chicken wrap it was very good with it's chicken, feta, spinach, and balsamic vinaigrette on a pita wrap. I got it with the vegetables which were also surprisingly fresh and tasty.
Most times I've just been for drinks. They always have drink specials which is a nice addition.
Their Wednesday night trivia was also a good time.
I went to Carolina Ale House for the first time today with a large group of 8 other people. We decided to go there 'cause it's a Saturday night and everywhere else is really full. The one great thing which made my someone recommend this place is that there is ample seating and they can REALLY accommodate large group. The wait was only about 4 minutes or so and they moved quickly to make sure we didn't wait too long. Another great part was that they had a couple of pool tables to keep us preoccupied when we were waiting for our food to come out. This was a good thing tonight 'cause the service was all kinds of terrible....mostly from the kitchen.
It was really busy, but I've seen a lot of restaurants pull it together under busier conditions. We had to go through two games of pool and sat for an additional 10 minutes before the food came out. When any food came out at all, it was just three of the 9 dishes that were ordered. On top of that, there were 3 caesar salads that were supposed to come out before some of the entrees but didn't end up coming out.
My personal entree was the fish and chips. The fish was well-cooked with a crispy crust and the fries were perfectly cooked. However, the caesar salad (which came out a few minutes before I finished my entree), the tartar sauce, and the slaw were subpar. I love coleslaw, and I was severely disappointed. The tartar sauce tasted like someone accidentally spilled a little random mix of kitchen spices into some mayonnaise and then served it to me. I asked the waitress for some hot sauce to dip my fish and fries in, but she didn't come back until I had a few measly morsels left. The salad was overdressed, so it was a limp, soggy mess. You would think this means it had flavor, but you'd be dead wrong. The lemon juice that I squeezed on top of the salad saved the day....but then again I might as well have eaten the lemon by itself 'cause that's the only source of flavor. Overall, the texture and seasoning of the fish and the fries impressed and satisfied me, but nothing else delivered, not even the waitress and the kitchen. I might come back for another try but it's on thin ice.
If you're coming here for anything other than trivia night or to watch a game, don't. It's a family friendly sports bar, people! Otherwise you'll be disappointed, or apparently, bitter, if you read some of the other reviews.
Otherwise... This place is great for watching any sports game, there are literally so many TVs that no matter where you sit, you have at least 3 different screens to watch from. If not more. And sure, the prices seem a little high, but if you're parked at a seat for three hours and just order a couple drinks and an entree, I think you're spending about as much as you would for a movie, and there's someone refilling your water and checking up on you.
The food is decent, nothing will blow your socks off, and your craving for greasy bar food will not go unsatisfied. Andrew and I were split (haha?) on the potato chip covered and fried bananas in the banana split, I thought it was a weird flavor combination, he thought it was yummy.
Some friends and I came here after a basketball game. It was around 10:00pm on a week night, so it wasn't crowded at all; all the customers were eating around the bar. Almost everybody at the table had the pub burger. This was a pretty decent burger. It delivers on patty size - 1/2 pound. They say they have a special Papa Lou's sauce on the burger, but I couldn't really taste it. There were a lot of onion strings and I would have liked to see more bacon. The menu says it's supposed to be piled high with bacon. The service wasn't that good. I think we sat at the table for about 30 minutes at one point towards the end of our meal before we had to wave down the waitress. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I'd go back.
Review Source:Boring.
The hubby and I went here on one of those nights where we just didnt feel like cooking or dressing up. It was dark and I couldnt figure out where the front door was so I parked in the big lot in the back, wrong. We ended up at a door that was locked but luckily someone let us in. It took us a minute to figure out where the front was because there was a maze to get around but when we found it they told us just to sit anywhere.
Since there were no big games on, the place was pretty empty. I cant even remember what I ordered but I wasn't very impressed. Our server disappeared for most of the night and once the one game that was on went off, we stared at a blue screen for 30minutes.
Might be better on a drunken game night.
I think normally I would give a place like this 3 stars, just because it's really your typical sports bar with a gajillion TVs that serves your typical sports bar food. But since coming here with lab mates for weekly Wednesday night trivia and trying their amazing wings, I have decided that that alone is enough to deserve a whole extra star. The wings can be either fried or grilled, and you have a choice as to which sauce you want. Fried tastest better obviously. The best sauce by far (I've tried all of them) is the Thai Chili. It's the perfect perfect combination of sweet and spicy. I am drooling just thinking about it. The wings (called jumbo wings on the menu) come out super succulent and moist on the inside. The restaurant itself can get very very noisy depending on what's on, but overall it's bustling with a lot of energy.
Review Source:I'm filing this review under the Durham Carolina Ale House heading, but everything I say goes for the Cary Carolina Ale House as well as they are pretty much identical.
Now, I will admit that the food is not aaall that good, but you have to remember what you are coming here for. You are coming here to watch "the game" (whatever that may be on any given day) on one of 6 bazillion TV's that are strategically placed so no matter which side of the table you sit on there are at least three in your face. The beer specials are super as well (2 dollar Miller Lites the other night, all other domestic drafts are usually 3) and the greasy sports bar food is great when judged against other greasy sports bar foods. I am especially partial to the cheese fries, which come topped with at least 4 ounces of melted cheese, and taste extra awesome if you add jalapenos.
The service isn't awesome, but does that really matter when you are planning on bogarting a table for a 4 hour football game? No sirree.
in my ephemeral stint at chapel hill, I must say the wings here are the best wings I've had thus far. I had the two spiciest flavors buffalo and spicy habanero and wasn't at all disappoimted. I liked this place because although it was a football sunday, they had all sorts of sports on various tvs unlike bailey's. There were some families there with kids and I felt kind of bad because a lot of people were swearing and hollering, so I would say there are probably more peaceful sports bars to take the fam to for nfl games. But for those who aren't bringing the wife and children: put on your favorite sports team jersey and prepare to talk some trash to the fans of your opponent.
Review Source:The good:
-Best place to watch Monday Night Football, hands down. There is simply no restaurant in the triangle that buzzes with this much energy on Monday nights. They have a deal where if you guess the final score of the game, you win 1000 bucks. Guess the score at halftime, it's a 100 dollar gift card. I've witnessed 2 people guess the final score and 1 person guess the halftime score.
-2 dollar Yuenglings
-The waitstaff
-Deep fried banana peppers (perfect snack with beer)
The bad:
-Everything else
Formulaic and text book as others have written. Okay food if you're starving or just need a place to relax from the rain, waiting for your tires to change across the street at Discount Tire as we always seem to do.
They prolly win the award for being the most broad minded and appealing sports bar I've found to date in the area, tho. Various sports memorabilia referencing all the local collegiate teams and a prominent NBA superstar. There is no discriminating on the choice of Carolina blue, Blue Devils or even the Wolfpack red here...
Food is pretty standard. We had the fish and chips here once. The batter was thick and crispy, but the fish was a bit dried out. Plenty of fries to accompany your meal and the fish was moderately large - enough for the two of us to share.
If a rain storms catches you off guard and your waiting for your car across the street, this isn't a bad venue to find yourself at. Don't expect a great meal, but something that can warm you up and keep you going.
I'm underwhelmed at best. The Carolina Ale House is your average cookie-cutter chain sports bar operating under the (false) pretense of a casual, neighborhood, homey establishment decorated with all the prerequisite local sports team paraphernalia and to boot, respective local fans as patrons.  On the Saturday night in question, many large parties of Duke students and high school students loudly fulfilled the aforementioned formulaic cliché.
I typically avoid said restaurants like the plague, but I was duped into eating here. Â They say never judge a book by its cover, and oh how I tried not to. Â First, the hostess tried in vain to get us to sit outside on the "heated" patio - it was 40 degrees outside and I'm not a cold weather creature so after much back and forth she relented and gave us a high top table in the bar. Â I had the bar special, a whiskey and coke for $3; they say, you get what you pay for, and oh how they are right. Â Old-fashioned glass, crowned with ice, Â 1/2 part whiskey, 4 parts flat coke. Â Um, no. Â
I ordered the fish and chips, they were ok, generous and greasy as to be expected. Â Remarkably (my remarks = who gets a salad in a sports bar?!), my friend ordered the southwestern chicken salad (enough said). Â Iceberg lettuce, black beans, cheese, a little spicy, creamy dressing, and some chicken all unceremoniously tossed into a fried tortilla crust shell. Um, no. She wasn't a fan and neither was I. Â
Like ESPN, I'm trying to think of the highlights, and I'm taking a knee- game over. No surprise here, I wouldn't come back, not unless I was duped AND dragged in kicking.
Well, it's kind of a text book sports bar. Â It does everything a sports bar is supposed to do. Â It draws large crowds for local teams' games, it carries NFL Sunday Ticket, it's properly decorated in homer gear, and serves the burgers, wings and deep fried things that are all required of a sports bar.
Beyond that, there's not much to talk about. Â Because it plays everything by the book, the Ale House doesn't do anything really to stand out. Â Well, it does almost nothing...let's be fair.
During hockey season, they'll rotate amongst their locations the "Cool Bar" for select Carolina Hurricanes' road games. Â This basically amounts to Stormy dancing around and some Hurricanes-themed giveaways. Â During the playoffs (if the 'Canes ever see them again...), they make an even bigger to-do over the whole affair, though, and it was honestly a really good time that always makes me think that there's hope for this little local chain yet.
I don't visit this Ale House location all that often, but I do manage to make it there now and then. Usually I'm there to have a beer or two and watch a game, but I recently stopped in to have dinner with family. When we arrived, we were told that the non-smoking section had already closed, but the hostess was kind enough to give us a seat there anyway.
Once we were seated, it took a few minutes for our server to show up and take our drink orders. Once he took those, it took even longer for him to bget back to take our food orders. Granted, because we were in a separate section, we couldn't fully tell how busy the bar was. He was friendly and attentive when he was around, but seemed a bit disinterested.
I ordered the chicken tenders platter, a tried-and-true favorite that I feel is a decent bet anywhere. I was in the mood for some deep-fried goodness, and these didn't disappoint. The tenders were lightly battered and the chicken was much higher quality than you'll find in many similar eateries.
We went during Monday Night Football, but from what I could tell it wasn't very busy - of course, Houston vs. Jacksonville isn't exactly a big game for most around here. While the service wasn't great for such a small crowd, it was an overall good experience; good enough to keep me stopping in when I'm on that side of town.
Not my favorite for food, which --in my opinion-- is sub-par even for bar fare. But the bar is good and quick and this is a great place for watching the game. Waitstaff service seems to be a mixed bag. I've had some slow and inattentive servers, but that's probably because of the big crowds they sometimes have to content with. There's ample seating at the horseshoe bar, surrounding bar tables, or in the separate seated dining areas. They've got tons of flatscreens and they keep the volume up, so you can really keep tabs on the action. They've also got two pool tables in back.
Review Source:Carolina Ale House is a good local sports bar chain, and has been the game-watching headquarters for our local alumni club. They have a large enclosed porch area with a bar, which you can reserve to watch games on the big screens, or you can just grab a table inside - they have lots of TVs to station yourself in front of. I've been very satisfied by the staff members - they're always friendly and willing to help out with our group's requests. The Ale House menu has the expected sports bar fare - wings, hamburgers, sandwiches, chicken fingers and salads. It's all pretty good, really -the fries are particularly popular with our group.
Review Source:
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