Both times I visited this place, the food as awful. I have absolutely no idea why anyone visits Ale House restaurants. If you're man, you'll only go there for the beer and to hang out with friends. If you're a female, maybe you'll come to hang out with men that like to drink beer. Otherwise, it's a joke of a bar and restaurant.
And if you're African American, you'll definitely want to stay away from this place. Bars in the south usually attract ignorant, filthy, bottom-feeding Caucasian racists... and I'm not just talking about the actual patrons... the bartenders are NO better. For some reason, the bartenders have supremacists attitudes as well...
Don't believe me? Think I'm exaggerating or conjuring stories? Try it yourself. In fact, visit any bar in the south and I guarantee you'll get a whiff of that infamous racism.
"Eek. Methinks not".
It was a friday night I understand that, but the service was horrible. Our waitress left us alone at our table for long periods of time with empty glasses prominately displayed to flirt with the table of guys next to us (she was rubbing against them and twirling her hair, i wouldnt have not minded if she was bringing them food and what not). I got the fried pickles which were delicous and the chicken tender that were also pretty good (they where poorly sauced, only half of them were covered). They had Crispin Cider on tap and that was the saving point of the evening
Review Source:For a place that is called "Carolina Ale House" I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of beer options. Â It looks kind of like an Applebees or other restaurant with tons of local flair on the walls. Â Wait- was there an actual restaurant on the other side of the bar? Â Shrug.
Overall, the experience wasn't horrible. Â The drinks were standard ($3.50 for a Fat Tire is decent), food was OK, and the service was OK. Our waitress was attentive for the first half of the night-- stopping by the table often, almost annoyingly so. Â When we wanted to get our bill, she was nowhere to be found. Â Imagine that.
I'd come back if I were out in this neck of the woods again, but might opt to try some new places first.
If I could rate this place a "0" right now I would. Â We've come to this place once or twice a month for over two years, but something changed recently that has cause the service to go to hell in a hand basket.
My family and I literally just left the restaurant 10 minutes ago where our apps were lost, then came out incorrect, then on top of our food, and then the food was incorrect. Once the waitress realized that her tip was shot, she would hardly look us in the eye, blamed the kitchen. Â Leif (Manager) came over three times to apologize until he finally comp'd the meal. Â Which is nice and all but the whole point of going out with your family is to have someone else worry about the food and service. Â Experiences like this just kill the evening for all.
Maybe these two points will help anyone reading this understand how disappointed I am with this evening's service.. (1) this is the first time I have ever written a review about any restaurant and (2) this is the first time in my 38 years that I've never left a tip.
What happened to this place? Â Just had a TERRIBLE experience with the manager. Â The bar area was packed, the Ohio State game just ended and we asked the manager if he could put the UNC game on the big screen. Â He said he couldn't put it on the big screen because it was on a big screen in the other dining room (that had six people in it). He wouldn't change it even though people were complaining about it. Â He acted very arrogant. Â Never have we been treated so poorly. Â Plenty of other sports bars we can go to. Â I don't need this. Â This place used to be great.
Review Source:I have not been pleased by my recent visits to Ale House's in the area, and this was probably my last stand for the Carolina Ale House...
We had a group of us, about 10, and requested to be seated together. It was a busy Thursday night, so we were okay with sitting in the bar area at different pub style high tables.
The staff was pretty genuine, and cordial to us, but missed the ball on certain levels. A mix of the kitchen, and our waiter, has caused me to give this location a poor rating. I had the blackened chicken sandwich and it was not edible - apparently totally cooked and then re-seasoned prior to serving it to me. The piece of chicken was caked on with seasoning, so much so that it stuck to the roof of my mouth. Horrible! And not tasty! Naturally it was sent back to the kitchen for a redo. On the second go around I ordered a burger and it took nearly 30 minutes to receive this. It was a little overcooked, but mostly room  temperature do to, presumably, our waiter being busy and not collecting it in the 5 minutes it takes to cook.
Never had a visit by the manager, chef, or somebody other than our waiter. He was a nice fellow, but didn't serve food very well. I was disappointed and I think I will not be back at an Ale House again. It seems the service/quality of food is pretty much the same at all locations...
I don't even know where to begin. Â First we had to wait about 10 minutes for a table since the hostess could not decide where we could sit with a high chair. Â Apparently they are a fire code violation in many parts of the restaurant even though they have many high chairs stacked up and ready to use. Â Once we got to our table it took 15 minutes for a server to come over and greet us. Â This was after we flagged down (literally we had to wave) another server to ask for help. Â The table was wet when we sat down which indicated it had been wiped off but it was so sticky that every time I rested my arm on the table, I had to pry it off. Â Our menus stuck to the table, our plates stuck to the table - very disgusting. Â We sat outside and there was a strong odor of what I would liken to dog poop. Â Our food was actually halfway decent - we got wraps, sandwiches and burgers. Â But then we made the mistake of asking for refills on our drinks. Â It took at least 15 minutes during which time the server came over and apologized that she was unable to find the bartender. Â I also had to ask three times for a glass of water. Â I was about to go up to the bar and get it myself. Â We have been here several times and will never, ever go back. Â When there are so many other good tavern options in the Wake Forest, North Raleigh area - I would absolutely not bother going here - ever. Â Totally gross.
Review Source:I really liked this place. The layout is a little different and it was dark in there but still a good place to eat. I could tell this place gets busy during the weekends and nights. I went during lunch. The server was very laid back, which I like for the lunch shift. I had a chicken hoagie type sandwich and it had good flavoring. They have many choices for sides and I got the veggies. Those were really good, not over cooked and the seasoning was great.
The server only came when I needed him, and didn't keep bugging me during my meal. Very good.
I wanted to be a bit of a pig and try a dessert. The server steered me over the apple blossom. Which is a twist on a apple pie. It was really good and a good portion.
The pricing was okay and the service was good. So I will come back here. I'm sure the night shift is totally different.
They also had decent drink specials, however, since I had to go back to work, I only had the sweet tea, which was pretty good too.
Although the atmosphere here during sporting events can be fun and exciting, the below average food bring this place to a 2 star for me. I will add a caveat that my husband loves their wings...orders them to go a lot during football season. I am not a wing person, so this doesn't help me. I love me a good sandwich, and I have yet to have a good one here. All below average. It is like they know no one is coming for the food, so they put no effort into it. I recommend only going here if you do not plan on eating, but want to watch a game.
Review Source:I have never been a fan of the Carolina Ale House line but since this one is in Wake Forest, we frequent it maybe once or twice a year when we are in desparado mode, i.e. it is a holiday where everything else is closed. Â The service is always poor, food tastes like it is re-heated from being frozen, and the tables, floors, and bathroom (don't get me started on a dirty bathroom) is always yucky.
I'm sort of glad my recent visit was just as poor as it normally is so that I have finally moved over to it being off of our list to ever return. No more chances for you, Carolina Ale House. Here's why:
1. It took 15 minutes to be addressed from our waiter and we were one of 10 tables in the restaurant at the time. Not busy.
2. The beer tasted skunky....PLEASE DO NOT SERVE ME SKUNKY BEER!
3. The food tasted freezer burned. I got a chicken sandwich, hubs a burger. We both had the same experience.
4. While we sat dining, there was a guy at the table beside us who kept telling the server since he used to work there that he should get his food for free. He finally asked for the manager. She came over and when he told her the same, I made a comment that since our food wasn't very good, we should get ours for free. Well, I'll let you guess who got special treatment and a free meal...hint- it wasn't us, it was the guy who begged for it. The manager didn't even ask us about our food or what the prob was.
We won't be back.
We used to love the Ale House but can no longer ignore that their service is just horrible. Â Our server ignored us and we finally left. Â The manager gave us an appetizer card, but we won't be using it. Â We are done with this place.
The food was usually pretty good and the drinks were just ok. Â Not enough to hold us anymore though. Â We've given them too many chances to get it right. Â Go somewhere else!
Edit after a year...
Okay, so, we met friends here, even though we didn't want to...but...I noted some improvements in service and servers. Â Like I said before, the food is still really good. Â To be fair, I've upgraded their ranking to 3 stars. Â The DJ was also good, we had fun.
Wen we moved into the area, I was excited to find a place called the "ale house". Â But I still don't know why they call it that. Â Their beer selection is pathetic. Â An "ale house" should offer 30-50 types of beers.
The food is generally good. Â But this place gets so busy that it is often too loud to even have a normal conversation while you're eating.
I've been to plenty of Ale Houses in my time, up and down the East Coast form CT to FL. All seem to share the same type of "we're-a-sports-bar-,no-wait-,we-are-a-brew-house-Â, no-wait, we're-family-friendly" atmosphere. I would put Carolina Ale House towards the top of this list and here's why:
The Atmosphere - It is inviting in that its not over the top, its not too fancy, but its not too tacky either. The bar is a good size, and the the inside of the restaurant has a lot of high top bar tables as well as booth style. They do a good job of separating the seating if you want to get away from the typical bar scene. The other thing is they have a great outside area, complete with bar and seating. It almost makes it a completely different place. The amount of TVs and sports you can catch, coupled with the good seating earns it a star in atmosphere.
The Drink - You want beer, you got beer. I agree with someone else that they should carry more local breweries beers, but I don't think they deserve to lose a star based on that. They must have 30 taps, and enough variety to please anyone.
The Food - This is where I think Ale House loses a star. I've eaten here quite a bit and I can't get past the fact that everything I've had has been average at best. Nachos? Good, but chips were too hard and the jalapenos came in mountains. Burger? Its just ok. Wraps? Not that tasty. Buffalo shrimp? Tiny and drowned in sauce. They even manage an average on their fries. The one, and only one thing that has stood out is their wings, and that's cuz you can get em grilled. If I could give a 1/2 star on Food I would. it's just average enough not to make you find someplace else.
The Staff - I've been here enough and have seen enough of the staff to tell you, they all are pretty good. Save for the one time, bad-waitress-having-a-bad-day, the staff as a whole has been consistently on top of their game, pleasant and knowledgeable. I've never been caught waiting for service here. Solid.
The Extra's - This is a catch all category for me based on random things I've seen during visits. I've seen the management handle a fight well. The bathrooms are generally kept pretty clean, even towards the end of the night. This place has something for everyone, including kids, adults who act like kids, and the general population including arcade games, pool tables, even cornhole out back. I've never had a problem parking. I've always been greeted but not hounded by the hostesses. Again star earned.
4 Solid Stars, the food is the downer for the fifth!
I'm generally not a fan of Ale Houses of the Carolina variety but this one is probably my number one hang out in Wake Forest.
If there's a game on I can be sure to stop by the Ale House for guaranteed good folk and fried pickles (The fried pickles are to DIE for!).
The atmosphere is pretty much the same as any Carolina Ale House with the same, Red, Baby and Royal Blue decor (for local schools) but I guess being a local in the area it feels less cookie cutter to me since I frequent here a bit.
I just wish they carried Carolina Brewery ales. That would bring it up to 5+ stars in my book.
All in all, good fun.
I like to start my reviews with full disclosure and I expect to be mocked merciless for this but I am a Detroit Lions fan. This means my chances of catching my sometimes hapless team on the local channels are limited to Thanksgiving day and the day after hell freezes over. But then there is Carolina Ale House with every game playing - I can wander over have a glass of wine or a beer and watch my Lions have at it. I can even cheer and only be slightly heckled.
There is food here. Not exactly edible food but there is food here. I think that pretty much sums it up. I give it 3 stars because I can watch the game; were it not for that the chances of me stopping in here are less than my Lions' chance of getting to the SuperBowl.
This Carolina Ale House has been my Sunday afternoon football hangout for the last two years. When my team isn't on the "normal" channels, you'll find me here. Â Is that a good thing?
Well, mostly yes. It is a really good place for watching games, although at times they get a little rigid about what is on regardless of what people want to see. I've never had a problem watching my game but I've heard others in lively discussion over the arrangements. Besides it's location right near my house, the fact that the screens are clearly marked with each game that will be shown is definitely a big plus.
It is a chain, but the food is moderately better than most similar chain restaurants. My experience is most chains have a general quality to their food, but usually have a few items that exceed or fall short of that level. Â Let's start with the bad ... don't order the pizza. I've had literally almost ever item on the menu here and the one thing I just plain don't like is the pizza. Pizza is probably just one of those things best left to those that specialize in it.. but on that particular day I just really wanted pizza so I gave it a whirl. FAIL.
Now the good, the sweet habanero wings are really excellent. The sauce on these is excellent and I love to get them grilled instead of fried. None of the wings they serve are very spicy (most a pity) but the texture of the grilled wings is excellent which is a big sticking point for this guy. I can't stand a slimy wing!
This Carolina Ale House is more than just a habitual football hideout from fatherhood. My 2 year old daughter is a big fan of going to "the place with lots of TV where daddy watches football sometimes" .. but she is a fan of any place with mac and cheese, balloons and interesting decor. Overall it's a decent place to grab dinner when I get home from work and just don't feel like cooking (my second favorite hobby). In short, it's a solid place to have in the neighborhood.
Nearly forgot... although not sure how in the world I nearly forgot.  So here I am watching the NFL playoffs... it's a Saturday night.. the place is completely packed. As I was informed prior to sitting in my current location, @11 the tables are being moved, the audio on the game is being cut and .... "Club Ale House" is open for business. The game was a slaughter... and despite my old man sleeping patterns  (staying up late has become a thing of the distant pass despite only being 32) .. come hell or high water.... I was going to see "Club Ale House" in full effect.  But... neither hell nor high water made an appearance and I did leave before it really got going. Oddly, it looked pretty popular. The people who were there for football and the people that were there for "Club Ale House" could easily be distinguished. The best description I can give is a strange combination of Jersey Shore meets Duke of Hazzard......and what's not to like about that.
If you are looking for a sports bar in Wake Forest, the Ale House is the first thing that comes to mind. With the vast selection of beers and always at least one TV in view, it is a great place to remotely attend a sporting event with other fans.
The inside of the Ale House looks like all of the others in the chain, which makes it easy to forget where you are. While there are many options on the menu, there is no hiding the fact that it is merely bar food.
It is typically crowded and loud, so if you're not there to watch a game, don't expect to hold down any deep conversations.
So this is officially my favorite sports bar. The place is a part of the Ale House chain, which I know from Florida. Layout is awesome, with NFL games having individually assigned areas so you can catch the exact game you are looking for. For food, spinach dip rocks, good draft selection, and what I think are the best chicken wings in Raleigh. Buffalo and bar b q are both good. So, anything else a sports bar should have?
Review Source:
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