This seems to be a cursed location; every club/bar/restaurant that has operated from this location seems doomed from the start. Funny how it operated as a second hand store for decades without too many problems... until they too closed; or more than likely just sold the joint.
My first and likely only visit to The Cass Bar & Grill/Hogs Hollow Smokehouse (a nice play on words; Utica was at one time called Hogs Hollow) was rather unremarkable. I'm also confused. Did I eat in The Cass Bar & Grill, or was it Hogs Hollow? Anyway...
I had the brisket, which is a staple at just about every BBQ joint, and a good measure of their overall BBQ menu. Not good, not bad; just, unremarkable. The sauces were likewise average and nothing to write home about. This place is so unremarkable, that I can't even remember what my wife had.
Beer selection was OK. Nosferatu from Great Lakes was on tap, a few other craft offerings as well... If they cared, they probably should have had some local craft beers on hand. They're only a stones throw away (maybe a but further...) from Rochester Mills, so I'm kind of surprised that they wouldn't support another local business by carrying their exceptional product.
I was a little surprised that my party of three made up 75% of the patrons for the evening. We walked in to find the place void of customers, save for the one guy at the bar. Again, how unremarkable? Despite the lack of action, the bartender/server couldn't have cared less about his only other table. You would have thought that he was all alone, working a packed house on a Friday night. This tells me that he was just lazy...
I don't wish for any local business to close, but I can't help but wonder how much longer this place can remain open. Low quality service + low quality food is usually a good indication of the doors closing sooner than later.
Too bad, because this is actually a really cool, old building. Hopefully things change for the better, or it's good luck to the next sucker that tries something here.
We went there for dinner on a weekday evening, there was no one else there for dinner, but a few people for drinks at the bar. We ended up there because of my entertainment bogo coupon and it was close to our church.
I had the smoke chicken salad, smoked chicken on a good sized portion bed of mixed greens. They showed no sign of wilting. The smoked chicken meat on top was good but dry, but thats ok because of the salad dressing. It also had a generous portion of pecans, dried cherries, and some other veggies. The viagrette was good and came on the side, so I could put on as ittle or as much that I wanted.
My wife had the veggie sandwich, which the main veg was a breaded froed green tomato. It also had lettuce, tomato, sauteed zuchinni, on a multigrain chiabatta bread. It had good sauce and was pretty good.
Kids meals for 4.99 was grilled cheese with fries, and my daughter had cheese quesailla with fries. We asked for chicken on it, but the cook didn;t put it on, we asked the waitress and she apologized and tried to correct it, but said it was ok.
Our server was great, kept my pop filled. She was very professional. Their menu is on their website, pretty good selection for a place that would be considered a bar. They evidently smoke their own meats. It was clean and had a somewhat updated decor. Many tv's inside as well, with sports on. They have live entertainment which is pretty cool, I will go back to check that out one day.
I'm really bummed...this place is not going to make it... Yesterday, the bottom portion of the bar was closed...hmmmm.. Â Why does nothing ever make it in this location? Â Weird! Â I wanted it to make it because it seemed like a cool, hip place to go in that area, especially when you're wanting to refrain from the young party crowd that spills from the Locker Room Saloon across the way.. Â This place, has nothing to really offer. Â It's just all wrong.. Â Last night was my 3rd and final visit. Â The service has always been less than stellar. Â The food hasn't ever been anything to write home about either. Â One thing on the menu I was excited for were the Fried Green Tomatoes app... Â Not good... Â Anyhoo... Â Maybe something better will come in next time. Â P.S. Â Why does your waitstaff (women) wear super-skimpy outfits? Â Really? Â Send them packing to the Locker Room.. Â My date and I left this place, and headed over to the Shamrock Irish Pub down the street....had a MUCH MUCH better experience there!
Review Source:Lately, I've been on a BBQ pork nacho kick. No idea how or why. We were in the area of Utica and decided to try the BBQ at Cass Bar. The pork nacho appetizer is under $9 and was enough food for a week. It wasn't the best BBQ pork I've had, but it wasn't bad. My boyfriend ordered the Hog Balls appetizer. They were like a calzone and stuffed with brisket with BBQ sauce to dip. YUM. One was enough for me. Â
The bartender was nice and the beers were cold and delicious. Â I would not make a special trip to visit the Cass Bar again, but if I'm in the neighborhood I may stop by to try the mac n cheese.
I've visited this bar before, while under different ownership. The new management has done quite a bit to change the place around, but I'm not sure if all of it has been for the best.
The bar has a nice look to it, with some soft lighting inside and a few nice decorative touches to create a nice atmosphere. We ate, and while some other reviewers seem to have  been disappointed, I found the food I ordered to be quite good. The prices, however, were a little high, given that neither the establishment or the area are exactly "upscale". I did not mind paying for a nice dinner, but my wife ordered a Mike's Hard Lemonade that we were charged $4.50 for, which makes absolutely no sense to me. Even the draft beer seemed a little on the pricey side, although not nearly as bad as that.
The bar and dining areas were nice, with comfortable seating and a nice atmosphere, but this place seems to have a bit of an identity crisis, as if it's not quite sure whether it wants to be a typical downtown Utica bar, or something very different and more sophisticated. The patrons were also a bit divided - there were a few other tables of couples and adults who were out for dinner, but this was offset by a few groups of younger people, more interested in doing heavy drinking. Not to sound as though any one group of patrons is better or more desirable to be around, but it can be a little confusing when you're not sure if you are going out to eat at a nice BBQ restaurant, or going to be surrounded by noisy sports fans slamming beers. Both types of establishments can be great, but trying to be both at the same time can be pretty tricky. Overall, a decent bar, but  it may need a little while before they find their identity. Until then,  I'm not sure if a pricier menu and some nice outdoor lights are enough to justify the prices or the new direction they seem interested in going.
Possibly the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. After giving this hopeful several chances, it's getting blacklisted. Had to come down from upstairs because no one noticed we were there. Even then; there was one waitress running the bar, dining area, and the patio. The food was awful...dry tough and tasteless. Lucky it was half off night. I unfortunately see this place going down soon, they're making big cuts where they shouldn't.
Review Source:I debated between 2 and 3 stars, but I'm still feeling the holiday spirit so 3 stars it is.
I spent my entire visit upstairs in the bar/dancing area. The layout isn't great in this long and narrow space and we got stuck at a table right in front of the bathroom doors, which was less than pleasant. And both the bathrooms upstairs are single stall...so there was ALWAYS a wait and people were milling around making the space even smaller.
The DJ was ok. The dance floor is small but that made it feel more full. Overall it was a fun night, but there was an issue with the tabs when we went to close out and we were charged for extra drinks, so that wasn't much fun. They fixed it and everything, just took a long time.
In the end I got silly drunk and stayed on the dance floor which is where I like to be. I let other people deal with the rest of it.
I had high hopes for this place as a local smokehouse/BBQ. Â To my dismay, high hopes were replaced with disappointment. Â
On a high note, the service was good, and the people that worked there were nice, the location is great, and the appearance was pleasant. Â Â Unfortunately, with so many BBQ places popping up, this would have to be at the bottom of the list of the places I have visited in terms of food. Â
They claim that their brisket and pulled pork are "slow smoked over Hickory Wood" and it well may be. Â The issue is, they slather it and bathe in their house BBQ sauce which makes the appearance more consistant with something of that slow cooked in a crock pot. Â The sauce was ok, I just prefer to taste the smokiness of the meat, and add sauce too it, not have it soaking in sauce. Â I didn't really taste anything but the sauce really, and any flavors in the meat were overcome by it. Â I had a side salad which was good, and green beans which were nothing but steamed green beans. Â They would have been much better had they been "dressed up" Â in something rather than plated by themselves. Â
It would be nice to see something in this particular location have some staying power, unfortunately if it is BBQ you are looking for, go try somewhere else. Â I may come back and try a "house specialty" and give that a go, just to give the place the benefit of the doubt.
Worst BBQ ever and horrible service. Â It is unfortunate that this place was so bad. Â The menu seemed promising and it is in a nice location. Â It would be nice to see a restaurant in this location in downtown Utica finally succeed. Â Unfortunately, I do not think it will be the Cass bar & grill.
We were greeted promptly and our drink order came quickly. Â But then we waited so long to place our order that we contemplated leaving. Â The server came back to our area, but avoided us like we were invisible. Â After the order was placed, we waited far too long for a side salad. A table next to us who ordered at the same time got their salad, but they waited to bring ours with our meal which they messed up.
The ribs were the worst ribs I have ever had. Â Some of the bones were so dry that I was unable to get any meat on them or even cut through them. Â And it was covered in the worst BBQ sauce I have ever had. Â Very heavy on tomato and what appeared to be hot red pepper flakes. Â The pulled pork was ok in comparison, but was more of wet mush on a plate. Â The fried green tomatoes were ok (definitely not the best) along with the cheese green chili grits. Â The green chilis provided a nice flavor, but they were hard and dry and not good to eat. Â Very dissapointed.
The prices on the website are lower than the prices on the actual menus. Â I mean, I get not reprinting menus, but isn't it pretty much free to edit HTML? Â The staff is nice but the food is meh and you feel sort of ripped off when you leave. Â I guess it's sort of like a BBQ strip club but with less boobs.
Review Source:Cass Bar is amazing! I enjoy my visit every time I go there. Â The staff is friendly and personable. Â The interior is really nice inside. Â If you sit on the 2nd floor you can get a nice view of the downtown area. Â The exterior is really cool too with every inch covered in Christmas lights. You can see it from Hall road its so bright!
The food is awesome awesome! Â The owner went all out and hired a chef and he is amazing. Â Gotta try the fried green tomatoes, Hog Rolls, Bruschetta , and the Crab Cake. Â
You gotta get down to this place it is amazing!
Food was ..Not so good.. Nothing to write home about. BBQ ribs and chicken. Sauce was a strange mix of spices. Very odd taste. Would not order again. The meat was nicely cooked though. The cheese & spinach dip was basically velveeta and a sprinkling of spinach. No bite or heat to it. Friend had a burger. Gross. It appeared to be frozen then grilled. And way to small of a patty. Much better places in the area for burger. The decor is nice. Waitstaff is pleasant and fast. However, the clientele is a little challenged.
Review Source:I am torn about writing this review. Â The food and drinks are great. Â I had shrimp and grits for the first time and they were fabulous. Â The bartenders pour great drinks and the service is friendly and effficent. Â Had our group left after dinner I would have given the place 5 stars.
But leave we did not and the place filled up with downriver D bags. Â The layout in this place is tight to begin with. Â There really isn't enough space for the amount of tables; to the point where if a large person sits behind you don't plan on getting up to use the restroom.
A group of bachelorette party-goers set up camp directly in front of our table and were banging into the table so hard they spilled my drink. Â I pushed the table back to its original position and one of the girls turned around and screamed expletives at me. Â We left shortly thereafter. Â I did not see a manager around or I would have complained.
I will probably return for their food as the place is super close to my house and really the best option in downtown Utica. Â They have garage door style windows that will make for a great after work place in the summer.
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