Colonial Tavern Home to the Irish Brigade

This place is pretty cool.  I don't go very often as I'm just not into the scene at Colonial Tavern.  There's nothing wrong with the scene, it's just not me.  I will go on occasion to see a band or if a friend drags me.  I think the clique they have going there is very snooty.  Personally I think they're above average on the douche bag ratio.  But again, that's my opinion and you might love it...if you're a douche bag.  Just kidding.

The bar is kind of a gay bar, but it's not a gay bar.  I guess you can say it's gay friendly.  There's nothing wrong with that and it's not why I rarely go.  Most bars in Fredericksburg are gay friendly, I just see it more so at Colonial Tavern.

Another reason I don't go often are the beer prices.  Yeah, they always have something cheap but their cheap beer is a sucky beer.  This bar, like so many others, needs to realize Yuengling is NOT an import beer.  Their prices are horrible.

Physically, the actual bar is very nice.  It's a huge bar to set your drinks on.  The poor waitress has to reach and stretch to give you your drink.  Some of the bartenders are great as in Joelle.  She's awesome.  There's a guy named Dave there who is a part owner I think and he's kind of a jack ass dick.  There's been times he's been drunk in his own bar but it's been a long time, years actually, since I witnessed that.  Another bartender once lost my credit card between taking it from me to the register.  It took her about 15 minutes to find it and I wanted to leave.

The food is decent.  I might be the only one who's not a big fan of their food.  Everyone I know raves about it.  I think it's just OK.  They have a late night menu which is convenient but there's not a lot on it to get excited over.

Some people go here to watch a game and that's stupid.  They have like three TVs, the big one is way too high to actually watch and the other two are in corners and tiny and you can only see them from a couple of seats in the building.

They have a patio outside so that's cool for a smoking area.

They have a stage for bands in the corner with two huge windows behind it.  This is my biggest complaint about this place.  The sound is horrible.  The room just isn't good for live music, though the place thinks they're the premiere spot for live music.    However, their open mic night (on Mondays) is the best in town.  It's run by Tom Schiff and he's probably the nicest most encouraging person you can meet.  Ever since this bar opened they've only had jack offs run their open mic so it's great that they've finally got with the program and hired Tom to run it.  So Mondays are the best night to go because you get Tom's open mic and you get Joelle behind the bar.

The worst time to go is actually when they have a popular band because the place is so crowded you are uncomfortable.  You can't even walk through it.  

This place has a big regular scene.  You may or may not fit in.

This review is mostly about the late night service.  The few times I've been here during the say it's mostly empty.

Not sure why this place isn't getting more 5-star ratings.  As a friendly sit-down tavern, this is one of the best places I've been and I don't think I could happier short of them handing out winning lottery tickets as you walk in the door.

I was in on a Friday night to catch a live band that was playing.  There's a small, raised stage overlooking the tables, which is really the place to sit if you want to watch the show.  There are a few bar seats with a direct line of sight to the stage, though, so that's where I sat.  The bar is a pretty good size but as you go deeper in you'll lose sight of the stage if that's what you came for.

Also, SMITHWICKS ON TAP.  ZOMG.  If I lived in Fredericksburg I'd be there every other day.  If there's any bar within 15 miles of where I live that has Smithwicks on tap, I've not found it.  That is my all-time favorite beer and nobody ever has it in bottles, much less on tap.

The food is excellent as well.  I asked the lady sitting next to me if the pot roast was any good and got an enthusiastic thumbs up, so I went with that.  It was, indeed, excellent pot roast.  I was pretty dubious that a place like this could actually deliver on a pot roast but she had some pretty fancy lookin' pork chops so I figured I'd give it a go and it did not disappoint.  Very tender roast in a fantastic gravy with mashed potatoes and a mixed-vegetable-and-squash medley.  Seriously, it's mom's pot roast (actually mom's pot roast didn't turn out that tender every time but don't tell my mom I said that).

Atmospherically, the place has a dive-y feel which, coming from me, is a high compliment.  Dive-y to me means "relaxed, easy-going, not trying to be fancy or put on airs".  The bartender was very friendly and attentive and didn't bat an eyelash when my late night coffee request ended up resulting in her making a fresh pot.  The whole crowd was chill, it wasn't over-crowded and the band they had was superb.  Maybe I just happened to go on a night where everything happened, coincidentally, to be 5 stars, but I completely enjoyed the place so 5 stars it is.

Oh, they also have their own parking lot so no problems there, either.  (Bathrooms were clean as well!  I mean really, what more can you want in a tavern.)

Eh, it's an Irish bar. Maybe it's that I went on a Sunday night an hour before closing?

Funny story though, guy next to me orders two draft beers (don't know which exactly). Bartender says, "that'll be $11". Guy says, "really?" Bartender tells him that they're $5.50 each but he'll check in the computer to make sure, which he did and they were 5.50 each. Guy's like, "That's too much, don't want them". Bartender tells him that can't put them back and says to me as the d-bag draft orderer is leaving, "where's this guy been drinking for the last 20 years?!"