Fat Belly's Pub

I had been to Fat Belly's before for pizza and thought it was really good. But my friend told me their burgers were the best ever, so I decided to take her advice and try them for myself.

I'm always amazed when someone tells me there is incredible food at a place and then I go to check it out and I find it to be way less than incredible. How does this happen?

I'm equally amazed at how many places ask me how I want my burger cooked and then deliver a burger to me that is cooked in a way that I did not ask for. I asked for a medium-rare burger and received a burger that was medium-well. I ordered the namesake "Fat Belly Burger" which is just a basic burger with lettuce and tomato. It was totally bland. I mean it was so bland that I put salt on it and when I took a bite, I realized I had to put salt on it again. It tasted like nothing. I guess in the scheme of things, a burger that tastes like nothing is much more welcome than one that actually tastes bad.

It was easy to eat this tasteless burger because it was hot and I was hungry, but I definitely did not enjoy it. When the bartender came by to ask us how the food was, I shrugged my shoulders and made a face that said, "meh", but she ignored us completely. My man responded by saying, "mrmmmph" with a mouth full of food. So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the same place that disregards how you want your food prepared also ignores your answer when they ask you how everything is.

The fries were OK, nothing amazing, but also not bad. If I had to describe the food in one word, it would be, "meh." The food actually left me feeling bored, that's how uninteresting it was.

The service was pretty mediocre as well.  We ate at the bar. The staff seems to congregate around the back of the bar when they are in between tasks.  It was distracting. I watched the bartender pour a glass of wine and then after it was poured, use her finger to wipe something off the rim... like really rub it.  The waitress asked the bartender to pour it into a clean glass because it was obvious that the glass was dirty. I was a little skeeved out by how many different things the bartender seemed to touch (her hair, her face, her sweaty neck, money, menus, and that dirty glass) and then grab appetizer plates without any regard for her dirty fingers touching the top of the plates for the guys who sat next to us. Ick.  (All she had to do was just touch the edge of the plates in order to avoid grossing me out. But she managed to swipe her fingers right across the surface instead.)

I hate giving lousy reviews. I know how much work it is to run a restaurant. I know how hard it is to find good help. I know how small profit margins can be and I am sorry if I end up contributing to any factors that help to cause a restaurant falter. But if you are running a pub and you can't produce a decent hamburger, it is only a matter of time before your destiny catches up to you.

Excellent food, excellent drinks, terrible service. I really enjoyed my drinks (Black Velvet, yum!) and the Irish nachos were delicious, but alas, I won't be returning based solely on how terrible the service was. I get it, it's St. Party's Day, but that's really not an excuse in such a small establishment, as to why I waited 15 minutes for menus. The table next to mine was served first, but arrives after me, and I could clearly see the waitresses/bartenders laughing and chatting behind the bar while I waited. Cut to later in the night, when the rest of my party arrived, and we waited constantly for service to replenish our drinks, on top of the waitress being extremely rude when she finally did come over. The final icing on the cake would be when we left; we did leave a tip, even though I wasn't too keen on the idea because she thoroughly didnt deserve, she had the audacity to follow us out into the parking lot to complain!! Unbelievable, and I don't even want to give this place a reason to redeem itself. It's not worth the aggravation, or the 20 minute drive.

bacon cheese fries are made with REAL cheese - no nacho cheese. The big belly burger is to DIE for. SO GOOD! best of all the food is really cheap. My girlfriend and I frequently go out to eat in East greenwich. You could go to a place like Kan for mediocre food and a 80$ check, or you could come to fat belly's where it might be a little crowded and noisy, but get great food and a 20$ check. Definitely my top choice in terms of a restaurant to which i would bring friends