I'm willing to give the place another go, and give their 'pub' food a shot. The Green Chile Burger is really good, and the beer selection is OK, but it was only so-so in the ambience realm. Â
We went on a weekday and sat up in the front (out of the 'bar' area) and it seemed like we were second-thoughts service-wise. Â There were a lot of people in the bar watching the game (NBA Semis, I think), and we were really the only people out in the tables.
THIRD TIME IS NOT A CHARM...
a place where the service was the only thing that saved this review from a negative star rating! Â (Too bad that's not yet possible)
Let me start by saying that I always give a place at least 3 tries before I tank it with a bad review (there is one exception on my list though).
The food absolutely made this visit strike 3 and a place to avoid at all high cost! Â The pricing is ridiculous for the quality offered. Â There are plenty of $10-$12 burgers out there, but none so dry and bland as this, despite the number of extra toppings offered (at extra cost, of course) in addition to what comes with the burger of your choice.
While my dining companion was a little more adventurous than I (she had never been) Â by ordering the Monte Christo, I did applaud her for her brave selection. Â I had been there twice before, and been fairly adventurous with disastrous consequences, so I stuck to something I figured NOBODY could ruin, a burger. Â Oh how I was wrong.
Atmosphere so-so, the food hardly worth mentioning other than the fact that the review from my dining companion was "disappointing". Â I think she is being generous, but that's just me. Â
PUB - hmmm. Well since we're going there, let's go there. Â Two of TMBC's "audience friendly" brews on tap, a selection of relatively common other brews "Sam Adams seasonal", and oh let's not forget the eye-roll worthy ubiquitous "Marble Red", which is apparently the Cadillac of mediocre local craft beer on offer here. Â When the Red is categorized by your server as the best on tap, then perhaps it is best to get the iced tea, or stick to the more respectable bottled offerings. Â This is not the place to order from the tap. Â PUB, indeed.
Your money, for a comparable price and a much more delightful experience would be better spent a half mile west at TMBC. Â Or even O'hare's across the street if you are in a pinch.
Service, this place's only saving grace, was standard to good. Â I am the guy that likes to develop a rapport with my server in case the place is Yelp worthy I mention them and send business their way. Â The guy was a professional, and not particularly devoid of a sense of humor, just not special like Evelyn at Paul's or Victoria at Perea's. Â the bill was wrong, and that's when Andrew's attitude changed. Â Still, his service certainly made the visit much more bearable. Â So if you really feel the need to spend money, at least ask for Andrew.
We've added the Fat Squirrel to our Friday night Brew Pub rotation. While it's not a micro-brewery, it does have a good selection of craft beer, including some of the local brews. We like Turtle Mountain but on a Friday it's impossible to get a table and if you do, it's too loud to carry on conversation. FS is our fall-back. I had the build-your-own burger with the portabello cap, it was quite tasty. I added the black and tan onion rings, also good. For starters we had the fried pickles and calamari, I prefer Nexus' pickles but these are a close second. The calamari was good. We all had the Left Hand chocolate milk stout, always a good choice. For us, the Fat Squirrel is an oasis in an otherwise barren wasteland of Rio Rancho food establishments.
Review Source:We used to come here all of the time when they opened a few years ago. Â I LOVED the fact that I could get Boddinton's on tap on the Westside.
Now, they have a new menu- it is ok, and the beer menu is changed and no Boddington's. Â That makes me sad especially since it is a "pub".
Really will have to consider going back.
I came here on a Saturday afternoon since Turtle Mountain was packed and was looking to order some good beers. Fat Squirrel has a huge draft list as well as bottled beers. The food is your typical bar food I tried there green chile bacon burger which was pretty awesome since your able to have it cooked to your liking. This place is worth checking out especially for all you Rio Ranchers who don't have a very good selection in bars.
Review Source:Fat Squirrel. Man, does this place have a mixed bag of reviews... but I have a feeling I know why. I didn't used to be a Fat Squirrel fan. Quite frankly, I avoid going there unless it was absolutely the last place on the list of where to eat. Why? Because their menu was super limited... until now.
The Fat Squirrel is the location of the Bangers & Mash debacle of 2012. I ordered bangers & mash (sausage and mashed potatoes for those of you who're, like, "say whaaaa'?") and what I got was, um, well, lets just say I sent it back. And that was a real bummer because back then, I only liked maybe three items on their menu. Lame. That was my final straw... until we went back because our friends had a gift certificate.
Lo' and behold, there's a new menu! And there are tons of choices! And the food is suddenly awesome! Maybe business was slow because of the lack of variety and they revamped their options. I don't know what happened, but thank goodness it did.
Don't listen to the haters of the new Squirrel. If you want good, non-pretentious pub food, this place is great. And if this place is super-packed (it tends to be on Friday and Saturday nights), try Turtle Mountain just down the road. They're owned by the same folks and the selections are comparable.
This place used to be amazing! But now that they have a new manager they suck, The money changes he made are horrible, They removed alot of there amazing selection of beers, changed there food to smaller portions and higher prices. Took away some crowd favorites. Also any negitive reviews they got on there FB page are removed and then user are banned so they cant give there options anymore. If i was the owners of this place i would lose the bad manager ASAP
Review Source:I have edited my previous review. Â This place has really gone down hill. Â
We waited 45 minutes for food. Â Then, our wings were literally ice cold in the middle. Â While I waited another 20 minutes for them to get fixed, I could see servers coming back from behind the bar, eating. Â Nothing worse than sitting there hungry watching a server walk by literally chewing bulging cheeks full of food. Â
The menu is totally different, and it is done in bright, tacky, obnoxious colors. Â Chili-Cheese fries gone. Â Oh that reminds me - the food has changed a bunch, and it seems cheaper in quality.
Service - not good. Â The server was clearly sick - gross. Â Plus, she kept grabbing glasses by the inside (you know, pinching 2-3 in her fingers, kind of like carrying a six pack) as she was bussing tables, then running food, without washing her hands. Â YUCK.
Atmosphere - loud, obnoxious music. Â
I suppose, based on all the years of good experiences here, I may give them one more try, but not for a long while. Â I got to get the bad taste out of my mouth.
This Fat Squirrel was a bloated roadkill squirrel. English pub? REALLY? I think not. No way. Having Bass Ale on tap does not make this an English Pub.
If you want to visit a REAL English pub in the States, check out the Old Toad in Rochester, NY:  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-old-toad-rochester">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>
Cheers: The ice water was cold. Craft beers on tap.
Jeers: The service was subpar. My Burque Turkey was a letdown. The fries were bleh. To top it off, my companion's veggie sandwich was... well... I can't even call it a sandwich. To call it a sandwich would be an insult to sandwiches across the world. A couple slices of green pepper and tomato with a slice of imitation cheese served in a hot dog bun is NOT a veggie sandwich. Booooo!
We left after our craptastic meal and went to Turtle Mountain Brewing Company. I honestly can not believe that the same person whom owns TMBC owns the Fat Squirrel.
Love the Name, Love the Food. Love the Beer (they serve Turtle Mountain Brews).
Have visisted a few times and the building is very basic, but has both high-top tables, normal tables, 8-10 TV's, bar and outdoor seating. Favorite menu items include the Fish and Chips and Jaegerschnitzel. So Good! and of course Not Healthy, but you can't expect healthy from a an English Pub.
Just OK, not really my thing.
I found that lunch at the Fat Squirrel Pub and Grille was just all around plain. Maybe I caught it on a bad day, but either way, I don't think I'll be back. Our party of three was seated near the kitchen. I had a perfect view of the "ready" platform that holds the finished product. about ten minutes after ordering, a lone plate appeared under the heat lamps. That lone plate was my lunch. It continued to sit there, getting soggy, while the other meals were still getting cooked. At the 20 minute mark, all three plates came out to our table at the same time. My bread was mushy and not good.
Another meal at our table  had french fries on it, they vote from our table was that they were mushy and possible pre cooked. The hamburger meal was the envy of the table, and If I was forced to eat there again, that is what I would order.
Maybe this is what pub style food is around town, but I did not enjoy it. To top it all off, My ice cold beer was served in a hot glass, fresh from the dishwasher.
When my family and I walked in the door we really got excited. The atmosphere looked great and I immediately started thinking about coming back for a beer and to watch a game from the bar. We were seated right away.
It took 10 minutes to get our drink orders, another 5 to order the fried pickle strips, and 5 more for our drinks to show up. 20 minutes in and all we had were our drinks. (two soda's and a kids milk)
The fried pickles were fantastic so despite the 30 minutes it took for us to get something to eat we thought our entree may make all the waiting worth it. I had the hot pastrami sandwich and my wife ordered the burque turkey.
The hot pastrami was good. Not great. It was 10.95 + $2 to get onion rings. The sandwich and onion rings were a long way from being worth almost $13. I guess I could say $14 since I was charged for ranch dressing too.
The burque turkey comes with turkey, green chili, avocado and swiss. It showed up with no avocado... it took forever to flag our waiter down and his fix was to bring the avocado to us in a bowl. Using the cold avocado my wife got to make her own sandwich at our table. When she was done making her own sandwich it was mediocre at best.
Sunday afternoon and we spent well over an hour here. Service was slow, they were not that busy, food was too expensive and the food was nothing special. I still may return for a beer at the bar but not likely to return with the family.
Just got done eating here. Wife had a prime rib sandwich. I had corned beef and cabbage.
Primary flavor of sandwich was cheese. Beef was overdone, dried out, and just plain did not taste like beef. Au jus tasted barely better than a salt water dip that didn't really salvage the already bland sandwich. Fries that came with it looked like a soggy mess on the plate, and first taste proved they were very underdone, despite a brown exterior.
Corned beef appeared dry, and was only slightly more moist on the palate than it appeared. The plate was served with a small cup of a creamed horseradish sauce, which seemed a strange condiment to me for corned beef. Â Cabbage was flavored with bits of bacon and I want to say green apple (but not sure about the apple part). Not no flavor, not bad flavor, just not much flavor. Â Potatoes on the plate were unseasoned entirely, but I enjoyed how they were physically prepared.
Cheap beer on tap on Tuesdays. Prices otherwise are very above average for the quality received. Â Overall... depth of flavor was just entirely missing.
Service was fine... but we will not be returning.
My wife and I stopped in on a whim. Â It was excellent and we will be coming back.
Most complaints seem to be about the service, but we had no issues. Â Friendly staff and an excellent waiter (it was a busy Friday night). Â Food delivery was timed well and our waiter checked in regularly.
The food:
Appetizer schnitzel strips - very good, try it.
Appetizer Calamari - edible, but not noteworthy. Â Over all good to try, but not a go to item.
Shepherds pie - outstanding! Â Best I ever ate.
Fish and chips - Very good, try it!
The food is terrific! We had the fish and chips and the reuben and both were very good. I especially appreciated that the tartar sauce was homemade. I also appreciate that the menu is not too big...I'm always skeptical of places with 5 page menus--a short menu makes me think the quality will be consistent across.
The service was competent. Not great--and certainly not what I would expect from a place that touts itself as local and family-owned. Still, I can't complain. They took our order, brought it out hot, and tended to our questions. I just prefer service with a little more effort for a 'sit-down' experience.
The prices for beer are far too high. I would have loved to order a brew, but even the draft prices are in the $4s or $5s...what are these: British prices. Bollocks to that. For a place that touts itself as a pub and has a decent offering of beers, they don't encourage people to buy it. $2.50 for a coke represents the same problem. I mean, it is really just carbonated water and syrup loaded with artificial crapola...
I would probably give this 3 stars usually, because of the prices and lackluster service, but the fact that it's family owned is much appreciated and counts for a lot these days.
I have been here several times in the past and finally getting around to writing a much deserved review. I found the quality of the food top notch. The Rueben is so awesome I have not be able to order anything else. However, I did go with friends that ordered other items and found the Fish and Chips to be good but not great, the burger to be solid and the fries are excellent. I know that they make the corned beef in house which is why, I believe, that the Rueben is so good. I will definately go back and hopefully bring myself to pass on the Rueben and try something new.
Review Source:This may be my new favourite pub, despite it being a bit of a drive for me. Â We went on a busy Friday night but didn't have to wait long for a table. Â Staff was great -- when our waiter got caught up at another table the owner herself came over to get our drink orders. Â Even though it was crowded, our waiter still took a few minutes to discuss the beer options (of which there are plenty) and make some suggestions. Â
My mother and I went and we split the Scotch eggs, peel and eat shrimp, shepherd's pie and bread pudding. Â I wasn't a big fan of the eggs but since I've never had them before I can't say if they were actually good or bad. Â The shrimp was very tasty with a nice Cajun spice and some pretty spicy cocktail sauce. Â The shepherd's pie was easily the best I've ever had; it definitely makes a difference that they use sirloin tips instead of ground beef. Â The bread pudding was excellent as well; they use potato bread which keeps it from being too soggy, and serve it a la mode. Â YUM.
Will definitely come back.
Their service has gone down hill. Don't order the sirloin (looks like a kids plate). Their burgers and fries are amazing but I won't be returning because of the service. We asked for extra items, never got them. My husband spilled his ice water on the table and no one cleaned it up! He had to ask a bus boy to borrow his rag so we could wipe up all the water and ice. The bus boy came back with a stack of napkins and then left. I don't even know where our waiter was. He saw the spill and never came back. So odd!!
Review Source:Large selection of beers. The appetizers we've tried were excellent. One of the best chile cheese fries we've ever had, the nachos is one of our favorites, along with the green chile cheeseburgers. Our son loves the quesadillas. We always had a great time either for a quick lunch during the week, or for a family outing on week-ends.
The decor is not pretentious, the place is always well maintained and clean, and the staff is very attentive and courteous.
I've eaten here 2-3 times and have been satisfied each time. I read about the pub in "The Best Of" issue of Albuquerque magazine, where they were featured as one of the best burgers and the best fries. So, of course, the first time I went I had both. I thought the meal was a bit expensive for a burger meal, but it was very, very good. The next time I went, I tried the fish and chips. The portions were generous, although I found the fish a bit on the greasy side. I would return to this restaurant to try other dishes. I find it to be family friendly, even if it is a pub.
Review Source:I don't understand why everyone raves about this place. The burgers are mediocre at best. They are your standard patty and lacks in flavor. We ordered their snitchzel pork strips, highly over priced for only a few pieces for what appears to be their pork trimmings of their main snitchzel dish and served as an appetizer. Â Their parent company turtle mountain is by far superior.
Review Source:Well all I can say is I LOVED IT. Â I may be biased because my friends who I went to visit love the restaurant and the owner. Â They seem to know everyone who works in the restaurant. Â From looking around it did not seem like we received any special treatment because everyone seemed to be enjoying. Â The restaurant was packed.
So what did we eat. Â I had a great burger it just had amazing flavor. Â The one thing I loved is I asked for it to be medium rare and let me tell you it sure the heck was. Â It's hard to get a medium rare burger now a days. Â Two people at my table had steaks and they were both cooked perfectly. Â You also get to chose what you want on your steak which is great. Â My brother got a monte cristo which I thought was very good. Â it tasted great. Â He got the onion rings which I loved. Â The one negative is my fries with the burger were a little cold.
The variety of beers were amazing you could try almost anything. Â Since they knew my friends they brought him all different beers but I'm sure if you went they could help you out. Â
One interesting thing is at 10:30 on Saturday night the music is turned down and they watch SNL. Â Which is kinda cool idea. Â I enjoyed and would go back if I was in town.
When I moved to New Mexico almost two years ago, there were not to many places that offered traditional American food. The Fat Squirrel Pub has items on their Menu like Home Made Sirloin Shepperd's Pie with fresh mashed potatoes, fresh Tuna Melts, Steaks cooked to order, 1/2 chickens baked fresh when you order it, a nice change from the Mexican restaurant scene that is the norm in town. These items I have tried each time I have gone to the Fat Squirrel. For the exception of one time, the food has been pretty good. The ingredients were fresh and well blended and balanced. I have had  salad, the spinach salad is delicious and has many nice flavors mixed in with a sweet and sour dressing that enhances the greens.
The monti-cristo sandwich was over dipped in oil and not good, it tasted like a greasy ham something, not worth taking two bites. They have a small appetizer menu that is not appetizing, obviously trying to appeal as an Irish brew pub, Â the menu has not changed in over a year, but truly needs to appeal to a growing, trendy and educated clientele.
The Bar is a beer and Wine only Bar and it seems to attract the Beer and Wine crowd that enjoys specialty Beers. Seems to do pretty good by those standards.
The help is not that helpful. They did not know what was good when asked, in one case the server was a vegeterian.
It would be nice if the Fat Squirrel would offer a broader range of choices to their menu since they do make some excellent entrees that are very tasty, but they are the same visit after visit and there are very few things to pick from. Some appetizers that get your taste buds ready for a scrumptious meal, would be great, if there were some and if the price points were worth getting them, even better.
I have brought business associates, friends and family who have liked the food, hated the food and just been on the fence.
The biggest complaint is they don't bring bread, crackers, popcorn, pretzels absolutely nothing to the table before a meal is served. I personally don't mind, but man y other people that I have brought, do.
Warm up the interior and warm up the atmosphere and this restaurant might be the best thing going in Rio Rancho!!! It needs better service, a warmer host and a nice decor and it would ROCK!
The atmosphere has some to be desired, the furnishings are baron and high black ceilings are stark and uninviting.
Since the basics are there, some of the food is very good, it can make it with a basic menu upgrade and get the right people in to make it stand out.
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