I only go to the bar side so I can't comment on the service on the restaurant-only side.
I like Hard Times. Â The beer is very cold and fresh. Â Yeah, that's a requirement. Â A lot of places in town has warm or skunky tap beer. Â Hard Times replaces their lines and you get a good beer. Â There are specials on just about every night of the week and their happy hour is $2 for a large glass of beer. Â It's more than a pint.
The food: Â I hear so many people say the chili is the best. Â I don't get that. Â I find it very subpar, especially for a chili place. Â Their Texas chili is greasy. Â Other options are Cincinatti, Terlingua Red and Veggie. Â I prefer th e Terlingua as it's like normal chili. Â Others prefer Cincinatti as it has a cinnamon flavor. Â I don't like a bowl of chili from this place. Â I find it boring. Â I do like it on top of something like a frito pie or a chili dog. Â The chili mac is the best.
Also, they always have a food special happening. Â Some better than others. Â They have a burger night on Mondays and the burgers are very good. Â It's all-you-can-eat chili on Tuesdays. Â I once ate a bowl and they gave me another to go which I took home and put on my own spaghetti. Â Wednesday's is wing night. Â Their wings are just ok. Â They don't suck but you won't rave about them.
The service at the bar is great. Â Bartenders are cool and they serve you quickly. Â They pay attention to their customers. Â Service at the tables is iffy, usually on the bad side of iffy. Â They girls are hired more for their looks than their waiting skills. Â But I must say, often their looks make up for it.
It's a great place to watch a game. Â Sometimes there are bands, some good and some not so good. Â They have a blues band every Tuesday which is sort of an open mic blues thing. Â Biggest problem with that is you always hear the same songs. Â Sundays is karaoke and it's usually brutal to sit through that.
I recommend Hard Times, unless you're a non smoker, for a place to hang out at night, or during the day, and having a beer.
Went here on a suggestion of a townie and couldn't be happier. Fun bartenders and great food. I suggest the southern fried chicken sandwich with loaded tater tots while my friend had one of the chilies which he stated was awesome. Lots of beers on tap. Pool tables and dart boards soft tip and hard tip. Sick location just be weary where you park as there are stupid people in this world and you might get a door ding from drunks heading home. Definitely coming back when I'm back in this area working!!!
Review Source:I went to this location last night. I did not have a good experience. We went because we had attended a Washington Nationals baseball game the night before and Hard Times is running a promo that if the Nats score at least six runs and win the game, all attendees can get six free wings the day after the game. When I asked the waitress if this particular location was honoring that promo, she said they were, as long as we had our ticket stubs with us (we did). Fast forward through the meal, the check came, we gave her our tickets and she quickly returns, telling us the promo is only good the day of the game. I argue politely, she goes and checks with the manager, to come back and tell us that it's for bone-in wings only and she would be glad to put in a to-go order for more wings. No thanks. I don't blame the poor girl, she was apologizing all over the place but her manager, I do. I don't believe him first off, since it was one excuse after another to not honor the promo and even if it was true, he should have comped the wings either way. Incredibly unprofessional. Coupled with the fact that my wings came out barely tossed in sauce and my cheese fries had barely any cheese on it (and what cheese there was wasn't melted), I will make sure we never frequent this location again.
Review Source:Service was super super good, attentive. The chili was some of the best I've had. The Texas was a tad to salty but the terlingua was great. I opted for the two over cornbread, great choice. My son had the Cincinnati over spaghetti, which he devoured.. and he's a picky six year old. They sell packs of the chili mix, I bought 4 of them. I would definitely go out of my way to eat there again in a heartbeat. They also offer a vegetarian chili which was tasty. It was about 30 bucks for us four.
Review Source:We went here with one of our friends who is a BIGGGG eater. Â There is not a whole lot on the menu. Â It is mostly chili and bar-type food. Â They make a Cincinnati style chili which was a mix between Goldstar and Skyline. Â It was pretty good. Â I ordered a chili dog. Â The bread was a bit hard, but everything else was good. Â The portions are huge, so don't order too much. Â Even the glasses are enormous! Â They do have great deals on food and our server was one of the best we have EVER had.
Review Source:When I actually went into the bar intead of the restaurant during my first visit, I was miserable- the stale cigarette smell is gross! However, I realized my mistake, and on my next visit, I went into the restaurant instead. (The food was good enough to try again.)
Very good veggie chili for me, and three yummy meat varieties for my hubby. We receive consistently good (usually excellent) and friendly service. The chili sampler is a nice touch that they offer when you first sit down. Prices are reasonable. The place has a "dive bar" feel, but is clean and well maintained, including the rest room. The menu is not extensive, but the three or four things I've tried have been very good.
For what it is, (a casual hangout) this place is excellent.
I've been to several Hard Times locations, and being vegetarian, I always get different forms of the veggie chili. You can get just a bowl of it, get it over spaghetti, get it in a tortilla (burrito-style), etc. It's a little spicy, so I have to cool it down with a good amount of sour cream. So they have added something new to the menu (new to me, at least): Chili served over tater tots. Oh my. The tater tots stay crispy, then you've got the chili on top, topped with shredded cheese and sour cream. I have to say, this is the first dish here that I have LOVED. Now I get this every time. I've only tried one dessert here: the Oreo brownie sundae. I don't like Oreos, but my son wanted this dessert, so we got it. The name is deceiving. There are no Oreos in the dish. It's two big warm brownies, topped with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. This dessert is HUGE and it's less than $5. I appreciate Hard Times offering a veggie option, and even though the chili is spicy, I will keep coming back.
Review Source:My now deceased husband who used to frequent this restaurant, Â went there one day earlier this year with his children and was denied access to the restroom because he was a minority and the bartender said "He looked homeless"??? My family and friends will never patronize this establishment because of their atrocious and racist behavior! As many times as my beloved husband spent at this horrible place, that they would treat a terminally ill human being this way? We spend good money at many local Fredericksburg establishments, but will never again step foot in a place like 'Hard Times Cafe', Â that would be so racist and insensitive to a human being. Never again.
Review Source:On Saturday, October 29th. I arrived with two of my friends between 9:45 and 10:00 pm to gain entry into the bar. We stood in line for well over an hour in the freezing cold and still did not even make it up to the entryway of the bar. There were plenty of people who were waiting just as long as we had, and I'm sure who waited even longer to get in.
The whole situation was completely ridiculous. The bouncers weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to who was going in or out of the doors, groups of people and individuals just breezed right on past them without being stopped or checked at all while everyone else stood in line like they were supposed to. There were all sorts of people cutting in line but nothing was done about that, either. When one of my friends went to ask the bouncer what the hell was going on when he did nothing about a guy BLATANTLY cutting in line right in front of him, his response was "oh, he's not getting in, don't worry about it". Then why did he allow him to stay at the front of the line, instead of making him go all the way to the back like he should have? Never again will I even THINK about going to this place.
One of our favorites... Â Not trying to prove anything. Â Excellent chili, great salads, and cold beer, with Happy Hour specials. Â
Beside the chili-mac, our favorite dish is the buffalo chicken salad. Â The portion is large, with plenty of hot chicken. Â Every time we go, the service is great, with constant check-up.
We have brought our Service-Assistance Puppy In-Training (7-months old at time of this writing), and is always welcomed at the restaurant.
The sampler of chili is really helpful. The cincinatti is my favorite, perfect amount of sweet and spices. Â The chili mac is good as well as the chili dogs, i had the hard times chili dog with cincinatti. Comes with a big serving of fries. My dad said the onion rings were awesome, too!
Review Source:Ordered the burger sliders. Nothing special but also still good.
Chilli dog sliders. My honey said that they were one of the best.
Chilli sampler. I love samplers.
We went on a special day where they gave out one chilli dog for each purchase.
It is a little smokey in there but we didn't notice it too much after we were seated.
Second visit: the fried mac and cheese was really delicious! The honey bbq wings were sub par. I like the wings at KFC better.
Third visit (because my fiance really likes this place): I had the bbq chicken sandwich. Barely had any bbq sauce on it. The onion rings sort of disappeared into my sandwich. The chicken patty was MASSIVE.
Look for their buy one get one free entree/appetizer in the mail adds and coupon books.
Any restaurant that gives you a chili sampler when you sit down instead of the usual bread basket is a winner in my book. Â I'm particular about chili, but Hard Times is the best. I'm sure they have lots of other great things on their menu, but if I'm going to Hard Times, I'm getting chili!
My personal favorite is the Cincinnati. It's got just enough kick, and since I'm a bit of a wuss, I don't want to clear my sinuses as I'm eating dinner. Their vegetarian chili is the best I've ever had, which makes Hard Times a great place to bring a vegetarian friend.
I usually get the Frito Pie or Chili Bubba. Chili Bubba is chili over corn bread. Frito Pie is pretty self explanatory. Are either especially good for you? No. But we only go to Hard Times about once every two months, so if I'm going, I'm going to enjoy myself!
The only downside with Hard Times is that there is a pool hall in every location (well, at least the ones I've been too) and people can be a bit loud at time. This particular location can be a bit smoky too.
Other than that, Hard Times is a go-to spot if you want a good bite to eat, great service and best of all, not spend an arm and a leg.
I enjoy stopping at the Hard Times Cafe to enjoy the laid back dimly lit saloon atmosphere. Hard Times Cafe serves up fried appetizers, wings, salads, burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, dinner platters, desserts, and the fantastic Chili.
I usually order the Signature Bottled Root Beer (I get 2!!) and the 5-Way Chili over Spaghetti (spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, onions, & beans). My favorites are the Texas Chili and the Cincinnati Chili, with right amount of spices, ground beef, and flavors, very tasty. This dish can be very messy (spattering of Chili), so be careful if you're wearing light clothing and have lots of napkins ready.
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