Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

We were there with friends last night (Sat.)  We waited for about 1-1/2 hrs. to be seated. Of course, it was a Sat. - no problem since we are 8 friends catching up with a couple beers. I was disappointed that they have such a great selection of beers, that there was no white wheat beer (Blue Moon/Hoegartden style). White wheats are so popular now, I was hoping for just one. So I settled for their Belgian White IPA which, of course, was pretty hoppy for me. Oh well, I was there for the great companionship. If they had a few less hoppy beers I would have loved to get their flight. Not only do you get to taste all the different styles, it's a good "buy."  And it's fun. The waiter (Keith, he was really good) at our dinner table really seemed to know his stuff which was nice.  The first waiter while sitting at a bar booth waiting for our table was just OK. Didn't seem very interested. Perhaps he was just overwhelmed.
The food. Reminded me of Ruby Tues or Applebee's - menu sounded delicious and varied, but the end result was just so so. Not terrible, mind you, but not what was expected. My friend's $27 filet mignon had a crab sauce with mashed pots, spinach and a cabernet demi-glace which was pretty damn good. However, was disappointed in the quality of the meat. My french onion soup was just OK. My house salad was OK. Bruchetta, which I think was $7 was awesome. Not worth $7 for 4 pieces, but really really tasty. Friends weren't thrilled with the seafood bisque, but thought it was OK.  The experience reminded me of why I don't go out to dinner on a Saturday night. It's just too chaotic and must be hard for the kitchen to deal with. Best time to go here is a Sat or Sun. afternoon or during the week I think.  Also - all the staff we dealt with, hostesses, other waitresses,etc., were awesome which really saved the day...errr...night. I hate to give them 3 stars, but we could have gone someplace special like Harry's Savoy in wilmington for the same price.

Back we are again for the beer.  Excellent as usual.   The food -pretty good.   The calamari are crispy as ever, but the portion is shrinking with every visit.   The fish and chips were great, as was my partner's crab cake sandwich.

I recently started working down the street and have been to Iron Hill twice in my first week (one with coworkers, and one with my father who was in town on business). Both times had great service, and the food was pretty good. I wouldn't say spectacular, but definitely ok for a quick lunch. But the beer is where it's at! Loving the different styles of IPAS since i'm a huge IPA fan. Will definitely return!