I have had some of the worst meals of my life here and some of the worst service imaginable by not only servers/bartenders but managers as well.
I've had stale chips with poorly made guacamole. BARTENDER: "I'm sorry ma'am, that's all we have. Here's a fork".....Thanks.
I've had rubbery, overcooked, chewy-beyond-belief shrimp drowned in dressing aka some ridiculous, underprepared sauce. BARTENDER: "Well that's how we make it... if you want something else you'll need to order something else,, but I can't take it off of your bill"..... Thanks.
I've consumed one beer, my SO has consumed one beer (That's 2 beers total, if you're mathematically challenged) and been charged for 8 beers. SERVER: "I'm sorry ma'am, you're right- that was a mistake, I'll have my manager make the adjustment", MANAGER: "It's not my fault you're too drunk to know how many beers you've had". ....Thanks from me, as well as the two tables that overheard this appalling conversation and promptly walked out prior to being served.
They do offer a happy hour menu with $3 options during evening and late night. The problem is, I wouldn't ever pay more than $3 for any of their food in the first place.
The best part of all of this is... I don't complain at restaurants, EVER. If I don't like it, I don't make a fuss... I generally just don't come back. The first two issues were only addressed after being prompted by the bartender and were only necessary due to the items being completely inedible. The third issue was approached because, well, I'm stingy and if I didn't order it or drink it... I'm not paying for it.
I now blatantly refuse to enter this establishment. When friends gather for dinner or drinks, I offer to meet them elsewhere or afterwards.
If you're looking for a place to grab dinner and watch a game, this is a good option. The menu is a substantial upgrade over most sports bars -- you can get higher-quality traditional pub food or entrees that rival those found in more formal restaurants -- and the crowd is a little older than some of the local alternatives.
Come on Tuesday for "Pint Night" when every pint is $2.50. They have a nice selection on draft (including a few NC beers), so you get your money's worth.
Let me just say-- wings, original buffalo style. GO.
Otherwise, service is great, food is decent, and ambiance is awesome. A coworker and I came in around 6:45pm to catch the Knicks on a Tuesday night. Quite a few people were seated outside in the loungy red couches downing some beers and grabbing a few bites. When we walked in, we were seated in one of the tables in front of the wall of TVs. It was grand.
Tuesdays are pint nights, where a pint (16oz) of anything on draft goes for $2.50. Drinks SCORE.
Wings. Did I mention them already? Well once isn't enough. They were delicious. Original buffalo style wings were flavorful but also had a perfect crunch to them that just cannot be appreciated except to devour the plate of 8 wings within the first 5 minutes of getting them, and then ordering another platter to finish off your meal (like my coworker did, haha). I tried, but... could only manage one more wing in our second round.
We also ordered the fried green tomatoes which were yummy and came with what would've been a decent salad except it was drenched in dressing. Other than that, it could have been delicious with arugula, goat cheese and tomatoes.
For our mains, I ordered the cheese steak which was meh, and my coworker ordered the half rack of bbq ribs. Those looked delicious-- I didn't get a try, but the co wolfed those down in a matter of minutes, so they must've been good.
All in all a great place to sit down, grab a drink, eat lots of wings and enjoy a game!
When you come to eat here ask for Ciara. She is 6mos pregnant so you can't miss her. She is an amazing server. I wasn't a fan of the cheesesteak sandwich so she took it back and brought me the sandwich that she originally suggested: the tomato and avocado sandwich add bacon and turkey. The manager came over to make sure I was okay and apologized because I didn't like the cheesesteak. It wasn't his fault but I appreciated his concern and kindness.
My husband and I started with the four sliders. I had BBQ and the turkey one. They were both amazing! To end the meal, the table shared a slice of the heavenly, amazing, ORGASMIC Hummingbird cake. Try it. Seriously. Do it. I will be coming back here again. :-)
Came here on a non-game, Saturday night and our party of four was seated right away. The draught beer list was substantial and included a variety of local brews. I chose Big Als Blonde & found it light & refreshing. The beers took a little longer than expected on a slower night (about 15 minutes) but we were in no hurry so it wasn't an issue. We started with the fried green tomatoes appetizer but were brought guacamole 2x instead. After explaining twice that we ordered tomatoes, we received them & were not disappointed! They were topped with pesto, goat cheese & mixed greens & were fried to perfection. Would definitely recommend. I ordered the grilled cheese on sundried tom foccacia with a side of tomato bisque for my entree. This comfort food is hard to mess up, and I devoured it! The soup was not very creamy & was more like a marinara, but I really enjoyed the flavor. Others at my table ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich (apparently their specialty), the tomato avocado sandwich & the orichette pasta. The pasta had good flavor but wayyyyy too much olive oil. Overall, good experience & food with some minor ordering/wait issues. Would go again. .
Review Source:Disclosure: I didnt eat here, but the food looked good.
Stopped in for NFL Draft, they know how to plan for an event and setup accordingly. Had drink and food specials, plenty of staff. Owner (least I think he was) kept wandering around seeing how everyone was doing and often greeting people as they came in.
Service was fast, drinks were cold, tons of TVs to watch any sport you wanted, and they were complacent if you wanted to watch something that wasn't on, or adjust to watch something on but on a closer TV (we specifcally asked for this)
Very good chicken wings. The chef & owner, Alex, is awesome dude and he's from Cleveland! He hooked us up with some wings for being a fellow sad Browns fan. The fried green tomato sandwich was AWESOME!!! The beer specials are really good too! The southern cavier is really flavorful too! The grilled cheese sandwich with homemade tomato soup were a perfect blend. The tomato soup was thick and real hearty.
Review Source:After reading Dan S review I will have to be more careful with the happy hour "advertisements" here; however, I have had some grat drinks and quality apps at this establishment. Â
The service was always prompt and courteous. Â I have yet to have a full entree but they apps (i.e. nachos, wings, salads) were good (good bar food). Â
The outdoor TVs are a nice touch and on spring days it is nice to sit outside and sip on a beer while watching the NCAA tourney....
Nice atmosphere and clean establishment...
Upon arrival at 1pm, I asked if the happy hour started at 4pm. The hostess said yes and that the specials are great. Even though we waited close to an hour for a table after being told 10 to 15 minutes, my party of five ordered drinks and food totaling over $100. When 4pm came around, we were ready for more food and we wanted to use the happy hour specials. Our waiter was great and took our order - he confirmed that happy hour had started.
This is where it gets fun. The owner, Alex, came over and told us there was no happy hour today....Friday....even though it's advertised outside, on every table, and confirmed by the hostess, and then confirmed again by the waiter. He eluded to the fact that there was a big game on and it was really busy, so they wouldn't honor happy hour. He also said that he held a big meeting before they opened to let every employee aware of this.
My group was upset about this and we closed out our tab (and tipped our embarrassed waiter very well).
I went around quickly and asked two more wait staff if there was a happy hour and they said yes. That means that Alex decided right then and there, at the beginning of happy hour, that he'd make more money by not honoring it.
I tried to talk to him again and told him that four different employees were under the impression that they had happy hour that day - he didn't seem to want to address that point. He wasn't overly rude, but he was definitely dismissive. He didn't care. He didn't care that four different forms of advertising were flat out lies and is clearly meant to mislead people into spending more money.
With so many places to enjoy food and sports in the Raleigh area, we HIGHLY recommend you and your party try someplace else!!!
Watched the playoff elimination game here between the skins and the cowboys. I love how there's a huge gathering of skins fans here. So large that they have their own section every game :) There are LOTS of tvs which was a huge plus for football weekends.
The food was typical bar food but the locally brewed beers were pretty good!
Tobacco Road is a balanced mix of restaurant and bar. The food is better than the average bar food that you would expect. Â The ingredients are fresh and presented nicely (the mac and cheese is amazing). Also there is a nice outdoor area with heat lamps. Its a good option for brunch or game day. They usually play UFC and boxing as well.
Review Source:A group and I came here to watch the Kansas State/Baylor football game and the UFC fight last week. Â We were sat right above the recliners, with an awesome view of the big screen and tvs surrounding it. Â The guy at the front even asked if we came to watch something specific to make sure the game would be on where we were sitting. Â It was cool that he asked, most places dont care.
It was busy that night but our server took excellent care of us. Â We always had drinks, our food order was correct and came out hot. Â
Would definitely like to go back and test out those recliners!
I finally made it back to try this place again... what can I say that I haven't already said about this place?
I know!
The trivia starts at 7:30pm on Wednesdays now. NOT 9pm which is what their website states, and when it started the last time I went about 2 months ago. So I showed up for 9pm and trivia was already over. A real pain in the ass for what I expected to be an opportunity for this place to redeem itself.
At least the food was better. Perhaps because I went with something fool proof, the buffalo chicken sandwich. The sandwich was decent and served with two fried chicken breasts. A solid offering, but I'd go so far as to say that Hooters serves a better fried buffalo chicken sandwich.
The food was served very promptly and was hot/cold as it should be. It is also plated well.
The Yankees vs Red Sox game was on and it was so loud that we were screaming to hear one another. It was disturbing to the ear it was so loud. If you were there for the ball game, then I suppose you would have appreciated that so I can't really knock them for that, but it was very loud.
Decent food, great beer, decent wait staff, and very accommodating hostesses. The place gets a solid 3 stars from me, but I'm not terribly interested in returning unless it is for trivia. If I do plan on returning for trivia, I'll call first and confirm what time the trivia game starts just in case it changes back to 9pm.
My favorite place by far in Downtown Raleigh.
This place serves for all occasions. I was impressed the first time around but even more the second time.
Sundays are definitely served for sports fans like myself. Can't wait for Basketball, I will be here everytime.
They have a bar with happy bartenders and a seated area surrounding.
But it gets better. They have a front row of recliner seats to serve you a closer experience to the games being shown on TV. Too many TVs to count showing games which is a double thumbs up. It appears as if they broadcast live for something there, with a booth setup.
Dining area is laid back and gives a different vibe than the other side. They have a isolated room reserved for parties which is cool and they include TVs. I had the Durham Bull Burger which was amazing, sweet potato chips not so much. Didn't like that they were a little on the burnt side. On the other hand, the cheddar grits were a thumbs up. I had a 16oz Mother Earth Endless RiverKolsch which is locally brewed.
They have an outside seating area which is laid back with ofcourse, TVs!
The pricing was reasonable. You can call in prior to coming in to put yourself on the list which is good. The food does take a little while on a Saturday, granted the place was slammed. Overall, great place!
Kid friendly is important for some of us.
Ok, this place was off the chain. They have a front row of recliners with every TV on a different game. Above that level is your regular dining area and behind that is the bar and they also offer a very nice and much more quiet outside patio. The ambiance is great during football games and its right in the middle of down town. Definitely where I will watch my fantasy football games while in NC over football season.
Review Source:Friends and I stopped here for lunch. We scored a park right in front of the door.
First impression: Love that they have outdoor seating and it's comfortable. We didn't stay seated out there long as it was way too hot. I am sure our waitress, Lauren, was relieved as she kept offering us a seat inside but we held out longer then she expected. LOL. Would love for them to maybe install some ceiling fans but sitting inside by the window was fine as well.
Food: Two of my friends ordered the burger of the day....Jalapeno Burger. I tried it and it was GREAT!!! They also ordered the sweet potato salad, I believe that's what it was called, and they enjoyed that as well. I had the half pounder with cheese and stole some jalapenos off their burgers and it was just the right amount of kick. Yes, I know I should have just ordered that burger but there were lots of good options and my friends were really hungry so I picked an option I wouldn't really have to think about. The fries were really good and probably didn't even need ketchup but I am a dipper and so chose to utilize the ketchup that came with my meal.
The atmosphere was great and it was a Sunday afternoon so they weren't really busy. Another waiter, Zeke, gave us a little tour and showed us the private room they have in the back. Its air conditioned and can fit about 20 people and has a flat screen TV...thinking around 40" or 50". Its first come, first serve and at no extra charge - SWEET. I know exactly where we will be going with our group for game nights. Across from the bar area they have a wall full of TVs that they keep several sports channels on. Lastly they, of course, have a large selection of beer. I don't drink beer so I can't comment on that but when we go back I'll take notes on what my boyfriend thinks. Overall, I am a fan. Service was good, atmosphere was nice, it was great to get a tour, and they have an interesting glass booth where a station (radio or TV) used to broadcast out of. They don't do it anymore so it was fun offering suggestions.
Try it out for yourself and see what you think.
Not your typical pub food
On a Saturday night Tobacco Road can be jammed - the typical Glenwood South atmosphere, which is why I was so surprised when I actually looked at the menu on a daytime visit.
100% of their food is made from scratch, made fresh daily, and they support local farmers and fishermen by purchasing over 75% of their ingredients from local businesses. Â Who would have thought from a sports bar? Â I was elated!
I had the Strawberry and Candied Pecan Salad which was mixed field greens, candied pecans, blueberries, strawberries and blueberry-mint white balsamic vinaigrette. Â I asked if I could get a nut that wasn't candied, and the chef was happy to roast some fresh pecans for me - no problem. Â The salad was filled with berries, had spinach as well as the field greens, and it was great. Â Not at all what I expected from a sports bar.
I also had the Blue Devil Sherry Crab Bisque and that was tasty too. Â I thought it was a tiny bit on the fishy side, but that is entirely a matter of personal taste. Â I realize that although I don't like strong fish flavors, the next person may really enjoy it. Â It was creamy and flavorful and I ate it all.
Ken had the turkey burger (house made patty on whole wheat kaiser roll with arugula, tomato, and lemon tarragon aioli) and said it was very good, and had black beans and rice for his side. Â The black beans and rice were excellent! Â Not dry, lots of flavor - black beans and chunks of tomato - just the way they should be.
Even though there are big screens everywhere, the atmosphere was nice. Â Sort of an upscale sports pub. Â The service was excellent (both hostess and server), and a huge thank you to the chef for accommodating my un-candied nut request. Â We'll definitely keep this on our good list!
If you're looking for a place to watch the game and want to be able to hear the TVs, this is the place. There are DOZENS of TVs, in various sizes, scattered all across the walls of the entire bar, so no matter where you sit you'll have a view of one.
I went there for an NBA playoff game, and even though the place was pretty packed, they turned up the volume of the TVs so that you could easily hear the commentators. Many sports bars neglect this important fact: We want to hear the game and not the Top 40 radio station.
If I were rating them on the atmosphere alone, they would have 5 stars, but unfortunately the service was off the mark. My friends and I were promptly seated but after ten minutes the hostess came to ask if we had been seen by a server (we hadn't). I chalked it up to a busy night and didn't let it bother me. The server herself was very friendly and as attentive as she could be (personally I believe she was relatively new to serving there and she was spread over far too many tables as she couldn't get to all of them quick enough). I saw how many tables each server had and they definitely could have used two more servers to cover the tables.
There were several parts of the night where we were waiting on another drink, and watching an NBA Finals series game with an empty pint is a bit depressing. Â That said, I did enjoy the burger I had, which is another reason I'm giving the place an extra star as I did enjoy the food as well as the variety of beer (and of course, the game).
Four people walk in, sit at bar.
To individual behind bar, we are are going to drink beer and order food.
Bartender well we have these beers on special.
Can we sample one of them?
Yup, sure.
Yum, we like. 3 of us order the beer we sampled.
We get our checks all of us 2 or 3 beers later plus food. Charged for a sample of one beer we had 8 pints of...just ridiculous. Rarely can a establishment upset me, but little charges to sample what they are selling. Â Go to the grocery store, they give out free samples, walk around at a convention or large event free stuff everywhere to entice you to purchase there product. Â Tobacco Road Sports will charge you for this experience.
Does this make business sense?
Simple answer. No. The 4 of us will not be back to Tobacco Road anytime soon.
Does it make sense for the bartender?
Again no, tip reduction you got it. Especially if you don't mention you are charging us for a sample, but you slip it on the check thinking your patron won't notice.
Ohh they have big tvs and lots of them but the experience suffers if one of the Amra's or who I believe to be an Amra is not there. Plus note food is more consistent, since some change. Would probably give 1 star based on this experience, but I like sports and past trips here were mediocre to enjoyable.
A group of us went to Tobacco Road after a wedding (including the bride and groom!) for some post-reception drinks and food. I don't live in Raleigh, but I'm told that the downtown area is really so-so and could use more people on the weekends. (Does this count as downtown?) If I lived here, I would definitely come to Tobacco Road to watch a game, have a few drinks (love seeing some local brews on the menu), and grab some snacks with friends. I felt right at home, having gone to several (too many?) sports bars in central Ohio.
I will note that there is a full bar that is stocked, if not totally diverse. You'll see more top shelf tequila but less top shelf bourbon, if that makes any sense. (I was sad when Woodford was not available.) Our pitchers of beer were cheap and plentiful, which was perfect, and our drinks came out quickly and easily.
If you're here with a group, check into reserving the party room in the back. It's a private, glass-enclosed area for your group with a giant HD TV. We absolutely loved it.
And if you're looking for some snacks, I would highly recommend the wings and the nachos. I'm from upstate NY--we know our wings--and I have to say these were damn good. Perfectly sauced and nicely meaty. The nachos were piled high for us hungry, tipsy bunch.
Tobacco road is in a great location on Glenwood south. Â Easy to find and right in the middle of all the action. Â I stopped with a friend here for dinner on a Monday night around 8pm after a wine tasting. Â We had no set dinner plans, so we kind of just wandered in. Â It wasn't very crowded so we were sat immediately at the almost empty restaurant/bar. Â I am surprised it was so empty. Â The location is very convenient, and even though it is a Monday night, I've seen the flying saucer without seating on many occasions on Monday nights. Â They didn't really have any impressive drink specials, which they could really step up their game on that aspect.
The atmosphere inside is perfect for a sports bar, large LCD TV's, a row of recliners to sit and watch the game, lots of available seating, and  a nice draft beer selection, from what I observed.  TV's could be seen from almost any angle, so there really wasn't a bad table.  I would definitely like to try this place out to watch a game.
The food however, was mediocre. Â The menu was okay, standard, typical food for a sports bar/restaurant. Â I got a BBQ pork sandwich that came with fries. Â My friend got a buffalo chicken sandwich also with fries. Â The waitress put in our food orders, but for some reason we only got one order of fries, so we split them while she made another order. Â The food was okay, nothing special, my sandwich didn't taste too great I've definitely had much better. Â The fries were bizarre, literally just huge slabs of fried potatoes that weren't cooked all the way. Â They were too hard from not being in the fryer long enough, and tasted gross. Â
I would definitely check out Tobacco Road during a sporting event, and would have a few beers but I think I would eat before I went.
I've come here three times to specifically watch games. I would give a 3.5 if I could.
The first time was the UNC v. Duke basketball game last February. That was when I learned you have to get a table waaaayyyyy before game time to get a seat. However, it worked out getting a 4-top except for them also having trivia that night... so they muted the game for an hour. That was bogus.
The second time I came last August with a group of 6 or so, and they are very accommodating for groups. We watched a UFC fight (ick, not my preference), and it was packed. It did take our server a longggg time to take our food order, but the overall experience of going out to a sport bar with other sports people was what you'd want from Tobacco Road.
The third time, last Saturday, 6 of us watched the Saints v. Niners game. We were able to call ahead to get a booth 30 minutes before our arrival. Our server, Tim, was very attentive and also engaging. I'd ask for him next time, too, because he really aims to please.
Favorite things about Tobacco Road: Beer list, pitcher specials, bbq chicken with peaches and green beans.
Not so favorite things: Nachos, stressing a little about getting a table, and I wish they put more cheese on the grilled cheese.
Overall, it's a solid choice if you want a sports bar, and I'll be back again, I'm sure.
I travel a lot and finding a great place to watch football on Saturday or Sunday is difficult. There are always negatives.... OVERPRICED, BAD FOODS, POOR GAME WATCHING, TOO PACKED, ETC...
I am here to tell you out of all the places I have been Raleigh has the best hometown sports bar in the country with Tobacco Road Sports Cafe. The food was excellent, very well priced, and it was the best game watching experience I have ever had at a bar.
Get this, they have 8 recliners and a wall of TVs for watching and the manager kindly greeted me and asked me what game I wanted to watch and hooked it up and then put another one on for me to watch!
BAD ASS!!! Go here if you want to watch a game and enjoy really high quality food at low prices!
Eh, this is a mediocre review for a mediocre place...
I ate here on a warm Saturday night, so it was busy like many places on Glenwood south - maybe a little too busy. It is kind of cheap that they added in seats EVERYWHERE. I felt like I was literally on top of the couple next to me and the group behind us. There is little space to move in the main dining area. I understand a full dining room = more money, but this is a little extreme.
So, yeah, it's Saturday night and it's crowded (big surprise), but the noise level was insane. It was hard to hear! I bring this up specifically because a chef, or manager, or some random guy wearing a chef's jacket with a remote in his hand changed a TV channel. Not such a big deal, but then he turns up the volume!!! It was already so loud in there and he just made it much worse. Wth was he thinking?!
The food was so, so...The best part were the potato wedges - thick cut fries that were pretty tasty. I had the three sliders and they weren't too bad - the best one was the BBQ sandwich with slaw. Yum. The food saved this place from getting a terrible rating. I may go back with some drunk friends for a late night snack, but never for a nice sit-down dinner at 6pm....
I hate this place on the weekends. I regularly turn down friends who want to go here to watch the game or UFC fights. It can, and does, get packed. It is super loud. They like to crank up the music here for some reason.
The food is on par with the Durham location. My favorites are the nachos, the hummus, and the buffalo chicken sandwich.
I've been here for trivia night a number of times. Trivia is advertised to start at 8pm or 8:30pm, but it actually doesn't get going till 9 or 9:15pm. There sometimes is 30 minutes between rounds, but I was out of there at 11pm last time. There are 4 rounds total.
If you're trying to catch the big game, you need to get here early to grab a table near their biggest screen. Â But, honestly, I'd recommend going somewhere else... watch the game at home or at one of the less crowded sports bars.
So they have a weekday special with certain menu items $3 until 6. Â I took advantage of this on Tuesday with some coworkers. Â It's also $2.50 pints on Tuesday which is awesome.
We started with 4 of the discounted plates:
Bean Cakes - surprisingly good
Popcorn Shrimp - aka popcorn pepperoncini with a few shrimp. . not so good
Wings - standard
Pico De Gallo - standard
I decided to order the Mac and Cheese that yelpers were raving about. Â When I did, the waitress asked "Would you like the country ham in that?" Â I replied "Without a doubt!" Â This is where I think there was some confusion.
She brought out my MONSTER bowl of Mac and Cheese and I was a bit intimidated. Â I dug in. Â It was very good. Â Smooth cheesiness. Â YUM. Â But with each bite I was longer for a bite of salty country ham. Â As a pushed the mac around in my bowl like a 5 year old I found no country ham. Â WOMP WOMP. Â I was longing for that stuff! Â The dish was certainly still good but it needed that saltiness to really finish it.
Our server took good care of us otherwise. Â Consistently bringing beer refills is always a good thing. Â The Sports Cafe has plenty of TVs and is great for watching games.
I'd come back to Tobacco Road for the specials and to try some of their other tasty looking menu items.
I made it on a bartender's "least favorite customer" list! SWEET. apparently they have a thing for people who shred the coasters and stack them on the bar to make miniature cities. In case you were wondering what happened to my city, it was destroyed and thrown in the trash before my very eyes. They didn't even think of the children!
This place isn't so hot for me cause it gets WAY too crowded for my liking during games. Although I have a special knack for finding a seat at the bar, I don't like annoying people who spill their drinks on our about me and this place has plenty of those idiots.... and bartenders who don't take kindly to my bar habits.
The food isn't my fave bar food. Not only is there something lacking, but I always seem to encounter an issue, like cold soup - who wants cold soup while watching a football game? not me!
I like this place for the sheer amount of TVs that they have. I love watching sports and there are enough TVs to keep me company. I wish it were a tad more Big 10 friendly, but hey, what can you do when you live in ACC country - the powerhouse that is ACC football.....
As several other people have mentioned, Tobacco Road is NOT a "sports bar" in the traditional sense of the phrase. I would almost say imagine an Applebee's, but minus the cheesy decorations and with more plentiful and better-quality televisions. It definitely wouldn't make the top of my list of places to catch an important ballgame.
Also, their waitresses tend to be a bit off. I'm not sure if they're encouraged to follow a "script" or if I just happen to get the "newbies" when I go in but it seems like they are kind of scared to deviate from "hi how are you what can I get you to drink" and inject a little personality into things, but I'm sure some people don't really want to be chatted at by their waitstaff, so that may not be a negative.
I recommend sitting at the bar as the bartenders are always pretty cool and knowledgeable about the beers on tap (and they have a decent selection at reasonable prices).
The true highlight and my primary reason for going to Tobacco Road is LATE NIGHT FOOD. There are several places downtown that sell food after 10, but not many who sell food this good! The mac & cheese is one of my favorites but beware it is very rich and sometimes hard to finish unless you are totally starving!!
Overall the place is pretty average, I recommend it mostly for later at night rather than daytime. They could earn an additional star for more accessible parking, but sometimes that's just how it is in downtown Raleigh.
I wrote a somewhat poor review for this restaurant, and decided to completely get rid of it and rewrite my review as I was contacted by the owner apologizing for the service (great customer service). It's nice to know that the owners really care about pleasing their customers.
I complained that the waitress was a little pushy with some of the customers when it came to sitting at one of her tables without ordering anything. I understand how frustrating this can be, and although it was a little annoying to overhear this frustration twice, I know it's important to make money in these tough times, and she deserves to have paying customers at her tables.
The food was delicious, although massive portions. Many people will probably like that though, as leftovers are always a plus! I'd suggest the nachos as an appetizer if you have a large group of people. I also tried the cheesesteak, which came with mushrooms, cheese, and fried onions. I also ordered the sweet potato fries. I would have loved to have the cinnamon/butter dip with them as I've had at other restaurants, but it came with ketchup instead. That's okay though, they still tasted great.
All in all, I would definitely come here again when I'm back in town, especially if there's a good game on TV. It's a fun place to hang out, and the outside area is nice too (they have heaters for cold nights). The waitress seemed preoccupied the night we came, but I'm sure she's wonderful at her job, and everyone deserves to have a bad night once in a while.
I recently visited the Tobacco Road location on Glenwood South again. I have been there a few times before, but this is my first review on the place. If it wasn't for the plethora of high def tv's everywhere you may not guess that this place is a sports bar, certainly not by looking at the menu. Â For me this is a good thing. Yes, they have the old sports bar staples such as wings, burgers, fries, and draft beer, but they also offer a wider variety of items such as mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, corn dogs and steak or chicken salads.
On my most recent visit I tried the shrimp and grits which I found to be delicious with quite a few shrimp on top of creamy cheesy grits. My friend ordered the mac and cheese and found it to be enjoyable, with  a portion large enough that he couldn't finish all of it. On previous visits I had the steak salad and fish tacos and was really impressed by those offerings also.  Servers have always been very attentive and friendly.  The price point is higher than what you would pay at say Hi-5 or Woody's, but I think the food is of higher quality. The old adage holds true, you get what you pay for.
Tobacco Road is run by the Amras brothers and they also started Amras which is a classy cigar bar down the street. In addition, they opened a Tobacco Road Sports Cafe in Durham near the DBAP last year.
It's not a sports bar as they want made very clear, but there's plenty of room to view a game if you want it. Â Tobacco Road has provided entertainment and a sanctuary for me at times. Â It's predictable and doesn't really change. Â It's often cold and it's very airy and easy to talk to people in. Â
There's nothing too unique about the food, but it's kind of like good comfort Southern food. Â It's not necessarily Southern food, but it's got a lot of the comforts from the south and home country: bbq, mac n cheese, mini corndogs, wings, nachos, etc. Â I've had the bbq, the sliders, tried someone else' wings, had the chicken eggrolls (nothing special), and mac'n cheese. Â Tonight I had the nachos and they were nothing special since I asked them to hold the lettuce, tomato, and onion, but still good. Â What can I say? Â I'm kinda plain sometimes. Â I was happy with my cheeses, black beans, sour cream, and guac. Â Yummm. Â
I've been there for many reasons...to watch a hockey game, to play trivia (very hard to hear) and they accommodated my big group, for a late night meal, for bar crawls, for lunch, and tonight to have a light meal while studying on the patio. Â It was a major difference to sit on the patio from my usual grabbing of a table in the bar area. Â I enjoyed it since it felt so much more personal. Â Our server was very attentive and didn't mind that I spent over 3 hours there with my laptop, books, and whatnot. Â Great specials for Happy Hour. Â Between 4 and 6pm a select part of their menu is only $2.95!!! Â I enjoyed the $2.50 drafts and he humored my conversation about what I was studying because he was genuinely interested. Â
Next week I'm going there to meet a girlfriend for lunch and anticipate another good experience, but different because I've never been there on a weekday during the day. Â I'm sure it'll be really good and predictable as usual. Â Cheers to a restaurant's Road that leads people to socialize for many different reasons with the heart of the south on its mind.
High quality (maybe even gourmet?) sports bar food. Pricing is good and portions are reasonable. I would prefer larger cut fries but that's a minor complaint!
This would be an awesome place for a large group or to watch a sporting event.
Our 4 kids could be reasonable rowdy and not disturb anyone due to the size and layout of the restaurant.
Tobacco Road is a great sports bar--it's certainly sporty but not so much that watching your favorite team kick or throw something is the only reason you'd go there.
The food is good and portions are big enough for sharing. I like the mini-sandwich plate: you can choose up to three sliders (I had the BBQ sandwich, burger, and the cutest baby corndog). The mac & cheese is tasty too, but it's very rich so another great thing to share (it has country ham in it, they don't mess around).
The happy hour appetizer specials are another reason to stop by after work. From 5:00-7:00 you can choose from wings, nachos, the house salad, and a couple of other snacks for under $4.00. Along with the typical sports bar fare, there are some healthy options like black-eye pea hummus, pimento cheese and pita wedges, etc. And Thursdays are half-price wines by the glass day. With a full bar, nice draft and bottled beer selection, and a better wine-list than many non-sports bars in Glenwood South, there's a spirit for every taste.
The service has always been friendly and efficient when I've visited--even on busy days during Hurricanes season. Go team!
Very cozy patio seating - great for happy hour!
We stopped here for a snack and a round before heading downtown to the arts center. Â We were meeting up with friends before we headed to the concert and they headed out on the town.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn't drinking, but I took advantage by ordering appetizers - the black eyed pea hummus and the pimento cheese. Â The BEP hummus was good, but a little on the dry side, as BEP's can get chalky when out of the pot likker. Â But I loved the idea and will probably try to make it myself sometime this summer. Â Their pimento cheese was spot on - heavy on the cheese, light on the mayonnaise. Â
I would definitely be wiling to hit up this patio again on our next visit to Raleigh. Â Also bonus that there were still spots on the street right next to it!
Tobacco Road is the perfect pairing of sports and food. I've been with big and small groups and always had a great experience. While I've tried most of the menu and love it all, the Ram Wrap is simply amazing! It is a sesame-covered pita folded around succulent shreds of pulled leg of lamb, with pickled red onions, dijon-pesto and served with a side of minty couscous.
Benefits from a trendy location on Glenwood South. Sitting on the patio, watching all the passers-by, you almost feel as if you're dining at a fashionable sidewalk café. Unless, that is, you want to turn the other way and watch a game on one of the TVs mounted on the restaurant's exterior wall.
Nice selection of drinks for everyone and TVs are everywhere. Bar side had plenty of seating and some nice chairs right in front of the TV wall. I look forward to football and basketball season at Tobacco Road!
I stopped in for a quick bit of lunch today. The place was mostly empty at 12:30 on Superbowl Sunday. I ordered the Demon Deacon pasta with chicken. It was somewhat bland but I find that I tend to favor spicier food the older I get. The service was pretty good.
I did sneak a couple of the sweet potato fries from my dining companions plate. I wasn't sure I liked them at first, but I sure kept eating them. I found them to be somewhat addictive.
Here's the play-by-play:
1) Reception. Â We were greeted at the hostess's podium by two bubbly girls who didn't seem to really know what to say to us - it took them about five seconds to ask if we would like a table. Â Not a big deal, but there was a longish moment where we just stood there looking at each other stupidly before anything happened.
2) Seating. Â We were led through a huge, empty (it was only 5:30 or so) dining room - past a bunch of really nice-looking booths - to a table smack in the middle of everything. Â This always happens to me, and I know some people like sitting in the middle of the room, so I'm not complaining. Â Besides, the hostess was more than happy to seat us in a booth when we asked. Â Totally fine.
3) Meeting the waitress. Â Totally awkward. Â Scripted. Â Confusing. Â But very friendly. Â We ordered our drinks, and got informed of the specials, and I only felt a little like we were talking to a robot. Â Anyway, they opened less than 24 hours ago, so this is not a surprise.
4) My beer. Â Bad. Â I don't know what the hell was wrong with this stuff, but it tasted kind of like salt and vinegar potato chips. Â Unfortunately, I ordered one I've never tried before, so I don't know if it was the restaurant or the brewer. Â Weird.
5) The food. Â Very tasty. Â Possibly the best barbecue I've had in the city, and they offer the choice of "Carolina" sauce (which is what most refer to as Eastern-style) and "a thicker, sweet kind of sauce". Â This total disregard for Western-style barbecue meshes well with my worldview.
We had nachos to start, hoping that they might live up to the high nacho standard that exists in the Triangle. Â They pretty much did, but there was nothing special about them. Â Good chips.
There was also a lamb "wrap" involved in the meal. The wrap was actually a toasted sesame pita shaped into a sort of bowl and filled with tasty lamb and garlic aioli stuff. Â It ran all over the place when I picked it up, but it was quite good.
6) Dessert. Â We weren't going to get any, but then the waitress said in a pleading/seductive voice "it comes from the cupcake factory up the strEEeeeeet." Â How can one resist such an appeal to locally-baked, butter-saturated goodness? Â We got a pecan pie. Â It was good, though not as good as cupcakes.
Overall, I was very pleased with this place. Â I'm going to try it again in a few weeks when everything's running smoothly.
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