BrewDog Perth — Restaurant in West Perth

My friend is a local West Perth resident and on the 21st of September 2024 we decided to visit BrewDog for a Saturday night drink. We arrived at 10:30pm and found the establishment almost empty which was okay with us as we wanted a quiet conversation over a drink or two.

Upon approaching the bar, despite it being quiet, we were not greeted by the female staff member behind the bar who appeared solemn and uninterested in our presence. As it was our first time visiting BrewDog we asked some questions about the establishment and we were told it opened at the beginning of the year and my question about the layout was answered with "You can't go upstairs as there is a private function taking place".

We asked about the beers however the staff member did not appear enthusiastic or appear to have that much knowledge about the beers on tap that one would expect. Here the average price of a pint is $14.40 for lower ABV beers, $16.60 for regular ABV beers and up to $18.00 for higher ABV beers. My friend and I were undecided about what to order however the staff member was not suggestive and did not offer any tastings even though it states on the board "Try Anything! Just Ask For A Taster".

I ordered a BrewDog IPA (5.6% ABV) for $16.60 and my friend ended up ordering a double Smirnoff vodka with Solo for $27.00. In addition to a credit card surcharge, the total was $44.08 for two drinks which is more expensive when compared to other similar establishments in the Perth CBD area.

After taking a look around the establishment we sat down. When my friend and I were not even halfway through our drinks a male staff member approached and informed us that they are closing half an hour early and for us to finish our drinks. The opening times for a Saturday are listed as 11am to 12am midnight however no reason was given as to why they decided to close half an hour early at 11:30pm.

If I am paying so much for a drink I would like to have at least finished and enjoyed it without being rushed. My friend and I then finished our drinks quicker than we would have liked and promptly left.

As this establishment is just around the corner we were hoping that this would become our 'local' but after leaving with a bitter taste in our mouths (not from the hops) there is no reason for us to visit again. We decided that walking a bit further down Murray Street works much better for us - both in terms of vibrant atmosphere, customer service and price.

This is the first time I have left a negative review about any establishment but as the experience was so upsetting and as it has not left my mind almost two weeks later, I am compelled to leave this review. I am not sure if BrewDog were having an off night but overall this was a very poor experience and not a good representation of the famous BrewDog brand.

Pros: Nice decor with outdoor area, Quiet and relaxed. Cons: Unwelcoming staff, Overly expensive drinks, Credit card surcharges, Closes early before...

If you present items on a menu, and I purchase them, I expect you to serve them to me. Let's break this down. Came in on a group booking. Scanned the QR code and ordered a decaf iced coffee, with sugar. Nothing out of the ordinary. I find my seat and wait 20 minutes. No iced coffee. A bit strange, but perhaps something went wrong. I walk over to the counter and wait for assistance. While I am waiting, I see the QR code service display showing my order missing. Fine, a simple issue with the system perhaps. Finally once it's my turn, I inform the man behind the counter my order number and order, and he promptly tells me to sit back down and wait for my order. Excuse me? No apology? Not even a glance at the screen? I return to my seat and see the lady next to me get her regular coffee before I get mine, so I ask her and she says to me that she had only ordered it 10 minutes prior to receiving it. Another 10 minutes pass and finally, the iced coffee comes out, without sugar.

Afterwards, my mate orders herself an iced coffee with oat milk through the same QR code system. This time, she waits OVER AN HOUR for nothing to emerge. She also goes up to the front desk, and is this time informed that "the QR code system" doesn't correctly show specifically iced coffee orders to the kitchen. After waiting another 10 minutes, a waiter emerges and informs her of their absence of oat milk, and that they could not fulfil her order. She asks for a refund, and he returns to the bar. Only once she goes back to the bar do they inform her that as the order was placed through the QR system, a refund would be an expected 2-5 day timeframe. Seriously? Only once returning a second time was she able to receive a cash refund. In summary: Failure to serve iced coffees in a reasonable timeframe Failure to serve the correct order (no sugar) Full knowledge of the QR system issue and zero action or effort taken to remediate the issue, instead actively opting to neglect iced coffee orders and let the customer chase it up every time General bluntness by the man behind the bar when confronted with the issue Unrealistic refund timeframes (addressed, thank you) Great food, great atmosphere, but second in priority to serving other beverages.

In response to a potential reply of "We're a brewpub, not a restaurant. Realign your expectations accordingly.": If you present items on a menu, and I purchase them, I expect you to serve them to me. Your treatment of anyone not ordering beer as second-class customers has earnt you...

What a fantastically designed venue. AVC really know how to make spaces feel welcoming and thought out.

This isn't a Brewdog venue.... I've been to quite a few Brewdog pubs in my travels, they're usually dark and dingy with sad looking people and you always leave thinking, this could have been better.

So it's good to see a franchise, this is a franchise right? Doing good things by letting the locals take over.

Downsides are the obvious...... It's not locally brewed, so the carbon footprint will be massive to ship this over from Brisbane. They say they're climate negative, but how? Oh the prices..... Yeah OK it makes sense now. It's really expensive here, you're paying for the shipping and the carbon offset.

I'm a massive sustainability advocate, but even this makes me wonder if buying beer here is good for the planet...

Food was good. We had a couple of the veggie burgers, Love to see the vegetarian food for climate change reasons. Other breweries in WA could learn from this (Seasonal does this well though)

Check it out just for the design aspect. Shade outside is well thought out.... Others recently opened venues have suffered due to this.

Beer garden is great, so much space.

They have bands and musicians on which is super cool, Lots of games to play as well, They've made a venue that makes you want to come back and have a good time,

But, I'm not entirely sure I'll be back... Purely on the beer prices, but good on them for giving it a go. If they brewed beer in WA, even on a small scale, that would change my opinion. But It's still a semi QLD government funded WA...