Captain Scurvy's & Black Dragon Den — Restaurant in Billings

Fat Boy Eats got to attend the sneak peek it was was an absolutely wonderful time. There were some oddities with the food as the over all experience was absolutely wonderful.

Anyone who has seen a Fat Boy Eats review before knows that I review the three major areas: food, atmosphere, and service. I will start with atmosphere.

The atmosphere at the sneak peek was absolutely amazing. We were placed at a table with three strangers we had never met prior and by the end of the merriment we were not only acquainted, we were talking about deep subjects as if we had been friends for years. There was a mix of Renaissance Festival themes including live music, decor, and costumes, mixed with elegant design. After talking with the owner, more details will go in to make it feel more like a medieval pub dining experience.

That brings me to service. The service during the sneak peek was beyond stellar. Waitresses were on top of everything that needed to be taken care of for the night of fun including making sure that the allergies were kept in mind with the chef. The best part was that the owners made themselves available for questions and conversation, and, were in full garb for the evening.

The final section of the review is always food. Fat Boy Eats enjoyed the rib dinner, aptly named the Bone Yard Bounty. The ribs were perfectly seasoned and not overly sauced. The only criticism on the food was some of the pairing. Pickled onions were a bold choice, and had they not been paired with every dish, it may have been unique. But every dish had it, along with sautéed broccoli stalks. The broccoli stalks were actually quite delicious and that was surprising.

Between the table, we were able to share and enjoy the different main courses so that we all had the full experience of the evening. The Pullet of Princess (chicken) was very good, moist and seasoned really well. The cod was crispy on the outside and flakey inside. The one dish that seemed to not be popular at the table was the salmon. It was dry and very bland.

Each dish also came with gherkins which was an interesting choice. This is an item that Fat Boy Eats enjoys but others at the table did not.

The final items of the food review to consider were the appetizers that were sampled, and the dessert. Smoked sausages, crackling chicken (chicken with pork rinds), shrimp, and french fries made up the appetizer sampler. The interesting pairing of chicken and pork rinds was unique and came out interesting. It’s a different flavor that seemed to pair well with the sweet sauce it was tossed in. The smoked sausages were good, the shrimp was very good. The french fries were a little less appetizing. They were somewhere between normal and shoe string fries which came out somewhat dry with little seasoning.

The dessert was interesting for what it was. Oatmeal ice cream sandwiches with bread pudding, paired with sprayed cool whip and strawberries. The bread pudding was amazing. That was definitely the star of the dessert lineup. Cool whip and strawberries is good, but not restaurant level of expectations. The oatmeal ice cream sandwich was also good, considering that Fat Boy Eats doesn’t generally like oatmeal cookies.

Overall, the experience was amazing. We found out that after the opening, those who show up in proper Renaissance Festival garb will receive a 10% discount. The owners looked like they were having an absolutely wonderful time as if they have been waiting to do this for years. We know that we will certainly make this a regular spot in our family.

Overall scores:

Google: 4 ⭐️

Fat Boy Eats: 4.7 Fat Boys Atmosphere - 5 ⭐️ Service - 5...

Looking for something new for dinner, I found this Pub. Read the great reviews, one after another… I have been across the pond. Proper pub food can be fantastic! The Renaissance theme sounded interesting too, potentially fun, so I took my husband for Friday night dinner.

Our server asked, “What we will be feasting on tonight?” He ordered the most expensive item, “Broctopus’ Bounty,” sounding like a King’s sort of platter. He wanted to try all the meats, but was most excited about the pickled vegetables advertised with the platter. I had the Pirate’s Pork, with BBQ sauce.

For starters, he had the cup of stew with a bit of bread, which was delicious. My garden salad was a good size, topped with cucumbers, tomato slices, and croutons. But underneath was just a large bowl of iceberg; blah, and no nutritional value. I left the lettuce.

Then the meals came, on metal trays. We looked at our trays and looked at each other with eyes round as dinner plates I think! We were so underwhelmed we were stunned…

The menu advertises platters come with citrus, pickled veggies, and house-made bread. His platter had about 1/3 cup pulled pork, 2 small 1/4” slices of tri-tip, maybe 3 ounces at best, and 4 medium shrimp. The rest of the tray was sparsely decorated with a slice of bread, a scoop of tasteless, oily margarine, ONE tiny pickled hot pepper about the size of the top of our pinky joints, and two 1/4 inch orange slices, not even a juicy wedge.

I’m not sure why citrus and pickled veggie are listed as sides or platter accompaniments when the portions are a meager garnish. In the car, he said we should have sent our meals back and said “These are not feast platters, off with your heads!”

In photos of the rehearsal dinners before the restaurant opened, they were offering nice sized servings of pickled onions, a pickle, it looks like pickled baby cabbages or brussel sprouts, some cooked broccoli as well.

My serving of pork was a decent size. I did take some home. We agree, the stew and meats were good. 👍

However, Dragon’s Blood BBQ sauce sounds like it will be be tangy and fiery, but it didn’t taste like anything particularly special, had no zip or heat. The bread could have been sooo much better served warm, with a more generous helping of - real butter.

So we were underwhelmed and disappointed, especially with the most expensive dinner on the menu!

When the bill came, it was ours, but the waitress ran another table on my husband’s card, for a more expensive total for 3 people. A completely different order. The waitress did apologize and sorted it out, but left us paying full price even after that… She didn’t ask us how we felt about the dinner or experience overall, either. It’s more than how is the food tasting.

We stopped at a gas station for snacks; hubby was only about half full!

Overall, this theme restaurant has the potential to be really good to great, but we left amazed at the difference between our expectations and what we received. Maybe our situation was a one off, but hopefully the owners can notch things up to really shine in their space! Sometimes it’s the just little things, attention to detail, but certainly more accurate expectation setting helps.

Here’s photo of my meal. We didn’t get a photo of his, but this $17.50 platter had may be a little bit more meat on it than my husband‘s $28.50 tray. It may also be helpful for others to know I noticed the size of the burgers is on the small, but the King’s Dip was on a huge hoagie and from across the room, appeared to have an inch of meat in the middle. I think my husband would’ve been much happier with his...

I attended the Sneak Peak Feast with a couple friends and we had a great time! There were multiple parties sat per table, so we were able to get opinions from our new friends! See photos; we got to try the salmon, ribs, chicken, fried cod and prime rib. Keep in mind that these are thoughts from the very first night this place was open, so things can change! The salmon was pretty plain - though it was advertised as glazed, I’m unsure what it was glazed in, but it was cooked very well and otherwise seasoned well. The sauce on the ribs is pretty run-of-the-mill (good but nothing super noteworthy) but that’s so that the meat of the ribs can be the star of the show, which it is. The chicken, though, is the real belle of the ball: it was cooked, seasoned and presented perfectly. The fried cod was a very sufficient contender for fish & chips, though the two were served in different courses in this meal (see photo, the appetizer fries were great!). The prime rib was both unremarkable and overdone. Nearly each of the dishes are gluten free as one of the owners is Celiac. I even had an oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich that was delicious!

The food is only one aspect of this fantastic new destination. The atmosphere is the main attraction and the service is the reason to keep coming back. The renaissance theme carries through the venue in wonderful ways, with each room offering different styles and attractions. The wait staff and management were attentive but not overbearing, an ideal balance. The parking is relatively ample, with several street spots right out front and a public lot across the street, though there is only 1 handicap spot that is right by the door.

I’ll once again say that I write this review and post these photos from only the Sneak Peak Feast night, so menu items, decor and other aspects are likely to change. What will remain consistent, I think, will be the staff’s...