Big Woods - Bloomington — Restaurant in Bloomington

This is the kind of place that seems to rise up from the leafy, limestoney floors of Southern Indiana as though it were always meant to be there. "Woodsy" decor in a creaky-floored old house-turned-pub (once home to Django's jazz bar and probably something else before that) lends Brown County ambience to this decidedly Monroe County eatery. Joining Quaff On! Brew Co and Hard Truth Distillery under the Big Woods umbrella, BWB offers a satisfying array of high-end comfort grub and ample libation. Here you'll find the cream and crimson clad dad guzzling a frothy stout while guffawing through mouthfuls of garlicky steak & potatoes, the bedraggled ex-hipster slurping decadently smoked wings off the bone and sipping something local while chatting with their BFF bartender, the well-dressed young mother sharing her fries with seemingly out of place children, the two college kids, second or third date deep, ogling each other over a plate of something fancy, fried, and garnished, all enjoying themselves in a cozy but not too cramped dining room. The bar itself, which serves a varied and pleasing selection of local and regional beers, dominates the space. Even still, you may have to stand. Expect to wait if you want a table. So yes, space is limited but it's worth it. Weather permitting the patio and beer garden open up and finally customers have room to stretch and breathe, toss a few bean bags, and listen to some live music. The staff consists of mostly seasoned veterans plus your usual melange of transient student part-timers. You'll come here once and keep coming back forever. Lofty fare and that "local feel" is the pleasure here. The roots go deep at Big Woods Bloomington. Oh, the burgers are...

So I love Big Woods and I love eating at their locations. However, I was recently in Bloomington and we chose to eat at the Big Woods in town and I new it was a bit of a mistake...

To begin, we came sometime around 2 in the afternoon and they were quite busy. There were a few tables open and I was only with one other person. Yet they told us it was a 25 minute wait. We were okay with that (at first) but 30 minutes in, they still haven't gotten us a table and we were this close to leaving since we were kinda low on time. Waited about another 10-15 minutes, still nothing. Finally after roughly 45 minutes of waiting, we got a table for 2. We immediately placed our food & drink orders (we only ordered apps since we weren't that hungry). Thought we'd try the breadsticks and nachos obviously since we love those things at Big Woods. Roughly almost an hour later our food shows up.

Our food: I must say that our food was OUTSTANDING! Some of the better breadsticks I've gotten from Big Woods, the pub fries were very good as well.

Once done, we went ahead and asked for our bill. It took quite a while for our waiter to get back over (can't remember how long). Our waiter was very apologetic and we appreciated that.

I understand that most restaurants are dealing with staff issues and slow service these days because of the pandemic, but I have to say this experience was not up to par for the most part. Overall, I will eat at Big Woods again, but I'm not sure about returning to the...

BWB Quaff ON! has such a lovely, quaint atmosphere in downtown Bloomington, IN with the best creative culinary kitchen staff, wait staff and knowledgeable beertenders! And their food? Keeps you coming back for more! I recommend starting off with their pulled pork nachos or if you want the best wings in Bloomington try the Bomber Wings. WOW! BWB has a smoker on premises in which they have above & beyond mastered: The spicy chicken dinner...winner, winner! Now let's talk about the beer. Their selection of drafts is out of this world. Offering everything from a blueberry sour to Warlock pumpkin to their own Crosshare double IPA (personally my favorite is the HareTrigger IPA). Big Woods rotates their beer menu often always leaving room for new tastings and pairings, yet they always have some staples! There is nothing like enjoying this cool weather with friends and family out in the BWB Beer Garden, which was just constructed earlier this year. You can play board games, card games, enjoy a game of oversized Jenga or just kick back and relax with a cool draught beer in hand listening to live music. There is also a Beer Garden menu so you can enjoy your QO! beer with an amazingly gooey 4 cheese grilled cheese sandwich. I hope this review was helpful and that you make it a point to stop by Big Woods...