Eddyline Restaurant | South Main — Restaurant in Buena Vista

This was one of the worst dining experiences I've had in a long time. I'd say the only friendly person at this place was the cheery bartender...which makes me wish we would have just eaten at the bar, although the food quality would have still been sub-par.

To start, the hostess basically threw down our menus on the table and left. In fact, we hadn't even gotten to the table and she was already fleeing the scene. No, "your server will be right with you"...nothing. Then our server comes and it starts off okay, pleasant guy, but after bringing our drinks it just goes downhill. We ordered a caesar salad & fries to start and we specifically asked for BBQ sauce for the fries. He delivers the food: fries & no ketchup OR BBQ sauce and a ceasar salad that we have to cut with our knife. They basically threw some romaine leaves on the plate, the tiniest bit of dressing (mind you I'm usually a "dressing on the side girl") and a few warm croutons. The plate itself was warm so the lettuce was a little on the warm side. This was supposed to be their "large"...HA! I still can't get over that I had to cut the freaking salad up. I didn't order a wedge, people! We ask for BBQ sauce and ketchup for the fries and the server brings ketchup. Only. Alright, we'll just wait until he comes back and asks us how our salad & fries are. Nope, doesn't show up for at least 20 minutes and all he asks is if he can take the plates away.

So, by this point we've also ordered a wild mushroom & chevre pizza to share. There was nothing wild about those mushrooms. They were white button mushrooms...I was expecting something a little more exciting, but I should have known. The cheese was barely melted and there was like no sauce on this pizza. This brewery has about 9 pizzas on the menu, you'd think they would have perfected all by now.

I was going to tell the server what I thought about the salad and pizza as soon as he asked...but he didn't. He never once asked how we were doing, how the food was, nothing. Didn't care. So, I didn't care to go out of my way to let him fix the situation at the restaurant because this was clearly a guy who just didn't care about the patrons' dining experiences. This seemed to be the general vibe of the whole restaurant. We even overheard the manager at one point up in arms because they were getting a 10-top with 6 kids instead of just 3. He seemed a little too peeved about it. Get over it, dude. You run a restaurant...people are going to come in with their families.

I doubt this review will change anything there. But I felt I had to leave it. Do yourself a favor and choose a different...

Nice enough restaurant as far as the atmosphere goes. We had a party of four and visited on a Saturday afternoon at about 1:30. The restaurant was about 60% filled on the inside and the patio seating appeared to be almost full. Service was prompt and attentive.

We started with a chips and salsa plate which was a bit disappointing given that the chips, albeit appearing to be baked and not fried (yeah) - but from a bag (double-boo) - were relatively tasteless. This was a disappointment given the $6.49 price for a handful of chips and about 1/4 cup of salsa and guacamole. The guacamole which came with the chips was good, but no where near enough for the size of the plate. The salsa was good but very spicy (hot) and, actually too spicy for me and the others at the table to enjoy... so I didn't and neither did the others, including my daughter even though she adds Sriracha sauce to almost everything she eats. The almost full bowl got tossed (hopefully) when the plate was removed.

My lunch mates ordered an Octoberfest burger, a Brewery burger and a grass fed burger. I ordered the 1/4 lb. grass fed burger well done. I specifically requested it to be well but not overcooked and dry. Unfortunately that is exactly how I got it very well and dry as a bone - thus pretty much tasteless. Given that the food arrived relatively quickly and how dry and overcooked my burger was gave me the impression that it may have been an extra from lunch kept warm on the side of the grill instead of being cooked fresh. If it indeed was cooked fresh - the fry cook is in need of retraining. The grilled broccoli side which accompanied the burger was very tasty but barely warm - still I did enjoy that. At $10 for an average sized slightly below average burger and a few sprigs of broccoli, the value definitely wasn't there though. I did try their Amber Lager which was very good.

Overall a nice visit - but I'd have to say... nothing overly special - unfortunate given the $65+ price tag (not including tip) for 4 lunches consisting of burgers, 1 beer, an iced tea and a soda. For me... not a good enough reason to want to come back - even though I did commit to dinner there next week. Maybe their signature wood fired pizzas will be better. I really do hope so otherwise this will be one of those "been there done that" sort of visits with no future...

@eddylinepub I wasn't going to leave without the free chips and salsa I received by checking in.

Eddyline Brewing in Buena Vista, Colorado, perched by the Arkansas River, was busy for a Sunday. It was accessible and I was immediately seated despite the line due to charisma. I was rewarded a free chips and salsa with my Yelp check-in. The waiter accepted it heartily. I love such scenarios.

I quadruple fisted it with beverages of iced tea, water, the Mountain Fairy Raspberry Wheat and Root Beer. The Root Beer was lightly carbonated, not too sweet and refreshing. The beer was pink! One cannot go wrong with a pink beer. It was tart and wheaty good. The iced tea was weak.

I had the Ruben sandwich, of which the meat tasted OK, despite being grey with hints of pink. I did not get sickly or anything in the proceeding days so it wasn't as bad as my mind puzzled it could be. The sandwich just seemed off. I didn't finish it.

There was a steady stream of people filing in and out. Lines of people. The waiting area was full the whole time I was there. A popular place in a modern area of town that was made to look old historic yet was shamingly modern. The surrounding area was still a construction zone, with unfinished landscaping and an incomplete feel.

I reminded the waiter of the chips and salsa twice. They finally came after the meal. I had no complaints and am patient. The salsa was chunky almost to the point of being juiceless.

I want to try more of the beer and food in the future. I am looking forward to it. Visit. Enjoy the spirits. Soak in the river nearby. You'll be...