Pitch and Fiddle Fair Oaks — Restaurant in California

When I found out that a second "Pitch and Fiddle" location would be opening in the Fair Oaks area, I was absolutely ecstatic. Reason being is that it is only 10-minute drive from my home. Not only that but I heavily frequented their La Riviera/College Greens location on several dozen occasions. The whole Irish Pub vibe complete with an amazing menu really makes this place stand out from the rest. Well that was then and this is now. And on Wednesday 9/21/2022, the Fair Oaks "Pitch and Fiddle" location finally came to life.

Located in a strip mall directly on the corner of Madison Ave and Kenneth Ave, this location is truly in the 'burbs that gives you that local, small town, neighborhood type of vibe. It neighbors an Excel Fitness, across the street from Dutch Bros Coffee, and right down the street from Bella Vista High School. This particular location has a decent sized parking lot but it is exclusively an indoor-only restaurant/pub. No big deal since the overall size is quite roomy and spacious.

Once inside, there is a ton of space throughout in the rectangular sized building. There is a main bar area, high-top tables & chairs, several large booths, and three gender neutral restrooms. And the TV's are aplenty as there has to be at least a couple of dozen LED TV's all over the place; perfect for watching the game. There is even a dartboard complete with a Connect Four game directly below that. My first visit was two days after its opening during the evening of Friday 9/23/2022, I arrived around 7:05pm. It was very busy but the waitress said that I could seat myself.

During my visit, I had several different staff members our party. One person took our drink orders while another brought us food/drink menus. And finally our main server took our order. To drink, it is only appropriate that my first drink at the all new Pitch and Fiddle is none other than an iced cold Guinness. As for my appetizer of choice, I went with a fan favorite, their "Mozzarella Sticks" complete with two different dipping sauces, ranch and marinara. As for my main entree of choice, I settled with "The Fiddledelphia Cheese Steak". This sandwich consisted of thinly sliced prime rib, red/green bell peppers, sautéed onions & mushrooms, and Swiss cheese on a warm French roll. I completed this sandwich with a side order of seasoned French fries.

Keep in mind that this was only day 3 of their business being opened. Since I am already quite familiar with learning the logistics of a new restaurant, not everything was quite up to par. There were several menu items that were unavailable and there was quite some confusion with certain tables not receiving their food. We happened to be one of those tables but that did not prevent me from being impatient. Especially when it is busy and there is a whole new staff understanding the flow of customers. With that said and done, our mozzarella sticks and beers came out quickly but the cheese steak sandwich took nearly an hour.

However, with these minor hiccups, many staff members were apologetic to us and were so polite when I did receive my food. I personally know the owner from the La Riviera location as they've always had stellar service. As time passes, I think this location will work out all the kinks. With that said and done, I am going to give my honest review of the Fair Oaks "Pitch and Fiddle" with an above average...

Visited on 7/26/2024 in the middle of the afternoon. All the fans on the ceiling were on full blast. It might have been 100 degrees outside, but it certainly wasn't hot compared to what we have been experiencing. With the fans blowing right down on you, and fans everywhere, we asked our server if the two right above us could be turned off. She said no, they were all interconnected and "we aren't going to turn them off on a hot day like this." Her rude, dismissive attitude might not come through in a written description; she was rude and dismissive of our request. I went outside and brought a sweater in for my wife. When the server saw that, I think she may have realized how rude she had been; she came back over and suggested if we moved to a different location we might not have as much fan "wind" blowing on us. The really interesting thing is a few minutes later the bartender walked out into the seating area. When she was heading back to the bar, she asked one of the other employees to turn the fans down one setting! Okay, we didn't ask about turning them down, only about turning two of them off, but, obviously, it wasn't so hot that the fans had to be running full blast. This just underscored how rude and dismissive the server had been. Yes, the food was great as always. The drinks were good. There is no excuse for the way our server spoke to us, treated us. For that, this...

Atmosphere: A family friendly environment that caters to an extremely social atmosphere. Plenty of televisions located throughout the pub playing various sporting events. You won’t miss a game! Very clean tables, floors, and restrooms.

Drinks: Plenty of options to choose from. Numerous beers on tap, well/call drinks, and non-alcoholic beverages were available.

Food: Fresh, hot, flavorful, and various multicultural foods to choose from. Meal options were available for kids to full meals and everything in between. If you are hungry or just want to eat something small, you won’t leave P&F disappointed.

Service: LyAn was our server on multiple occasions and remembered us from the previous time we ate there. We haven’t been disappointed with the service while getting our food and drinks in a timely manner.

Management: We met Ron during our last visit to P&F and chatted with him for a good 15-20 minutes. He talked about how P&F got started in Fair Oaks, what encouraged him to open a pub there, and that he grew up in the area. It is great to see that Ron was excited and upbeat with the adventures he and his co-owner were...