HELLUVA Brewing Company — Restaurant in Chandler

Wow, what a disappointment. It's hard to believe that my 5-star (Yelp!) review from 1.5 yrs ago has fallen so low. In short, the service sucked, so badly that we have no desire to return to Helluva.

We arrived last Saturday shortly after 4 p.m. It was not busy (I saw more staff than patrons) and although we were seated right away, it took about five minutes before a gal strolled over. Strike one! She apologized. For what? Well, after this experience, I can only guess she was apologizing for being too busy yapping w/ other staff that she didn't come over sooner; or that someone didn't come over to at least give us water.

We took our drink order and appetizer (fried pickles). After delivering those, she took our meal order. Usually w/ appetizers, each person will receive a small plate to load up their individual tidbits of the appetizer. We never received those smaller plates, eating off the large appetizer plate. Strike two!

Our meals were delivered in a relatively good time, however, not once did she come back to inquire how everything tasted. Strike three! Nor did she return to ask if we wanted a refill on water or the teas we had. My sister even put her EMPTY glass on the edge of the table, testing our server's awareness. She was clueless. Strike four!

She only returned when we began filling up our personal take-home containers and did not even ask if we wanted dessert. Even if we were packing up our plates, any decent server would ask "did you save room for dessert?" No, she did not do that. Strike five!

In summary, I would be less harsh in my criticism if the place was super busy and they were short staffed. I would be more understanding in that situation. But when we watch our server standing up at the bar, chit-chatting with other servers, clearly her priority is not her customers, and she had no qualms ignoring us. So we had no qualms not...

Helluva Brewery delighted my wife and I twice in the last two weeks when we dined at their restaurant. Their wait staff is responsive and professional. On my first visit, I ordered the jalapeño cheddar brat as I was not too hungry, but was intrigued with it being topped with their coleslaw. It was delicious. I particularly appreciate their version of coleslaw, which includes kale, and ginger. On my last visit, they had on special a patty melt severed on marble rye. They toasted the bread perfectly. I ordered my patty medium-rare. I’m amazed at how difficult it is to get a burger patty cooked medium-rare in this town. Most over-cook their burgers, but they got it right! It was pink in the middle and juicy. As an option for their burgers, they offer a gluten-free bun, which my wife said is the best GF bun she’s ever had, and that says a lot as she can be “particular.” I look forward to trying other things on their menu as they have an interesting menu that’s not too exhaustive but offers a nice selection of options. I tried the Coast to Coast IPA, and give it 4 out of 5. It has a crisp finish, nice and hoppy, but not excessively bitter, fruity citrus notes, but not over-powering. I look forward to trying their other beers. The facility is quite clean, and the atmosphere seems friendly and welcoming. We will return soon...

Inaugural visit on Friday. The gal beertender that I first started discussing styles was friendly as she poured me a Juice Is Loose NEIPA as was the helpful JT who poured me a Mele Kalikimaka and Up In Smoke. I opted for a pint of Well Aint That Peachy..... I was a bit bummed to find that they only offered pint size pours, no 10 oz and 5 oz were only for high ABV beers. However, not something that would make me write Helluva off. I opted for the pint and told JT I likely won't finish the beer, not that I didn't like it.... just more than I was looking for. I like the tap room, brew house is right behind the bar and of course the walls of floor to ceiling windows! A gal down the bar came in a little while later.... everyone clamoured to her as she hadn't been in all month. Dry January. Which caused me to ask: breweries down here don't do N/A? She seemed puzzled... I assumed that was a nationwide trend. But it was fun to see all the employees check up on a regular....aww I told JT that they had come highly recommended, he asked who? I told him Taproom 120 owner Matt. JT told me they collabed for their one year anniversary beer "it just kicked yesterday" drats. Helluva is a great brewery to pop in to for the beer, service and the...