Bullfinch Brewpub — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

I feel like I'm being pretty generous by giving three stars here... And the only reason for 3 instead of 2 is that the staff was very friendly.

Two flights were had so we could experience most of their beers and different varieties. The flight board (a sword) was cool itself, but the beer was nothing special, and we left several unfinished.

The jumbo pretzel appetizer was indeed giant. The queso was okay, but not great. We don't particularly like mustard, but tried it anyway, and that actually seemed to be decent, if you like mustard.

The Irishman sounded so good we both ordered it, and were both disappointed. The menu had the following description: "Two special blend smash burgers grilled and topped with our beer bacon jam and Irish aged sharp cheddar. Served on a bun." There was no indication of this being on a pretzel bun, so that was disappointing for me, as I don't like them, so I moved the bun aside. We both quickly discovered that neither plate had two smash patties, rather one slightly ticker patty that lacked flavor. The melted cheese looked appealing, but it very much tasted like Swiss cheese, certainly not aged Irish cheddar, so another disappointment. At least there would be bacon underneath the cheese.. or so we thought... Nope, just broken bits of cheap, sad looking bacon. Chips with one, they were fine. Fries with the other, which were average fries.

This obviously wasn't a mistake, since we both ordered the same thing, and both had the same inaccuracies. I get that sometimes places run out of items, or are maybe revamping their menu or menu items, so if any of that was the case, it would be nice to communicate those changes with people prior to submitting their order.

There was also live music being played, which is actually pretty cool.. I can't remember who it was, but good musician. Unfortunately, the sound was awful.. maybe something was up with the establishment's speakers or sound system, but it was crackly and so loud we could barely hear each other speak.

Nice restroom facilities.. clean.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend, and personally will not...

So after Covid, I came here on Sept 11th, and they were closed. My next trip, I stopped by again and didn't realized it wasn't the same place before Covid...I mean I saw beer and giant pretzel. I met the manager and brewmaster. Bought some to go stuff to take home. Told them I'd be back and I did the next evening. The first evening I tried their beers which were awesome. Then I noticed a Butterscotch Whiskey, so I had to have that. The bartender said it was made by Lock Distillery in Phoenix, just north. So, I had to stop by there before I left. I go to Binghamton for customer meetings and went back to Beer Tree. They had the Awestruck Hibiscus Ginger Cider on tap and in cans. I had that before Covid in 2018, but couldn't find cans, so I got a four pack. The bartender asked if I had been to the Awestruck Brewery and I said no. She said it was 30 minutes away. So I looked it up and after my customer meetings the next day I headed to Sidney to visit Awestruck. I knew they opened at 3pm and I was getting there at 1pm..and was debating just heading to Lock Distillery, but I killed time, had lunch at Pizza Hut and waited in the rental car for 40 minutes till Awestruck opened. I bought a shirt, growler, bottle and 4 pack. I discovered they had Beer Tree beers! Nice collaboration for those two! Then I hit the road for Lock Distillery. I arrive and walk in to a menu of whiskeys and another of beer! I remarked that I saw Bullfinch draft and cans, Awestruck draft and cans, Beer Tree draft and cans and a bunch of other locals. All these guys are collaborating together and that is...

We were order #5, so one of the first to ever eat and drink here, and it was good. I had the Insight Czech Pilsner and the Hex Hef for beer. When the pilsner came out, I was surprised by the cloudiness, but after talking with the brewmaster, it is because all of the beers are unfiltered, so traditionally clear beers are hazier than expected, but they are still tasty! I was pleased with both of them. For the meal, I had Southern Fried Chicken Sandwhich, which was good. The chicken was perfectly crispy. It was served on a cornbread type bun, which in theory sounds great, but it does crumble apart. Still good, despite the crumbs. I do wish the bun felt a little warmer, and the fries were a little room temperature too. But I did hear the Brew master tell the waitress to work on getting the food out faster, because I did see our food sitting there for minutes before we got it. All in all a good experience. Our waitress was very friendly. The beer was priced nicely as well, between $5 and $7 dollars. Go support local brewers and get some beer!

*New Review: Went back on a Friday afternoon and sat at the bar after waiting for minutes at the stand to get seated. At the bar service was sporadic, but I enjoyed the beers they had! Better than the first time! The food still took a while to come out, and my fires were a little cold, but my fan favorite sandwich was delicious! A good place to come still, but months after opening, they are still struggling...