Front Street Pub & Eatery — Restaurant in Davenport

Front Street Pub & Eatery: Refuge from Davenport's Sunday Night Apocalypse. Picture this, held hostage at my father-in-law’s barbeque that started three hours late, we barely escaped in search of actual dinner. But this is Davenport, IA, where Sunday night dining apparently stops at 8pm like some puritanical curfew. I'm diabetic, increasingly cranky, and rapidly losing faith in humanity as each restaurant Google promises me turns out closed or about to close. Then, shining through the dark night and screaming Honda Civics prowling the streets, Front Street Pub & Eatery emerges as our beacon of hope, just a short walk from the hotel. We braved empty streets and eerie pedestrian walkways to find ourselves as the sole patrons stepping into the warm sanctuary of Front Street. I wondered briefly if everyone else in Davenport knew something we didn't, like maybe Walton Goggins issued a city-wide warning, but we pressed on. The servers were attentive, friendly, and assured us they weren't closing yet, despite the post-apocalyptic quiet of a Sunday evening. We settled in with cold beers. I chose the Goldilocks Golden Ale, smooth, drinkable, and diabetic-friendly enough that I risked (successfully) a second. It easily surpassed my usual "no-options-left Miller Lite" beer choices. My wife chose the Cherry Bomb Blonde with an ambitious plate of nachos, which looked spectacular and tasted even better. I went with the blackened chicken salad, it was packed generously with fresh veggies, perfect for my blood sugar and tasted excellent. The portion sizes were good, and everything tasted great and the chicken was hot, so I had no complaints. Atmosphere-wise, it’s tough to judge a place when you’re literally its only clientele, but it seemed cozy, clean, and welcoming. It reminded me a bit of my favorite dive bar, Flapjacks in Berwyn, minus the grunge, which pleased my wife immensely but left me sadly nostalgic. Interestingly, Front Street Pub offers a Pork Nacho Challenge consisting of a five-pound gauntlet thrown down to brave eaters aiming for immortalization upon the Champions Wall plus a T-shirt. Part of me expected Walton Goggins to stroll in, sit down across from us, tip his hat, and whisper with a smirk, "Think you're ready, friend? Few are." Honestly, this pub saved our night from becoming a diabetic nightmare and existential crisis combo. I'd gladly return, preferably with time to sample more beers, while my wife braves the nacho challenge provided Walton gives the nod. Highly recommended, especially if you find yourself wandering Davenport at night, questioning your life choices and praying something edible remains open after the clock...

I do not enjoy writing this review, and I hope it ultimately helps improve Front Street. I have been a patron of Front street of many years from my time at Palmer in '03-06, and since then when in town for various seminars at Palmer & visiting friends, and generally it has been enjoyable until now.

Today we visited with a larger group, but had no problem finding a place to sit on the patio (space was available). In fact, I considered the overall "busy-ness" of Front street pretty mild for a lunch time. We were seated, placed our orders, and then proceeded to wait for over an hour to get our food. I almost walked out, as we sat down around 1 PM. Our party split up for seating, and somehow the one group got their food after 45 minutes; our table (adjacent table) ended up waiting for another 30 minutes to get our food. As we were trying to get back to our seminar, we paid for our food and asked for it to go (prior to the first group's food coming out). At 2 PM, we discovered our food wasn't even up in the window, and asked to have our credit cards refunded, which put a fire in the kitchen to get our orders done. We got our food (it was good), but with really no apology. We kept our composure, unlike another patron who was swearing and throwing things.

I think the worst part of all of this was the parting words of our waitress: "Next time you're in town, call ahead and tell us that you're coming in with a larger party." I know she meant well, but this is unacceptable; any restaurant should be able to handle the capacity of their restaurant in a timely fashion. This clearly wasn't the case. This is my disappointment, and will greatly dissuade me (and any who I may be with at future seminars) from choosing Front Street...

Husband and I were here for the weekend. Had a delicious beer at the farmers market and we were told there's another location down the street that offers food. We went there and had a great time. Bartender introduced to his own concoction of mixing two brews, delicious. We got a burger and a chicken meal to go. Food was great as well. Next day (Fathers Day) we hit up a couple other local spots and front street was going to be our last stop because it is right next to the hotel. When we walked in, there was no spots at the bar to sit. The server got up from the bar to serve us and I told her we were waiting for a spot at the bar to sit. She said she would get our beer anyways. Then she sat back down at the bar along with the other servers. Finally one of them got up so we moved to the bar. She growled at me and brought my tab and said I didn't know you were moving so soon. I didn't ask to tab out but I understand we would now be under the bartender. However, he was supporting their cause. Nobody would look at us, much less serve us. Would love to give this place a 5 star based on the first day. Might want to check your cameras and remind your employees that the bar is for paying customers. Also, no need to be rude. We had no intention of sitting at a table. We raised 5 kids and now have the freedom of sitting at the bar and that's the norm for us. We had to go get food somewhere else...