Four Day Ray Brewing — Restaurant in Fishers

Amazing food, terrible service. This was my first visit to FDR and I will only be returning because of the quality of the food. Upon being seated at our table we had a young lady present herself as our server in appearance only. She didn't identify herself either through her name or vocally informing us that she would be helping us out. From the very beginning she didn't make us feel welcomed. She seemed annoyed that we were in her section and grew frustrated at our simple requests(an extra menu, she provided only one for me and my girlfriend, a couple of glasses of water to accompany our two beers, some costers for our table.) She seemed very attentive to her other tables but not to us. I know some people believe that People of Color don't tend to be very good tippers but that's not the case with me and my girlfriend. We were both servers in the past and understand how servers depend on on tips for their paychecks. I usually tip 25-30% and my girlfriend is even more generous often tipping 40%. I don't know if she believed we wouldn't compensate her properly or what but even after the terrible service and experience she provided I still tipped her $16 on an $81check. We started off by ordering 2 beers and two appetizers(cheese curds and chicken wings) both the drinks and appetizers were sensational, her attitude not so much. She didn't stop by to see if we liked our appetizers at all. My girlfriend ordered the turkey club and I got the Medi Chicken sandwich, which was one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had. I ordered fries with the sandwich and an order of mac and cheese. Our server brought out the fries that came with my sandwich along with the appetizers and when I informed her that I wanted them with my sandwich her attitude took a turn for the worse. We hadn't even had two wings a piece when both my meal and my girlfriend's meal were brought to us. At that point both me and my girlfriend were eager to eat our food and get out of there, our experience was not going how we expected it to go on our first visit there. The server came once to half heartedly check how the food was and we didn't see her again until we were finished eating. My girlfriend loves dessert and when we first sat down she was looking forward to having a piece of the sugar cream pie, one of her favorite desserts ever. But after the experience we've had, she and I just wanted to get out of there, let alone the fact that our server didn't enquire if we'd like any dessert. It was one of the worst dining experiences we've both have ever had. Me and my girlfriend as former servers are super easy to take care of and try to make a server's job as easy as possible and tip them well for their work. As I pointed out earlier I still tipped this young lady very well even though she didn't deserve it. She didn't tell us her name and on my receipt the only identification of her name is AM B. The food at FDR is delicious and I will return but I will be in no rush and due to the bad service and I don't see me recommending FDR to anyone. The management team must make their servers understand that a dining experience is more then just great food and amazing drinks, it is also how you make the guests feel. When I was a server my whole goal at my job was to make the guest feel as happy as possible. My goal was to make my guests feel as if any request they had was welcomed and I would be willing to do whatever it was to fulfill that request. Sadly, the experience I had at FDR was...

We went there for the first time the other night, a Thursday. I was concerned when we walked in, because the place was packed. Turned out they were having a private event in the brewery, and another one upstairs, but the main restaurant was business as usual.

We gave our name and were seated within about five minutes -- Excellent. We were in a half-booth (half bench, half chairs) that was very comfortable, and our server, Tyler, took great care of us.

I tried the Kingstown Irish Red -- A perfect choice. Somewhat darker than other red ales I've had, but not heavy -- smooth and rich. My husband had the Brick Arch Porter, two of them, which tells me he liked it a lot or, given all the choices available, he would have switched to something else as he often does.

For dinner I had two tacos -- The Spicy Pork, which was just the right amount of spicy without being overpowering or painful, and the Steak, which was very good. I especially liked the sauce on the Steak one.

My husband had the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, the size of which pretty much filled the plate. I taught him a trick -- cut it in half and double-stack it on the bun. He'd never thought of that before, which cracked me up! After all, he grew up in tenderloin-sandwich-loving Indiana! I cut out a wedge of it to try (a joke between us -- I almost always take a taste of everything he orders!), and it was great! I was amazed that he finished the whole thing and still had room for dessert -- It was huge!

Since the tacos were satisfying but not too filling, I also had room for dessert. They don't have a dessert menu, but Tyler recited the choices, and we both immediately agreed on the S'more Blondie, a blonde brownie with marshmallow cream (actually real melted mini marshmallows - yum!), fudge, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. It was delicious! We didn't specifically tell him whether we wanted one for each of us or one to share, and when only one arrived we laughed and said it was probably enough, and it was, but I think each of us could probably have eaten one on our own!

We enjoyed everything about our experience -- Easy parking in the lot behind the restaurant, friendly greeting (the hostess was great!), quick and comfortable seating, not too noisy even though it was very crowded, great server, great beer, great food, and an excellent dessert -- We'll definitely be back! One plus -- It's only about a mile from our house in Fishers, so it's...

(Left this same review on Yelp) This is actually a 2.5 rating between "Meh." and "A-OK," but Yelp won't let me do it. I want to say I LOVE it, but on first go, it's just okay. My husband and I came in for an anniversary date, only to be told the wait was 2 1/2 hours. We decided to sandwich our date outing by having a drink and an appetizer at the bar, and then coming back for a late dinner at 9:30 p.m...the wait was still 45 minutes then. The website says they take reservations, which is apparently incorrect, because they don't.

The beers are great, the Jalapeno Margarita is really good! However, I found the Mushroom Risotto to be soupy rather than creamy; the overly-sweet mushroom glace becoming unpalatable after a while. My husband found the pork belly appetizer just okay and also sweet. We liked the atmosphere, though, and were determined to end our night there. When we came back the second time for dinner, the restaurant was out of all sandwiches AND desserts, leaving our choices limited to some items we might not otherwise choose. I was apprehensive in ordering, because based on our appetizers earlier I had a feeling the chef leaned toward sweetness in every dish, which I don't always want. For dinner, my husband had the pork chop--which was over-charred and a bit dry--but the mashed potatoes and onion-apple compote were quite nice. I had the Scottish Sriracha Salmon, which I found tasty, even after my initial reaction that the bite of Sriracha took away from the fish just a little bit.

Given that the place was SO busy and has a scratch kitchen is proof that Fishers is just dying for fresh, made-from-scratch fare rather than chain-restaurant crap that we currently have. So, for that I say: KUDOS to FDR! I think it's a great atmosphere for hanging out, and I hope the menu changes seasonally and inspires other scratch-kitchen establishments to open. This venue and idea are a huge undertaking for a first go-'round. I dare say that our final decision on whether we dine or just drink there will be based on our next visit. We're going to wait for some of the kinks to iron...