Chops + Hops | Axe Throwing Lodge — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

I have visited here a few times before the renovation and would make my plus one’s drive all the way up from Miami just because I preferred this location over everywhere else. Maybe it’s just because I loved the old place, but it was honestly a downgrade in experience for me.

The previous version of the place truly felt like an axe throwing spot, with a small bar included. The vibe of this place felt like a crowded, rowdy bar with axe throwing thrown in (no pun intended). We showed up about 10 minutes early for our 9:30pm reservation, so we sat at the bar while we waited. It was crowded enough to where the groups of people participating in their axe throwing session were filling out into the bar area and directly behind us.

Additionally, it sounded like NO axe would stick to the walls. I even asked about it, and the bartender said the people themselves are probably just not very good, but the multiple times I have gone axe throwing, I have never had every single person’s axe consistently not stick to the wall, as well as BOUNCE off the walls towards their feet. If that was the case, why aren’t the instructors stepping in to give some direction so that no accidents happen or at least just to help with general improvement? The axes themselves also looked smaller than the actual axes they had before, like little hatchets, which I would think would make it easier to land, but I digress.

Lastly, nobody came and grabbed us for our reservation! Upon our arrival, they said someone would grab us when they were ready, which was fine because we were 10 minutes early, but then it was nearing 10pm, 30 minutes past our reservation. My date when to go check in again, and they told us again to just wait at the bar and someone would grab us while they were getting our wall ready (while loudly beating into it). Which by the way, the axe lane they were preparing had been empty the entire time— why are they waiting 30 minutes after the reservation time to prepare it? After watching a group go up another 15 minutes later, aka nearing 10:15pm, we asked again, and they realized they had not grabbed us???

By this point, we were over it and decided we’d go bowling nearby. The manager was SUPER sweet and apologized, offered for us to come back free of charge, and ultimately gave us a refund. There are absolutely no complaints in how customer service was handled after, but overall, the place just feels soooooo disorganized. 😭

I really valued the state of it before— it felt structured and safe, with a bar thrown in. This felt less professional and with less space— conforming to the likes of a rowdy dive bar. Maybe they financially HAD to renovate to this state, and I’m sure it’s still a great time but unfortunately a bit disappointing after my stellar experiences...

Honestly, wasn't sure what to expect out of this new trendy activity, but was pleasantly entertained. I walked in with my brother and dad. We were told there weren't any immediate openings, but that we could book a session for the first opening (an hour later) and just hang out at the bar. Did this; filled out some waivers (does anyone read these?). Bar was great and had a nice selection of beers and cocktails. No food, but they had a food truck outside later on (after the rain stopped). In addition to the bar, we were able to entertain ourselves with Jenga and Connect Four (although Jenga was tricky because the table it's on is very rickety). There's also TV's, darts, or you can watch other people throwing axes. All in all, the time passed quickly and we had fun "waiting."

The axe throwing itself is a little trickier than it looks (I wouldn't really say harder). Our instructor/host/guy-who-makes-sure-you-don't-die did a great job of making it fun for us and also giving us individual tips to make our throws more successful. While I was absolutely terrible during practice, once he showed me the right way to rock my body, I was quite decent. If you're not part of a large group, you do this with strangers. But everyone is drinking and having fun, so everyone was friendly.

Unfortunately, it's a little pricey to do it often, but I think you can just come and hang out at the bar while watching other people do it, and still have a great time. Also, I want to point out that it's dog-friendly (or at least I think it is, because I saw...

So sad. I went to chops & hops a lot at the old place. It was so much fun the minute you walked in the door. It was awesome ! Sad to come to New location in an area with nothing else around, when you walked in to the mini mall Sis trunk is was sad to see it empty but really no good food places or real food places. Only one bar that had a few people. At it. Then to walk into chops & hops it was sad to see. So small no sense of fun anymore. They had only 3 people working. I think what was terrible was they assign you to a axe throwing board give you the clipboard . Explain the way to throw axe and then move on. There no one person in the cage with you giving you all the games ,teaching you at same time , explaining different ways. It was sad. I felt we went here to throw an axe . No fun atmosphere. It was pretty bad and I hate to say that. I always loved the place and always recommend the place. We didn’t even stay the full hour. Just no fun. I pray they find a better place to get back to where they were with business. I pray it happens soon or I dont think it will last. They were the best of axe throwing places. Sorry to leave this kind of review but hoping they realize and work to get back to what they had. Start off by a...