Brewer's Alley — Restaurant in Frederick

It's probably been about 20 years since we've been to Brewer's Alley. Not because we didn't like it before; it was probably because of a combination of the distance from home, along with the total cost of paying for 5 of us, including 3 sons who have always been hearty eaters. However, for my husband's birthday, we decided to return. We were quickly seated on Memorial Day Sunday, and received excellent service. The menu had adequate offerings for our vegetarian son, although for regular meat-eaters, it appeared somewhat sparse if you weren't looking for meat in conjunction with a sandwich, burger, salad, or pizza. You know, just a meal with meat and a side or two. There are markings on the menu items about their gluten, vegan, and vegetarian status for those who are concerned about such things. My family ordered off their Memorial Day Weekend specials menu; I ordered ribs with Cole slaw and sweet potato fries off the regular menu. It was tasty overall, except the ribs were a little dry. My family was happy with the street corn and their sandwiches. The side salad one son ordered looked fresh and inviting. My husband and another son tried a tester selection of beers, and were quite pleased with those too. The rest of us had water. For a family like ours, it was a pricey meal. I doubt that all of us will return. It's possible that my husband and I might return on our own, although we would likely try another of Frederick's interesting restaurants first. I suppose it's all up to what you're willing to pay for food. The food in general was well seasoned, fresh, and tasty. (With the exception of my slightIy dry ribs.) So check the menu ahead of time and decide.

I want to add that I (as well as one of my sons) found the music to be too loud, but the waitress was kind enough to ask the bar to turn it down. They did turn it down a little, which I appreciated. Many places won't. (Post-concussion, I have severe noise sensitivity, which makes dining out a challenge. I am grateful when a restaurant acknowledges that not everyone enjoys...

I have to concur with the previous reviewer’s lamenting of the poor service at Brewer’s Alley. I don’t generally write reviews of my restaurant experiences but having had more than one instance of this with this particular establishment I felt an obligation to inform prospective diners of what they may be in for. On this particular occasion, a sunny Saturday afternoon, the main dining room was pretty sparsely populated which would lead one to think the wait time for service would not be a problem. Wrong. Not only did it take a ridiculously long time for our food to be served, for me a margarita pizza and for my son a black bean burger with fries, the dishes came with no napkins, no flatware, and for me no plate, just the metal plate the pizza was served on. A request for a refill on my Coke took an inordinately long time, and only after making an effort to catch my server’s eye did that finally come, along with (finally) napkins, utensils, and a plate for my pizza. The pizza itself was fine, as was my son’s burger, but our enjoyment was marred by the glacial, inattentive service. I can overlook and forgive a lot, as long as the server is at least friendly and apologetic and making some earnest effort to ensure my satisfaction as a paying customer. This was unfortunately not the case. Our server seemed distracted and was minimally engaged, and while not exactly rude did not seem to give a whit about us, our wait time, or our satisfaction. Even the check, once requested, was a long wait. Again, this at a time when the dining room was nowhere near capacity. This will be my last visit to Brewer’s for the foreseeable future as there seems to be a culture of a lack of care and concern for their customers’ dining experience based upon my repeat ...

This use to be one of my favorite spots to visit when I come into town but my last visit which was a few days ago was the worst ever. The atmosphere was lit but the Bartender was very rude and disrespectful because it was very busy in there he failed at good customer service. I order a drink from him that I did not like at all and I tried to explain to him my concerns and why I didn’t like it and he first try to argument down about it’s nothing wrong with the drink then he brushed me off and started to service some other ppl that had just sat down beside me. He told me rudely that I had to wait because he had to service them ppl and I couldn’t understand why I needed to wait and I order first. I told him I felt like they could wait until he fixes my issue and then service them because they had just sat down. He then replied back and said NO you going to wait and walk off on me and begun to service them. I don’t like to use the word racist but that’s honestly how I felt at that moment white bartender and I’m the black and the ppl he said I could wait on so he could service them before helping me was white also. I’m not saying he racist but he damn sure acted in a racism way that night. I then ask to speak with the manager but the other bartender which was a lady came over and she was very much helpful she remade my drink and it was perfect and she apologized for his unhinged behavior. The manager did come over and speak with me and I explain to her what happen and how I felt because I literally was in tears the way I was mistreated. Thanks for the ending service but idk the next time I’ll be back or if I will even consider coming back as long as that...