Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern — Restaurant in Gainesville

TERRIBLE FOOD! The service was great, the food was inedible. First, the dining room was almost entirely empty. Therefore, being very busy would not be the reason the food was so awful.

First we had an order of fried pickles ($10) which came out in a huge clump, with a lot of undercooked batter inside. The manager was kind enough to bring another order of the fried pickles in exchange, but they came after the main meal arrived. So, kind of pointless at that time. The second batch was perfect though. Best fried pickles ever. And almost the only edible item served as you will find out.

My daughter attempted the bacon wrapped meatloaf ($22). That was the driest most difficult to consume hunk of meatloaf I have ever seen in my entire life. No exaggeration. She ate about 3 bites and gave up on it.

My husband had the burnt ends chili ($10) . There was ZERO brisket in this chili, although the description was vague, one was still led to believe that brisket would be in the mix somewhere. In reality he was served a huge bowl of rather large chunks of gray ground beef, which did not appear fully cooked. It was gross. He also did not eat more than 3-4 bites.

I had the Smoked Turkey Club ($19). The bread on this thing was saturated with butter on both sides. This was not in the menu description so I had no way of knowing it would be served this way. There was a DROP of the chipotle mayo on just one half of the sandwich, and a hunk of lettuce (not a lettuce leaf mind you) that looked like it had seen better days. It was brown and unappealing. The tomatoes were slivers that were mostly skin. The hair inside the sandwich also deserves an honorable mention. The tater tots were the greasiest in town.

My other daughter had the fish and chips ($21). This would be the only thing aside from the fried pickles that would be edible at the table. She did say the fries were gross as they seemed to have brown sugar on them.

We ended up paying $113 bucks for this disappointing meal, (before tip that is) We knew better than to order dessert. We also had drinks such as root beer, ginger ale, coke zero, and a bourbon.

No, we did not complain, though we should have. We just paid the bill and left vowing never to return. I can understand one item not being satisfactory, but when 3 out of 4 entrees were just that terrible, it was hard to be able to just request recooks on all of it. You would think at this price point a little pride would be taken in one's product. But, I digress.

It was a Thursday night, we all had school and work the following morning, and just wanted to eat and get home so we could get to bed. Further, I had little hope that anything they would have served would have been good. I mean, if the cook can't look at food and tell that it's not suitable to be served, then you are fighting a losing battle. I do not recommend this place if you want good food. The live music will be what you come for out on the patio. But do yourself a favor and eat a meal elsewhere before the...

This was our first time here, and although the service was great, the food was mediocre and way overpriced.

We came for lunch at 1100hrs on 5/17 before walking around downtown for a couple of hours. We returned for dessert later the same day. We were there during lunch for about an hour and a half, and we were one of only two tables seated the entire time.

Lunch rush in such a busy city with no patrons is a huge clue so I am guessing others have experienced this spot and decided to go elsewhere because everything else in the area was absolutely packed with people waiting outside.

We did not catch her name, but our lunch server was on point and very attentive.

For lunch:

*Brisket, excellent

*Pulled pork, excellent

*Smoked Mac & cheese, meh...not smoked at all (I make smoked Mac & cheese)

*Burnt ends chili, awful...more like vegetable soup (watery with more veggies than meat and definitely not burnt ends)

*Bourbon glazed salmon, decent but nothing to write home about

*Cornbread, soggy

Dessert:

*Bourbon bread pudding, tasty

*Banana pudding, decent but just a couple of banana slices on top, and not mixed throughout. Almost like instant pudding topped with bananas.

*Chocolate cake, excellent

We did get our server's name when we returned for dessert, Ashlea, and she was great. Great personality and very informative. She even gave us information on the music hall adjacent to the restaurant.

Someone else in our party paid for lunch but I can only imagine that it was way expensive because we paid for those three desserts mentioned above (along with three Coke Zeros)and our total bill, before tip, was $63.45...for DESSERT!!!

Although the food was decent, it was way overpriced, so I'm guessing we will probably not return anytime soon.

Thanks to both of our servers for doing a great job...

UPDATE 2024: As overall prices go up, the prices here are escalating even more. Expect to spend $150 for an average meal for two. This is what you would pay at a fine dining restaurant and not get just a hamburger and barbecue sandwich and fries. One Bourbon that they have that I like is Yellow Rose. It is about $35/bottle at the store. A double here is the same price as the bottle. I'm afraid that they have priced themselves out of my regular rotation. Service has suffered over time as the initial staff returned to their regular stores. The Google $$ rating is WAY below what it should be.

Bourbon Brothers in Gainesville, Georgia is a unique small chain dining experience with indoor, outside, and upstairs options with booths and tables. I've eaten there on a dozen or so occasions as of this writing. The food is upscale casual on par in taste and quality with Longhorns and Outback. Expect to pay $100 per couple plus tip for dinner excluding drinks. Drink prices are $12 and up. The bourbon selection is above average with Eagle Rare on the menu as of April 30, 2023. Service is good.

EVENTS: For some unknown reason, you are not allowed to park in their lot to attend an event at their event hall, so you should make plans to park elsewhere. Due to limited parking in downtown Gainesville, consider parking in the free parking structure a block away. The restaurant entrance is on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot if you do park there. The theatre is not connected internally to the restaurant. The event entrance is on the same side of the building as the restaurant entrance. Make plans to exit the restaurant and re-enter the event hall a short distance down the street. Anticipate delays for security checks at...