Hard Count Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Georgetown

My husband and I were in the area for a Valentine's Day dinner, and we decided to have an after-dinner drink at Hard Count.

We entered the restaurant and asked if we could have our drinks outside, and the hostess said we could go to the patio and order drinks there.

We went to the patio and stood at the outdoor bar (it is a window with a counter connected to the main restaurant) and waited. There were two bartenders inside, but neither greeted us, acknowledged us, or looked our way. I could understand this if the place was swarming with people, but the restaurant seemed to be only half-full at the time. There were no drink menus on the counter; there were several sticky rings on the counter from old drinks, which had not been wiped clean.

A female bartender came over to me after a few minutes and asked me what I would like to order (it was very businesslike; there was no warm greeting, no friendly "Happy Valentine's Day," no small talk or mention of what the specials were).

I squinted at the taps in the bar and saw they had a Pinthouse Pizza beer on draft; I asked if it was Electric Jellyfish and she said yes, so I ordered one for my husband and one for myself. She asked if we were going to sit in the patio area or going outside of the patio area to the small courtyard (where there was a live performer). I told her we would sit in the patio; she got us our drinks and I closed out my tab. I asked her if we were allowed to take out drinks to the courtyard if we wished, and she said yes, but she'd need to put our beers into plastic glasses.

We sat down at one of the high tables in the patio and listened to the performer. Our table had clearly not been cleaned for a while; though there were no drink glasses on it, there were (as on the bar countertop) the telltale rings of old drinks not yet wiped away.

The patio had nice ambiance, though no servers came to check in on us or ask us if we needed anything. My husband started coughing and I wanted to get a glass of water for him, so I went to the outdoor bar area to ask for one. The female waitress was just leaving the bar with a tray of drinks, but I saw an older male bartender at the farthest end of the bar making a drink, so I decided to go inside and ask him for a glass of water directly instead of waiting around at the outside bar until someone noticed me.

I went inside the restaurant and walked over to where the older male bartender was standing. He was in deep conversation with an older male customer who was sitting at the end of the bar. I politely asked the bartender, "Excuse me, may I please have a glass of water?"

Without a word, without acknowledgement, without any shred of congeniality, the bartender silently got a glass from behind the bar, filled it with ice and water, and handed to me. "Thanks so much," I told him. Nothing; no response; not even any eye contact. He resumed his story with his chum, pretending I wasn't there.

He made me feel like I was an annoyance to him: a little gnat to be shooed away. An imposition. A bother.

This restaurant was actually one I had planned on having dinner at in the future, but after the way I was ignored and sneered at, I won't be...

We arrived about 6:30 to a half full house. Starting with appetizers we had the following:

Battered buttons: deep fried mushrooms, what made this was the Serrano ranch to dip them in, or else it would not have been anything special. These did go fast at our table.

Oyster Rockerfellar: huge! Did I mention Huge oysters? For only getting six, I thought they would be small, but they were huge. GOOD: spinach topping and bacon. BAD: not enough spinach, bacon or Panko bread crumbs. I liked these oysters except it seemed like someone double peppered them or placed too much of a hot spice in the mixture? I love a good oyster rockerfellar, but on a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 7.

The Lockhart Quail and chicken and bacon quesadillas could be considered a meal in themselves!

The Lockhart Quail was tender and the bourbon-jalapeño bacon jam I could not get enough of! In fact I ate the leftover jam off the plate!

Chicken Quesadilla was well appointed and again, a meal in itself! Lots of chicken and the sauce drizzled on the top was appropriate for the amount that you received. One of my dining friends had this and was full.

Meals: I had the Prime rib dip and the sandwich just melted in your mouth even without the au ju! The hoagie bun was so soft and the meat so tender I could cut with a fork. The seasoned fries were outstanding with this and again, I could not get enough of them. I Highly recommend the prime rib dip.

My two dinner partners had the fish and chips. Now not bragging, but if your from Wisconsin you know a few things about a fish fry, especially if it is good or bad. I had some and agreed with my dinner companions, the coating was just way too thick and the fish had no real taste unless you brought on the tarter sauce or vinegar with it. In fact, both my companions did not even finish their last of four strips of fish. Not because it was too much, but they could not handle the thick batter and none fish taste.

We loved the many TV’s and the bartenders looked like they were always busy making a specialty cocktail. The bathroom was very clean, spacious and well appointed. They have garage style doors to let the outside in and have outdoor dining which shows in one of my pictures. Their is also bean bag toss games out in courtyard to keep you, your family or your date occupied between craft cocktails, beer or unique food.

So why give 5 stars instead of 4? Because not able to give 4.5 stars which I would of given this place. The food needs “tweaking” and no major overhaul. The majority of the food or preparation was awesome. Our waitress Mariah made sure our water or beer glasses were full. She was very polite and always said “ yes sir, no sir” which is rare in a younger generation and appreciated. Ask for Mariah to be your waitress if...

My experience here was unfortunate. The service was great and the ingredients tasted super fresh but the food itself just did not really hit on any level. Nothing was 'terrible' but the flavors just did not really work and felt generic. The meatloaf was unremarkable in every way and this was the only time in my life I have ever been served asparagus I could not bite through. I legitimately felt like a dog with a chew toy trying to force my teeth through that tree-truck of a vegetable. I am not sure if it was just undercooked or if they just got vegetables that were too much for me to handle but being served food I couldn't eat detracted from my dining experience. The burger was decent. I would expect nothing less at the price point they set and the frys were well prepared. The appetizer was some kind of seafood Quesada. I felt like the individual ingredients were excellent but the dish as a whole was kinda bad. Even being hungry waiting on our food I had to force myself to eat 1 piece and neither of us went for a 2nd. I can't really say where it went wrong but it really did not work and I would recommend any one that trys this avoid it. The environment is ultra modern and feels great for a sports bar. They also took full advantage of the beautiful plaza outside. The service was excellent and the bar tender was actually knowledgeable about the food as well as alcohol which is a plus. The deal breaker in the end was that my friend couldn't keep the food down. Shortly before leaving he complained about a weird taste and after getting back to work he spent a good 10 minutes hugging the toilet puking. He said he thought it was the Quesada but I also had a piece and was ok so it may have been the burger? I had a bite of that as well and was ok.

At the end of the day even if I disregard the food poisoning my friend got I feel like the price point is way too high for the quality of food. It may be better to treat this place as a really nice bar that also happens to serve some bites than a restaurant; but as a restaurant I hold it in low regard for its value. I do feel like if they got a talented chef in the kitchen and reworked their menu a bit it could be one hell of a good place given its environment, location and the quality of...